How It Works

Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles into the body at specific points to regulate its functioning. The ancient Chinese decribed the flow of the vital animating force that allows us to move, think and feel as it travels through specific pathways in the body. The vital force is called Qi (chee) in Chinese, and Ki (kee) in Japanese The pathways are variously called meridians, channels, network vessels. Most are associated with a particular internal organ.

Each meridian has a number of points where the needles may be inserted to achieve specific effects. For the most part these are energetic effects, like dispel Wind, clear Heat, boost Kidney Yin, smooth Liver Qi, quiet the Heart Spirit, open the hand, open the arm, transform Blood Stasis, secure Defensive Qi, rather than effects like stop pain or stop nausea, although a few points do have such actions. This is why the practice of acupuncture is not just memorizing what the points do and applying needles there; the acupuncturist must be able diagnose the problem as, for example, one of internal Wind, or Stagnant Qi in order to choose the best points to treat arm pain.

The Heart meridian has 9 points, while the Bladder meridian has 67. The word “point” does not convey their full three-dimensional nature, as each has depth, size and direction. The Chinese names describe them variously as caves, valleys, openings, holes and gates.

Using the acupuncture needles, the gates of the body are opened and closed to adjust internal functioning.

On a very basic level, there may not be enough Qi circulating, there may be too much, the Qi may be stuck or stagnated, it may be moving in the wrong direction, or it may be unable to hold itself in the body. Examples of symptoms which may occur in each of these situations, respectively, include fatigue, high fever, pain, nausea, and prolapse.

Modern Western medicine cannot yet explain how acupuncture works. Studies show that it influences both central and peripheral nervous systems, and can activate either sympathetic or parasympathetic response. Acupuncture has been shown to affect the functioning of the stomach, intestines and the endocrine system, influences the levels of sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood, and increases activity in various brain centers.

One theory is that the meridians have something to do with connective tissue. Many acupoints are located where two or more planes of connective tissue meet. The structure of the fibers may act to transmit the messages the acupuncturist sends through the needles.

My favorite Western explanation is based on quantum physics: every particle can be also described as a wave, and waves superimpose on each other. All the tissues and structures of the body, therefore, have waves associated with them. The acupoints are the nodes in the complex waves which describe the body, and it is at the nodes that energy may be added to or removed from the wave. This theory appeals to me because it explains the energetic nature of acupuncture, and approaches the body in a non-physical way. Modern physics has insight beyond the apparent solid nature of reality and into the insubstantial nature of matter; modern Western medicine is still operating on material structures in a Newtonian fashion.