American Medical Association Family Medical Guide - American Medical Association [74]
Naturopathy
Naturopathy is an alternative medical system in which practitioners use natural healing forces in the body to help the body cure itself. Typical therapies include changes in diet, massage, water therapy, light therapy, soft tissue manipulation, and exercise as well as interventions such as acupuncture (see below) and minor surgery. Naturopathy views disease as an alteration in the process by which the body stays healthy and emphasizes the reestablishment of health over the treatment of disease. The effectiveness of naturopathy has not been proven scientifically.
Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine is an ancient system of health care that is based on the concept of chi, or qi (pronounced “chee”), the vital energy that flows throughout the body in specific pathways called meridians. According to this theory, disease occurs when the balance of chi is disrupted in the body. Chinese medicine uses a constellation of herbal remedies, nutritional therapy, physical exercises such as t’ai chi, meditation, acupuncture, acupressure, and massage to bring chi back into balance, a process that is thought to cure disease.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a Chinese medical technique in which a practitioner punctures the person’s skin with very fine needles at points along the meridians through which chi travels to relieve the blockage of the body’s vital energy. Sometimes the needles are twirled, warmed, or stimulated electronically. The needles have tapered tips and usually do not draw blood or cause bruising when placed into the skin. In the United States, acupuncture is used primarily for pain disorders, including back pain and migraines, and is sometimes used as an anesthetic. In China the technique is used widely to treat many medical problems and as an anesthetic during surgery.
Moxibustion and cupping are two treatment methods that are closely related to acupuncture. Both use the meridian system central to acupuncture theory and are often performed at the same time as acupuncture. In moxibustion, practitioners burn a herb called mugwort over the skin or on the acupuncture needles to intensify their effects. In cupping, a substance is burned under a glass or bamboo cup, which is then placed over an acupuncture site. The process causes suction that draws blood to the surface of the skin.
In Western medicine, there is no equivalent to the concept of chi, and researchers are looking for a scientific explanation for acupuncture’s effectiveness. The meridians along which the needles are placed do not correspond to the nervous system or any other major body system. However, acupuncture treatments for pain have been shown by imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to produce changes in the body that seem to be associated with pain relief.
Acupressure
Another component of ancient Chinese medical practice, acupressure is the application of sustained fingertip pressure on specific points of the body (meridians) to prevent or alleviate disease by balancing the flow of the body’s vital energy (chi). The fingertips may be rotated slightly to activate the flow of energy. Acupressure, which is based on the same concept of meridians as acupuncture, is used to treat headaches, pain in the lower back, and a number of other problems.
A Japanese offshoot of acupressure called shiatsu also uses finger pressure on the meridians of the body, but applies different techniques to stimulate the flow of energy. Shiatsu was developed in Japan centuries ago.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda, which means “knowledge of life,” is an ancient medical system dating back to 3000 BC and is still practiced in India today. Ayurveda attempts to restore the innate harmony of a person by treating the body, mind, and spirit equally. As in Chinese medicine, health is believed to be determined by the balanced flow