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illness and disease in Asia. It was first used over 3,000 years ago in China and
is currently the major component of traditional Chinese medicine. It is a safe
medical technique that is used in order to help the body heal itself. Acupuncture
is a way to prevent surgery and an alternative to putting chemicals into the body.
Acupuncture is also an excellent alternative to using drugs that have major
side effects on the body. Electro acupuncture was also developed in China around
1934. It is used as an extension for the hand manipulation of acupuncture needles.
A needle is inserted under into the skin as would normally be done with the
regular hand manipulation and then an electrode would be attached to the needle
to provide continuous stimulation. Electro acupuncture basically substitutes
for prolonged hand maneuvering.
Relieving Fatigue
The acupuncture patient needs a specific amount of stimulation and sometimes
the practitioner may pause due to fatigue. Electro acupuncture will assure that
the patient will get the correct amount of stimulation for his treatment. Electro
acupuncture also helps to reduce the total treatment time by providing continued
stimulation.
This is good time management for the practitioner, as he can attend to other
acupuncture patients. Electro acupuncture can produce a stronger stimulation,
if necessary, without causing any tissue damage resulting from the lifting,
twirling and thrusting of the needle. Strong stimulation is used for the treatment
of neuralgia and paralysis. It is also much easier to control the frequency
and the amount of the stimulus with electro acupuncture than it is with hand
manipulation of the needles.
The biggest disadvantage of electro acupuncture is the lack of direct contact
the practitioner has in the actual acupuncture therapy that is taking place.
The practitioner may not be able to respond to changes that are taking place
during electro acupuncture, if electrodes are used in place of hand manipulation.
The use of electro acupuncture is especially effective for treatment of neurological
diseases, including spasm, chronic pain and paralysis. Caution should be used
in patients with serious cardiac diseases. It is highly recommended to avoid
placing any electrodes near the heart because the heart may respond adversely
to electrical impulses. But, the advantages overwhelming outweigh the disadvantages
in electro acupuncture. At least when using the electrode approach, the acupuncture
will be complete as in the ways of the old Chinese master acupuncturists.
Posted on November 26th, 2007 by Acupuncture Swami
Filed under: Uncategorized
I’m not sure that the acupuncturist not being with their client is much of an advantage. I think the human touch can be valuable.
Do you have information on how/why electro-acupuncture works? I haven’t seen anything apart from theory. This isn’t a problem, medicine is like that, but if you know of any I’d love to see it.
Evan