Specific Therapeutic Technique - Essay Example

Manipulative and Body-Based Practices - Here force in controlled conditions is used to regain health specifically in relation to painful joints and muscles. These are basically massage and stretching techniques. The specific therapeutic technique being discussed is Acupuncture- this is falls under 'Whole Medicine' classification of National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. It is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture can be defined as the technique of inserting needles at the acupuncture points in the body to restore the health of the body by getting rid of disease and pain.

Loss of balance between yin and yang energies is believed to be the cause of diseases. Treatment involves applying pressure on the 12 "meridians" or the primary pathways. There are other secondary pathways which are also used to treat the patient depending upon the severity as elaborated later. This technique is believed to have originated in China in ancient times, stray evidence of its practice even found in stone age though it seemed to become more prevalent from 1st millennium BCE more from the time of Hang Dynasty, though like all ancient practices it is difficult to pin point exact date or country of origin as similar techniques seem to have been used by the Koreans and Japanese.

Conventionally however it is associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). . in ancient times, stray evidence of its practice even found in stone age though it seemed to become more prevalent from 1st millennium BCE more from the time of Hang Dynasty, though like all ancient practices it is difficult to pin point exact date or country of origin as similar techniques seem to have been used by the Koreans and Japanese. Conventionally however it is associated with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

During the early days of Chinese Revolution it was dismissed as superstitious and backward, driving it underground for fear of reprisal. It was much later that Mao decided to revive it as he considered ancient Chinese medicine as a cultural treasure and started efforts to improve and modernize it. In the US its early users were Chinese railroad workers who had learnt it from the elders using it as self medication in their families. The theory of acupuncture is explained as certain points on the bodies which loosely correspond to the organs of the body though some points may not have one to one relationship with any organ.

It is believed that disease occurs if there is an imbalance between yin and yang energies of the body and treatment involves modifying the activity of body subsystems by applying pressure or heat at pressure points. These points are now conventionally known as acupuncture points. These are present along layers of 12 primary pathway meridians, 8 extraordinary pathways located throughout the body. Un associated points are also believed to be present known as tender points which are used to treat of localized discomfort.

Each of the 12 pathways is associated with one of the twelve zang fu organs, 6 are yin and 6 are yang pathways. 3 yin and 3 yang are believed to be present on the arms and 3 each on the legs. Life force or "qi" is