fever, indigestion—approximately 3,000 maladies
altogether.
According to the Complementary Wellness Pro-
fessional Association (http://www.compwellness.
com/eGuide/acupre.htm), “There is a natural
source of healing power in everyone. When this
healing power is activated, it triggers a series of
complicated internal processes producing a healing
response. Pain or injury acts to alert the body that
damage control is needed, at which point the heal-
ing response begins and endorphins are generated
to repair the affected area. This increases the heart
rate and alters the blood pressure to speed up the
elimination of toxins from the damaged area....
When applied to specific sore points along the
meridians at different points for different condi-
tions, the pressure tricks the body into thinking it
has been damaged. The body then produces endor-
phins to relieve distress in the organs and systems
corresponding to the acupressure point... and pro-
duces a healing response all along the meridian.”
The association says that regular, systematic
treatment usually gets the best results. Treatment
three times each day for five to 10 minutes, or
every two hours if necessary, reflects the concept
that acupressure’s positive effects are cumulative—
one cannot overdose because the treatments are
safe. However, they are not recommended for
administration directly after a meal, and pregnant
women should avoid pressure at certain points
known as SP 6, Li 4, and St 36. (Pressure points are
coded.) Tui nais a needleless form of acupressure
used particularly for very young children and for
those suffering from musculoskeletal distress.
According to The One Spirit Encyclopedia of Com-
plementary Health (Hamlyn, London, 2000), acu-
pressure is similar to shiatsu, which means “finger
pressure” in Japanese, in that it is meant to trigger
the release of ch’ialong the meridians. It branches
off from shiatsu, which includes massage, in that
acupressure mostly employs thumb and fingertip
pressure on acupuncture points. In clinical studies,
acupressure was successfully used to treat morning
sickness in 350 women at the Royal Maternity Hos-
pital in Belfast, Ireland, in 1988. “In 1986,” the text
described, “car factory workers were screened in a
study to exclude any with organic disease or infec-
tion, and 142 workers with chronic lumbar pain
were treated with acupressure daily for 21 days on
points along the spine, back and front of legs. A
marked improvement was found in 29 percent of
patients, 68 patients were cured, while 3.5 percent
had no noticeable change. Additional benefits
reported included improved sleep.” Practitioners of
shiatsu and acupressure may also use fingers,
palms, elbows, arms, knees, and feet in lieu of the
needles used in acupuncture.
Acupressure is also used for animals, particu-
larly for arthritis and hip dysplasia.
See also ACUPUNCTURE.acupuncture A component of traditional Chinese
medicine (TCM) in which extremely fine long nee-
dles are inserted into the skin over points corre-
sponding to parts and functions of the body
mapped out in a system of meridians. (For exam-
ple, a point near the wrist is associated with respi-
ration.) The technique is used to reduce pain and
promote restoration and bodily well-being.
Acupuncture is reported to relieve blockage, pres-
sure, or other ill effects from the body’s 14 major
meridians, or energy channels. Rendered as qior
ch’i(pronounced “chee”), the flow of this energy or
life force is essential to health. Given a new credi-
bility and acknowledgment by Western practition-
ers, acupuncture studies suggest that the technique
stimulates the release of the body’s natural, opiate-
like substances called endorphins. Polypeptides
produced in the brain, endorphins act as
painkillers, at times as effective as morphine or
anesthetics, because they bind to opiate receptor
sites that involve the perception of pain and
increase the threshold for pain. Endorphins and
enkephalins, also polypeptides that work as endor-
phins do, are thought also to contribute to a feeling
of well-being.
The author and physician Richard Gerber
explained the 12-pathway acupuncture-meridian
system as “the body’s biocircuitry,” through which
more than 1,000 acupoints carry the environmen-
tal life energy ch’i. “This special type of life energy
is said to come from three primary sources. Part of
our ch’ienergy comes from the vital-energy reserve
we inherit from our parents. This type of ‘inher-
ited’ life energy is referred to as ancestral ch’i. The
second source of ch’iis absorbed (and produced)2 acupuncture