What is acupuncture in Chinese medicine and what is the method?

Acupuncture means needling; moxibustion means moxibustion. Acupuncture therapy has a long history in China.

Acupuncture ①The method of acupuncture is currently generally used stainless steel needles as the needle tool. Needle and the doctor's hand should be sterilized, the patient lying down and choose a good point for acupuncture. Clinical generally use the right hand to hold the needle operation, mainly with the thumb, forefinger, middle three fingers holding the needle handle, such as holding a pen, the left hand nail tip pressure on the piercing site, or auxiliary needle body, with the finger cut into the needle, pinch into the needle, diastolic into the needle or pinch into the needle and other methods of needling. In the process of needling operation, to master the correct angle, direction and depth of needling, which is an important link to enhance the feeling of needles, improve the therapeutic effect and prevent accidents from occurring.

The angle of needling refers to the angle formed between the body of the needle and the surface of the skin when the needle is inserted. There are three general angles. Straight stab: the body of the needle and the skin surface at an angle of 90 degrees, vertical stabbing. Oblique stabbing: the body of the needle is at an angle of about 45 degrees with the skin surface, stabbing at an angle. It is suitable for the shallow muscle or inside the blood vessels, important organs, or should not be straight stabbing deep stabbing parts. Flat stabbing; also called along the skin stabbing, the body of the needle and the skin surface at an angle of about 15 degrees, along the skin stabbing. It is suitable for areas with thin skin and little flesh.

The depth of needling depends on the constitution, age, condition and location. The angle of needling has a very close relationship with the depth, generally speaking, straight stabbing is mostly used for deep stabbing, oblique stabbing or flat stabbing is mostly used for shallow stabbing. For the "heavenly protrusion", "dumb door", "wind" and other points, as well as the eye area, chest and back and important organs such as the heart, liver, lungs and other parts of the acupoints, especially when the intention to be shallow stab, so as to avoid accidents. The first thing you need to do is to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're doing.

After the needle is inserted into the acupoint, the needle (also known as running the needle) should be run in order to get gas, "get gas", also known as "needle sense", refers to the needle inserted into the acupoint produced by the "meridian qi sense of shellfish". ". When this "meridian qi sense" produced, the doctor will feel the needle under the Xu and or sinking tight feeling, the patient will also have at the same time, acid, numbness, distension, heavy and other sensations, this feeling will even be along a certain part, to a certain direction of diffusion and conduction. If there is no meridian qi induction and not gas, the doctor feels empty under the needle, the patient also has no acid, numbness, distension, heavy and other sensations. At this point, the doctor will be applied to lift the insertion, twisting and other techniques to make it gas, but also quiet to stay for a long time, to wait for gas to. Needle prick gas, only to have the role of eliminating evil and supporting the positive.

After inserting the needle into the acupoint, the needle is usually left in place for 10 to 20 minutes. However, for some special diseases, such as cold, intractable pain, etc. can be extended, during which the needle can be intermittent needle, in order to enhance and consolidate the therapeutic effect.

The needle can be discharged after the needle is administered or left in place. When the needle is released, the left hand thumb, index finger presses the skin around the needle hole, the right hand holds the needle for a slight twist, slowly lifting the needle to the subcutaneous, and then the needle will be lifted out, with a sterilized dry cotton ball to press the needle hole, in order to prevent bleeding. After the needle is removed, the patient should rest for a while before moving around. Check the number of needles after starting the needle, in case of missing.

Abnormalities of needling and treatment ①Sickness of needling: it is the phenomenon of fainting that occurs to the patient in the process of needling. It is manifested in the patient's sudden mental fatigue, dizziness, pallor, nausea, vomiting, panic, sweating, cold extremities, or even a drop in blood pressure, incontinence and pulse fineness. The cause of needle fainting, mostly for the patient's physical weakness, mental stress, or fatigue, hunger, after a serious illness, due to the position is not correct, the doctor's technique is too heavy, and so on. The general treatment method is to stop needling immediately and take out all the needles. Make the patient lie down and drink some warm water or sugar water, pay attention to keep warm, can return to normal. If the patient is seriously unable to return to normal, he should consult a doctor.

② Stagnant needle: in the needle or stay after the needle, the doctor feels the needle stagnant, twisting, lifting the insertion, out of the needle are difficult, the patient feels pain, known as stagnant needle. Stagnant needle causes, mostly for the patient's mental tension, when the needle into the acupoint, due to strong local muscle contraction, or improper needle technique, to a single direction too much twisting, so that the muscle tissue wrapped around the needle body caused. The general treatment can be slightly prolonged stay in the needle time, or in the stagnant needle acupuncture point near the circular pressure, or knocking and popping the needle handle, or in the vicinity of another needle, in order to disperse the qi and blood to ease the muscle tension.

③Bending Needle: When entering the needle or stabbing the needle into the acupoint, the body of the needle forms a bend in the body. Its performance is that the needle handle changes the direction and angle when entering or stabbing the needle into the stay needle, it is difficult to lift and insert, twist and exit the needle, and the patient feels pain. The reason for the bending of the needle, mostly for the doctor into the needle unskilled, or force too hard and too fast, so that the tip of the needle touches the hard tissues and organs, or the patient in the needle, stay in the needle to move the position, or because of the handle of the needle by some kind of pressure, etc. caused. The general treatment method is not to lift the insertion, twisting, and slowly remove the needle in the direction of bending by hand. If caused by the patient to move the position, the patient should slowly restore the original position, local muscle relaxation, and then slowly remove the needle. Do not force the needle, so as not to break the needle in the body.

4 broken needle: needle body broken in the body. The cause of needle breakage is mostly due to the poor quality of the needle, or the body of the needle, the root of the needle is damaged and peeled. The general method of treatment is that the patient should not change the original position, in order to prevent the broken needle to the deep muscle into. If part of the stump of the needle is exposed outside the body, the needle can be lifted out with vascular forceps or forceps. If the broken needle is level with the skin or slightly sunken in the body, the left thumb and forefinger can be used to vertically squeeze the sides of the needle hole, so that the broken needle is exposed to the body, and the right hand holding forceps to take out the needle. If the broken needle is completely deep into the subcutaneous or deep muscle layer, then immediately ask the doctor for surgery.

⑤Hematoma: subcutaneous bleeding at the site of needle puncture and swelling caused by pain. After the needle is discharged, the site is swollen and painful, and then the skin becomes blue-purple. Generally, it can subside by itself. If serious, the first cold compresses to stop bleeding, and then do hot compresses or local gently rubbed to promote the local stasis dissipation, absorption.

The precautions of acupuncture patients in too hungry, fatigue, mental overstress, should not immediately carry out acupuncture. For patients who are thin and weak, with deficiency of qi and blood, the needling technique should not be too heavy, and the prone position should be used as much as possible.

The parts of the skin that are infected, ulcerated, scarred or have tumors should not be needled.

The acupoints on the chest, coercion, waist and back where the internal organs reside should not be stabbed straight or y. Patients with enlarged liver and spleen and emphysema should be especially careful.

The needling of the eye area and the neck of the wind, mute door and other points and the spine of the acupoints, pay attention to a certain angle, not to mention a large amount of lifting and inserting, twisting and long time to stay in the needle, in order to avoid injuring the vital organs and produce serious consequences.

Moxibustion moxibustion is relying on the heat of the moxibustion fire to give people warm stimulation, through the role of meridian acupoints, in order to achieve the purpose of curing and preventing disease. The raw material of moxibustion is mainly based on moxa, with dry moxa leaves pounded to remove impurities, and become pure and soft moxa velvet, and then made into moxa pillars, moxa rolls, etc. The common method of moxibustion is the moxa pillar, the moxa rolls. The commonly used moxibustion methods are moxa pillar moxibustion and moxa roll moxibustion.

1) moxa pillar moxibustion. Pure moxa velvet on the board, hand rubbing and kneading into a conical moxa column. Commonly used moxa pillars, or like auricles, or like lotus seeds, or like half an olive and other sizes. When applying moxibustion, each burning a moxa pillar is called "a strong". The specific methods of moxibustion are.

②Ginger moxibustion. Fresh ginger cut into thin slices about 0?2 ~ 0?3 cm thick, the middle of the needle several small holes, and then placed in the ginger should be moxibustion acupoints or parts of the affected area, and then put the moxa column on the ginger piece of ignition moxibustion. When the column of moxa burned out, and then take a column of moxibustion, until the moxibustion of the specified number of strong. The skin should be red and moist without blistering. It is often used for diseases such as vomiting, abdominal pain and rheumatoid arthritis caused by cold.

③Garlic moxibustion. With fresh garlic cut into 0?2 ~ 0?3 cm thin slices, the middle with a needle several small holes (pounded into the garlic can also be), and then placed on the acupuncture points should be moxibustion or the affected area, the moxa column on the top, ignition moxibustion. To be burned out, easy column and then moxibustion, to moxibustion after the number of strong. This method is used for scrofula (lymphatic tuberculosis and so on), tuberculosis and sores and ulcers and other evidence.

4 moxa roll moxibustion. The use of moxa sticks. Take 24 grams of pure and soft moxa velvet, spread on 26 cm long, 20 cm wide fine straw paper, roll it into a diameter of about 1?5 cm ah column-shaped moxa roll. Requirements for tightly rolled, wrapped in a soft and loose surface and tough mulberry paper, with glue or paste seal and become (or to the Chinese medicine store to buy ready-made moxa sticks). The method of moxibustion is divided into gentle moxibustion and sparrow pecking moxibustion. Mild moxibustion: the end of the moxa stick will be ignited, aligned with the acupoints should be moxibustion or the affected area, about 2 to 3 cm from the skin, to smoke, so that the patient has a localized sense of warmth and heat without burning pain is appropriate. Generally each moxibustion 5 to 7 minutes, to the extent that the skin redness, more suitable for chronic diseases. Bird pecking moxibustion: moxa lit end and moxibustion parts of the skin is not fixed at a certain distance, but like a bird pecking, up and down the activities of moxibustion, but also can be uniformly up and down or left and right direction, or for repeated rotation of the moxibustion, mostly used for the more urgent diseases.

Moxibustion has the effect of warming the meridians, activating qi and blood circulation, removing dampness and cold, eliminating swelling and knotting, returning Yang to save the reverse and preventing diseases, and is suitable for the treatment of some chronic diseases and health care.

5 Moxibustion contraindications. For solid heat or Yin deficiency fever, generally not suitable for moxibustion treatment. Pregnant women's abdomen and lumbar-sacral area should not apply moxibustion.