Acupuncture is a complementary medicine that accompanies and completes traditional medicine and which is based on restoring the patient’s state of health and well-being through the stimulation of certain points on the body surface for therapeutic purposes, with the insertion of needles.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, from which Acupuncture originates, an individual’s health problems are caused by poor circulation of Qi (vital energy) that flows through channels throughout the body, known as “meridians”. and which accumulates in some parts of the body and is missing in others.
Acupuncture is therefore based on the division of the body into these channels (meridians) that connect important points for our body. The main points are twelve and are located at the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, pericardium, spleen, large intestine, urinary bladder, biliary vesicle, small intestine, triple heater and stomach.
The meridians are then divided into Yang (those that carry energy from the ends of the hands, to the head and feet), and Yin those that carry energy from the feet to the trunk and from the trunk to the hands. And finally, the secondary meridians which are branches of the main ones, which connect them to each other and distribute energy and nourishment to the tissues, forming a well-organized network of channels.
Acupuncture, according to its principles and techniques, aims to maintain or restore the correct flow of vital energy, with the idea of preserving the balance between the two forces (Yin and Yang), so that the energy that runs through the meridians flow correctly allowing the patient’s well-being.
A bit of history
Acupuncture as a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a discipline with ancient origins, dating back more than ten thousand years ago. Its golden period was under the Ming dynasty, and it was the first therapeutic technique to be introduced in Europe as early as 1600, thanks also to the efforts of the French diplomat G. Sulier de Morant, who laid the foundations for the export of the doctrine in the West. It was then Mao Tse Tung who made Acupuncture official, allowing it to be used in the hospital.
Starting from the 1950s, scientific research on Acupuncture also began, aimed at understanding, describing and passing on the discipline through modern references such as cells, biochemistry and related structures.
Following numerous experimental studies carried out worldwide, in 1979 the WHO declared Acupuncture clinically useful in the treatment of various pathologies.
Professional training
The acupuncturist is a figure who fits into the sphere of psychophysical well-being and natural remedies, he is a professional who is dedicated to the general and natural well-being of the person, with the aim of restoring the health of the body and mind through skin stimulation made with needles and heat. Acupuncture is currently practiced all over the world, but the legislative framework of reference changes.
In Italy, the acupuncturist is not a legally legitimated professional figure, since there is no legally recognized register and training schools.
In our country, to practice acupuncture it is necessary to be a doctor or veterinarian with a degree. Once in possession of the degree, the aspiring acupuncturist will be able to acquire specialized training in the field of Acupuncture and related disciplines, through a course of variable duration (usually four years) recognized by the ECM Commission of the Ministry of Health. This will allow him to obtain a diploma necessary to practice the profession (as established by the judgment of the Court of Cassation of 1982). Anyone who has studied medicine abroad must take the state exam in Italy to be able to practice acupuncture.
Basically, being a doctor allows you to legally practice Acupuncture, however it is true that there are no university courses of medical specialization for this discipline, the doctor interested in practicing Acupuncture therefore has the possibility to follow a qualified course lasting four years but also a much shorter recognized course (a few months).
Industry associations
Some important industry associations are the World Federation Acupuncture Society ( WFAS ) and, in Italy, the Italian Federation of Acupuncture Societies ( FISA ), the Italian Acupuncture Association ( AIA ) and the Italian Association of Acupuncture-Moxibustion and Traditional Medicine. Chinese (AIAM).
Benefits generally offered by acupuncturists
- Acupuncture for anesthesia
- Diapasonacupuncture
- Joint infiltrations
- Mesotherapy
- Foot reflexology
Disorders and pathologies generally treated by acupuncturists
- Acne
- Tinnitus
- Alopecia
- Anxiety
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Panic attacks
- Conjunctivitis
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Dyslexia
- Migraine
- Slipped disc
- Gastritis
- Male infertility
- Insomnia
- Lumbosciatalgia
- Psoriasis
- Sciatica
- Sciatica
- Sinusitis
- Carpal tunnel
- Dizziness
- Fibromyalgia
- Asthma
