Medical Acupuncture
Acupuncture is an ancient form of treatment dating back at least 2,000 years. It was developed in China and spread to other Asian countries. The French are largely responsible for introducing it to the West and integrating it into western medicine. Although acupuncture was known and referred to in medical textbooks in the nineteenth century, interest was stimulated in 1971 when journalist James Reston described successful treatment of his postoperative pain following an emergency appendectomy while in China.

Chinese medicine is based on the concept of Qi (pronounced chee), the life force of the body flowing in channels called meridians. Disease is caused by imbalances of Qi in the meridians and organs. In the Chinese model, pain is caused by blockage of Qi in one of the meridians. The logic of an acupuncture treatment for pain is based upon relieving this blockage or bypassing it. More modern Western explanations for the success of acupuncture in relieving pain are based upon the documented effect of acupuncture on endorphins and other pain relieving substances in the nervous system.

In addition to traditional treatments based upon the concept of blockage in a meridian, other variations on the acupuncture treatment have developed over the years and are often integrated into the pain treatment. Auricular treatment, in which needles are placed into points in the ear which correspond to points in other parts of the body, is often used to enhance the effect of other treatments. Percutaneous nerve stimulation (PENS) is a more recent technique developed by Dr. William Craig. During a PENS treatment, acupuncture needles are placed along the spine at points corresponding to the nerve roots involved in the pain pattern. Electrical stimulation at different frequencies is then applied to stimulate various substances in the central nervous system. Periosteal stimulation is another form of electrical stimulation using acupuncture needles. In this case a needle is placed on the surface of the bone in an area corresponding to the pain pattern, and another needle is placed in a muscular acupuncture point nearby. Stimulation at a high frequency is then applied. Neuroanotomical acupuncture is a technique developed by Dr. Joe Wong. In this technique the selection of acupuncture points is based upon their association with the nerves going to the involved part of the body.

The selection of technique for an acupuncture treatment should involve an eclectic combination of these variations.