The exact
history of acupuncture is unknown. The earliest known text dealing with
acupuncture treatment, the Nei Ching, dates back to roughly 2600 B.C.
The Nei Ching, or Classic of Internal Medicine, has been the basic
foundation from which all advancements in acupuncture spring.
Somehow, the
early Chinese became aware of increased sensitivity in certain strategic
points of the body when illness or injury was present. Over time,
healers realized that all patients displayed uniform sensitivity in
these points in the presence of specific maladies. Observation of these
points revealed a very definite pattern rather than a haphazard
scattering. Soon, these well-defined points were being used to diagnose
the organs involved in any specific disorder. The lines that could be
drawn linking these points became known as meridians. It wasn't long
before ancient Chinese healers realized that by applying pressure to
these points, the energy flowing through the meridians could be
manipulated to affect particular organs.
In Western
countries, acupuncture was generally viewed in the same dubious light as
voodoo and faith healing. That perception changed in 1971, the year the
New York Times journalist James Reston fell ill while visiting China.
After undergoing an appendectomy there, he was treated for post-surgical
pain with acupuncture. The front page reports he published in the Times
about his acupuncture experiences were the first most Americans had
heard of the subject.
Since then,
millions of Americans have been successfully treated with acupuncture,
and it's becoming a more viable choice when making health-care
decisions.
Get your Bodybuilding Supplements at discounted price
|