Acupuncture Is as Real as a Heart Attack

Read why Acupuncture works 2x better than drugs.

Acupuncture Works, But Only God Knows How

"We don't understand the mechanisms of these so-called alternative
treatments, but that doesn't mean they don't work." Dr. James Young,
of Rush University in Chicago.

1. There are 12,000 acupuncturists licensed and certified by the National
Commission for Certification of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine in the U.S.
66% are not medical physicians. Your doctor hates them more than chiropractors.

This governmental agency reports more folks visited complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners, than primary care physicians.
Weird - 425 million visits to CAM and 388 million to family doctors.

2. Over a thousand back-pain suffers (1,100) took part in this Germany study headed by Dr. Heinz Endres of Ruhr University Bochum. The group was divided into those receiving acupuncture, conventional therapy (drugs, injections etc) or a placebo (sugar pills or injections of a saline solution of water).

They were trying to control severe lower back pain. The results were published in the September 24 2007 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Dr. Endres concluded, Patients experienced not only reduced pain intensity,
but also reported improvements in the disability that often results from back
pain and therefore in their quality of life.


3. After six months 47% of the patients in the acupuncture group had significant improvement in pain complaints, compared to only 27% of the patients who
received painkillers, injections, heat or massage (conventional medical treatment). That is almost double the success rate of family physicians, right?

4. So what? It means the body may react positively to any thin needle prick to it. Other researchers raised the issue of Placebo, a catch-term meaning, we-have-no idea (in the world) why it works.

5. Some scientists believe the secret of acupuncture is creating a disruption of
the pain messages processed by the brain, by offering competing stimuli.
The insertion of the needles appear to be the competing stimuli that inhibit
the back pain signals from creating a feedback circuit. Pain gets amnesia.

Other scientists suggest the twisting of the needles (it does not hurt in the least) releases your body's natural painkillers. Included are endorphins,
enkephalins, and endomorphins that regulate pain in body and mind.

6. Placebo an inactive pill or injection which is a sham procedure to test the
effects of another substance or treatment. It includes the interaction between
the patient and physician and how your expectations and beliefs produce
positive bodily and mental effects.

7. Double Weird. The acupuncture needles were not inserted at the depth
(under the skin) required for successful treatment, nor placed
in the meridians sites to affect Qi (pronounced chee) to balance the body's
energy flow. They did not follow the rules of acupuncture.

The needles were not rotated after insertion, which is the proper
protocol for a successful acupuncture treatment. And still this alternative
method produced almost twice the benefits of Western medical treatment.

Acupuncture Treats These Complaints

Acupuncture practitioners and their patients report pain relief from migraine headaches, sciatica, bursitis, arthritis, and sinus discomfort. Some claim relief from
the symptoms of prostate symptoms. It may be a Placebo but the pain is gone.

The use of acupuncture and its sister treatment, acupressure (no needles just manipulating fingers), has a recorded history beginning in China two-thousand years ago. Physicians produced charts indicating 2,000 acupuncture sites (points)
on the body, 12 main and 8 secondary neural pathways called meridians.

The meridians conduct the Qi energy to balance the electromagnetic signals required for mental and physical health. It gets better – the needles move the
tired or impaired (unbalanced) energy to correct the compatible percentage of Yin and Yang.

Yang is claimed to control the positive energy of mind and body, while Yin balances
the negative energy forces. It is allegedly based on the continuous (circulation) of
blood, oxygen and immune systems like the Natural Killer, Thymus (T cells) and Bone Marrow (B cells).

How the painless insertion of tiny needles does the trick, is presently unknown nor understood. But then again scientists who can send astronauts into space do not
know the basis or site of human consciousness in 2007. Soon.

U.S. physicians first discovered the field of acupuncture after a New York Times
article in 1971 by their ace reporter James Reston. He witnesses the use of the
acupuncture needles to ease abdominal pain after surgery while reporting in China.

A later Gallup poll in 1971 indicated 97% of American physicians disapproved of acupuncture and considered it a form of witchcraft. Another question inquired whether the doctor ever heard of or experienced this Chinese medical treatment. Would you be surprised 98.7% were unaware of the name acupuncture in 1971?

Today, the NIH (National Institute of Health) advocates acupuncture as a useful
medical procedure. It is a recommend complementary therapy for practicing U.S.
medical physicians.

In fact NIH says it reduces the side effects of some powerful drugs in addition to
reducing lower back pain. Does the medical community use it or recommend it.
Nyet.

Mu Opioid Receptors

Pain causes the release in humans of brain manufactured internal opium called opioid. An opiate is a naturally occurring synthetic narcotic resembling opium or
morphine. It binds to the opiate receptor on the surface of the neuron to inhibit
pain.

Hang on. There are three types Mu, Kappa and Delta opioid receptors to help
humans overcome pain. They are located in the cerebral cortex, thalamus and
hypothalamus et al. in your brain. They produce an analgesic when activated, for
mental and physical pain management, so don't bash in your 3 pound coconut yet.

And Get This

There is a connection between Placebos (I shall please you), Nocebos (I shall harm you), and hypnosis, caused by the activity of your Mu Opioid Receptor. There is Harvard research by Dr. Herbert Benson to indicate that the benefits of meditation (improving your immune systems) may be caused by the release of the brain's opioids.

More important, there are strategies to activate your opioids through your volition
(free will). Imagine if you can relax and meditate for a few minutes daily and manage your pain. Check out meditation as a personal strategy.

Over 85% of Americans will suffer lower back pain, and assuming long life, will experience bursitis, arthritis and other temporary or permanent degenerative pain. Acupuncture is a step in the right direction to drug-free pain management.

There is research to suggest the basis of hypnosis is activating the Mu Opioid Receptors. Hypnosis, according to the AMA, is a recognized medical modality
and can alleviate pain and help the body heal rapidly.

Doctors still laugh at hypnosis, and absolutely distrust Acupuncture. You must exercise discretion and do research about who to believe, when it comes to treatment of your mind and body.

Endwords

May we suggest you exercise your parietal-frontal cortex (thinking, learning and memory) by reading 3x as much as you do, in order to add up to nine extra years of longevity and resistance to Alz. Yes, way; it is documented.

If you 3x your learning speed and 2x your long-term memory, you create a Firewall around your 3-pound coconut. Ask us how.

copyright 2007 H. Bernard Wechsler www.speedlearning.org [e-mail]
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Author of Speed reading for Professionals, published by Barron's,
Business partner of Evelyn Wood, creator or speed reading, graduating
two million, including the White House staffs of four U.S. Presidents.
Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine refer to SpeedLearning

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