ACUPUNCTURE AND ACUPRESSURE

ORGAN REPRESENTATION ON EXTREMITIES

Oran representation was recognized at different parts ot the body for over 2000 years. Tongue diagnosis was one of the first and we have adapted the locations from the work of Dr. Y. Omura. The Yellow emperor left a text in 2650 BC mentioning 4 techniques: tongue, pulse diagnosis, acupuncture and massage. 400 BC Hippocrates taught the effectiveness of massage.

In 1027Ad a bronze statue by Dr Wei was made, showing a model of a man with 354 acupuncture needles in him representing the acupuncture points. He also describe deep pressure treatment on the sides of both feet and big toes.

In 1582 Zone therapy was described by Drs. Adams and Bell in Leipzig Germany. This was the beginning of reflexology.

In 1642 LiNienWo wrote a book on organ representation on the face. Visual images were described representing various organs on the face pupils, and iris of the eyes. In 1670 Dr Meyers in Dresden Germany described iridology. In 1713 Dr Miyawaki wrote a book on the importance of treatment of the feet and hands with three techniques: flicking of the ips of the finger to relax spastic muscles; rotating joints, and extending and vending the joints; and finish the therapy by massaging and rubbing the muscles. Five different treatments were described: acupuncture, moxibustion, medication, massage, and prayer.

In 1820 the Cherokees in North Carolina used pressure therapy on the feet. In London in 1898 Sir Henry described zones on the skin that were hypersensitive when certain organs were diseased.
In 1902 Dr Cornelius wrote a book called Druckpunkte on the value of pressure points. In 1917 Bowers and Fitzgerald wrote a book about zone therapy (foot reflexology). In 1950 Dr Nogier in Lyons France discovered that the ear contained a representation of every part of the body. In 1975 Dr Tae-Woo-Yoo of South Korea discovered the same true for the hand. In 1994 Dr. Y. Omura of New York City mapped out on the palm of the hand and the sole of the foot representative connections with different organs in the body. He also clarified the acupuncture points on the tongue for diagnosis using the bidigital O-ring test that he discovered.

We have placed representative images of these various modalities to encourage you the reader to see for yourself the results of massaging these point or using deep pressure on points that you might find correspond to problems you are having. One can use a ballpoint pen or a heavy-duty paper clip and press for 3 minutes on these points. You may find relief of your symptoms for 4-6 hours or longer. Have fun and good luck.

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EAR ACUPUNCTURE

Ear acupuncture is only about 50 years old. Paul Nogiers a neurlogist from Lyons, France became involved with this discovery when a woman entered his office one day in the early 1950s. She said she had back pain for years. Dr. Nogiers said perhaps he could help her. She remarked "No. I had back pain for years but is was cured by a woman in the Mid East. She burnt my ear and the pain has been gone since." Dr Nogiers scientific curiosity was aroused as he saw a scar on her ear. From that point he searched for other areas on the ear that might relieve ailments and discovered that the ear has points communicating with the in Germany a lecture on the subject. A Chinese contingency photographed his slides and they pursued the subject by using the Red army as subjects. They developed a map of the ear which we present here in our website. Dr Nogiers published many works on the subject and recently died at the age of 88.

In 1972 a Japanese physician, Dr. Y. Omura began a detoxification program at Lincoln Hospital in New York City to see if acupuncture could remove the cocaine withdrawals. Indeed it worked and Dr. Michael Smith and others followed his work for that treatment. As a side affect, Dr. Omura found that many of his addicted patients had quit smoking and many also lost weight. This lead to the use of acupuncture to help people quit smoking and lose weight.

Our second picture shows points that you can use for pain relief or other ailments. All you have to do is touch the area with a heavy duty paper clip for 3 minutes and you should see a response.
Perhaps you notice basketball coaches frantically rubbing their ears when they are in a tense game. Or note how your significant other may become aroused as you nibble on his or her ear.

The subject is quite complex and there are many points. At least it gets you stated. There are many acupuncturists that even use the ear exclusively to solve problems.

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HAND ACUPUNCTURE

This started in Korea where it was noted that you would find a tender spot on the hand and as you touched it various joint and back pains were relieve for 6 hours and longer. This led to the development of hand acupuncture to aid in the treatment of many illnesses. There are also acupuncture points that stimulate and sedate various meridians. In the hand diagrams, we have limited ourselves to various joint and back pains. To simplify things, think of the fingers as a horse. The middle finger is the head and neck and spine. The second and fourth fingers are the upper extremities, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. The thumb and little finger are the lower extremities, ankle, knee and hip.

The spine and back are on the back of the hand and run along the middle finger. For acupressure purposes we ask you to limit yourself to the third, fourth, and fifth fingers. As in our diagrams, if you have a particular joint problem, take a heavy-duty paper clip or ball point pen and press on the appropriate spot for three minutes to relieve the pain. Again it last about 6 hours, but you can do it again.

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BODY ACUPUNCTURE

We have listed various points that are used for joint pains. Again, you can massage or press these spots to get relief.

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BODY MERIDIANS

There are 12 known meridian, or rivers of energy that flow through the body. The diagrams show the pathways and locations on the body. An acupuncturist can tap into the meridian that needs balancing by needling any of these points to get the balancing effect. There are numerous points on these meridians that serve as relay stations. Revisit "How acupuncture works to find the functions of the various meridians and how they related to each other."

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TONGUE DIAGNOSIS

This diagram of the tongue shows the latest organ representations from the work of Dr. Y. Omura. You might look at your tongue. If you find irregularities or changes in color over the areas noted on the diagram you might consider seeing your health provider. Tongue diagnosis is as ancient as acupuncture and when abnormalities present, the acupuncturist taps the appropriate meridians that are related to the organs.

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PULSE DIAGNOSIS

The pulses at the wrist reflect the state of Energy in the body and mind. Is the Chi in that meridian weak, strong, or normal? By reading the pulses one knows what is happening in all the meridian processes of the human body. Consider the white and black keys on the piano keyboard. The black keys would be the superficial pulses and the white keys the deep pulses. One finger can tap or feel the black and white key adjacent to each other. There are twelve meridians and there are twelve pulse readings. Six meridians are on the left hand and the other six are on the right hand.
The superficial pulses include the hollow organs, while the deep pulses pick up the condition of the solid organs.

Reading the pulses is done by gentle palpation and is done with great concentration. Each pulse is read separately but all form a cohesive harmonious picture of the whole person.

The pulses for the Liver and Gall Bladder are read on the left hand. They are both read with the middle finger at the radial artery area of the wrist. Both are in the same location, however the deeper pulse is in the Liver.
The pulse for the heart and small intestines are read on the left hand by the index finger and are more distal. Superficial pressure finds the small intestine meridian while deeper palpation finds the heart pulse.
Illustrations of the other positions are found on the accompanying diagram.

Each pulse has a sister, which is why two are read in the same position though at different pressure. The coupling maintains the balance of two inseparable cosmic forces that depend on the Chi Energy for balance, that is YinYang. Information on the pulses can disclose 28 different characteristics. It takes years to accomplish pulse readings but it is another way of accurately assessing the condition of the energy pathways in the body.

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