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Chinese medicine is based on a pre-scientific paradigm of
medicine that developed over several thousand years. Its theory
holds the following explanation of acupuncture:
Health is a condition of balance of yin and yang within the
body. Particularly important in acupuncture is the free flow of
Qi, a difficult-to-translate concept that pervades Chinese
philosophy and is commonly translated as "vital energy"). Qi is
immaterial and hence yang; its yin, material counterpart is
Blood (capitalized to distinguish it from physiological blood,
and very roughly equivalent to it). Acupuncture treatment
regulates the flow of Qi and Blood, tonifying where there is
deficiency, draining where there is excess, and promoting free
flow where there is stagnation. An axiom of the medical
literature of acupuncture is "no pain, no blockage; no blockage,
no pain."
Many patients claim to experience the sensations of stimulus
known in Chinese as de qi ("obtaining the Qi" or "arrival of the
Qi"). This kind of sensation was historically considered to be
evidence of effectively locating the desired point. (There are
some electronic devices now available which will make a noise
when what they have been programmed to describe as the "correct"
acupuncture point is pressed).
TCM treats the human body as a whole that involves several
"systems of function" generally named after anatomical organs
but not directly associated with them. The Chinese term for
these systems is Zang Fu, where zang is translated as "viscera"
or solid organs and fu is translated as "bowels" or hollow
organs. In order to distinguish systems of function from
physical organs, Zang Fu are capitalized in English, thus Lung,
Heart, Kidney, etc. Disease is understood as a loss of balance
of Yin, Yang, Qi and Blood (which bears some resemblance to
homeostasis). Treatment of disease is attempted by modifying the
activity of one or more systems of function through the activity
of needles, pressure, heat, etc. on sensitive parts of the body
of small volume traditionally called "acupuncture points" in
English, or "xue" (穴, cavities) in Chinese. This is referred to
in TCM as treating "patterns of disharmony."
