Acupuncture Therapeutics

Traditional Chinese medicine developed from the Taoist philosophies and the concepts of universal opposites, called in Chinese “YinandYang.” Based on the flow through the body of life energy and of blood, the structure includes 12 major body organs, 5 elements, 14 meridians, and internal and external causes of disease affected by 6 climates and 7 emotional states, and 4 diagnostic technics. At Maimonides Medical Center, acupuncture was accepted for evaluation as an experimental therapeutic modality. Methods and equipment are described, and technics for (1) herniorrhaphy, (2) trigeminal neuralgia, and (3) knee-joint pain are selected for detailed study. At the Pain Therapy Center, 357 patients were treated at 2041 sessions in 12 months. Grouped in broad categories, the percentages with partial or complete improvement were orthopedics, 75 percent; arthritis, 68 percent; neurology, 45 percent; nerve deafness, 21 percent, and miscellaneous, 40 percent. Relatively few patients (15 percent) had complete relief. Three patients underwent inguinal herniorrhaphy with acupuncture anesthesia with satisfactory results.