Articles are added continually. Variations of the following articles appear in the selected journals. PDF Texts require Adobe Acrobat Viewer.
Acupuncture and Total Joint Replacement Surgery: An Energy Strategy for Selected Patients
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 22 / Number 1 / 2010
Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), and excessive bleeding are serious albeit rare complications of major joint surgery. Chinese Medicine would relate these phenomena to Qi/Blood stagnation and Spleen Qi deficiency, induced by effects of surgery and drugs. Drawing from acupuncture theory and personal experience, the authors suggest an energetic approach that might enhance current prevention strategies for suitable patients.
Acupuncture and Context, Acupuncture Research: A Personal View
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 21 / Number 3 / 2009
Drugs and Acupuncture: The Energetic Impact of Antidepressant Medications
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 21 / Number 1 / 2009
Many patients seeking acupuncture are taking antidepressants, yet rarely do they appreciate the impact such drugs might have on the acupuncture process. In this paper, the author explores the energetic effect of antidepressants, using side-effect profiles and the impressions of other practitioners. The argument is made that antidepressants can interfere with acupuncture and can even prevent patients from getting to the root of their ill- ness.
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 20 / Number 1 / 2008
The concept of possession, which can be difficult for physicians to accept, is a key concept in Five Element acupuncture and one associated with definitive therapeutic protocols. The author contends that the notion of possession, once stripped of its demoniacal images, is actually a common phenomenon that might better be understood as a field effect. This, in turn, might lead to more creative acupuncture strategies.
Drugs and Acupuncture: The Energetic Impact of Antihypertensives
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 19 / Number 1 / 2007
The issue of a patient’s medications can be a matter of prime concern to medical acupuncturists. In this article, I use adverse effect profiles and pulse changes to explore the energetic effects of various antihypertensives and suggest that the intentional vector behind drug treatment for hypertension may be in direct opposition to that of acupuncture. Herein, I explore this issue and discuss four commonly used classes of drugs: ß-blockers, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics.
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 13 / Number 1 / 2007
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 17 / Number 3 / 2006
The concept of chakras is not generally considered part of the acupuncture paradigm. Yet like the acupuncture points of Chinese medicine, the chakras are energy nodes with specific functions and correlations. The author suggests that a familiarity with the chakras can be a useful adjunct to medical acupuncture, and interested practitioners can find simple ways of integrating concepts of chakras with traditional acupuncture theory.
Shifting a Paradigm with Acupuncture: 5-Phases and the Mysterious Path
JAMAC / Volume 22 / Number 1 / 2006
Accumulation / Depletion Syndrome: The Energetic Root of Stress and Burnout
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 16 / Number 3 / 2005
The idea that acupuncturists might take on pathogenic energies from their patients may initially seem preposterous. Yet many practitioners will confirm that accumulation occurs and that it can lead gradually to stress and burnout. This article explores the phenomenon of patient-to-physician energy transfers and suggests strategies for proactive management.
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 17 / Number 1 / 2005
Acupuncture and Empowerment: Transforming the Therapeutic Relationship to Facilitate the Flow fo Qi
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 15 / Number 2 / 2004
There is an emerging consensus in medicine that patients should be more involved in the clinical decision-making process and that they be empowered to act as full partners with their physicians in their health care. But despite the consensus, empowerment remains an elusive goal. The author argues that this is so because the current medical paradigm is in innately disempowering, and that empowerment might better be facilitated with acupuncture through an application of Five-Element principles in the context of a transformed therapeutic relationship.
Needle Shock: Adverse Effect Or Transformational Signal
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 16 / Number 3 / 2004
“Needle shock” is a syndrome which occurs in about 5% of acupuncture patients. It presents as general malaise, cold perspiration, nausea, and in extreme situations, loss of consciousness. Traditional teaching suggests that when it occurs needles should all be removed, the session terminated, and the client informed they might not be a good candidate for acupuncture. The author suggests that needle shock may simply be a signal for a large energy shift, and not necessarily a negative effect.
Acupuncture and the Heart-Mind Split
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 14 / Number 2 / 2003
The Oriental medical concept of a Heart-mind split has no obvious counterpart in Western medicine. Patients with such a split are often labelled as anxious or depressed, and treated pharmacologically. The author contends that the omission occurs because the split is a fundamental feature of collective consciousness, and an expression of both medicine and scientific rationalism. He goes on to say that conventional treatment regimens may inadvertently exacerbate the split while in contrast, acupuncture’s holistic philosophy can offer a way to successful re-integration.
Acupuncture and Evidence Based Medicine: A Philosophical Critique
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 13 / Number 2 / 2002
The current popularity of evidence-based medicine poses a challenge for acupuncture and other interactive therapies. This article explores the assumption of objectivity involved in gathering evidence, suggests that objectivity is an inappropriate standard for acupuncture, and concludes that where acupuncture and other interactive therapies are concerned, the objective/subjective dichotomy is perhaps transcended.
Psychosomatic Compartmentalization: The Root of Qi and Blood Stagnation
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 13 / Number 1 / 2001
Stagnation of Qi and Blood are basic clinical patterns of Oriental Medicine, but their origin from splits in consciousness is rarely considered clinically significant. This article suggests that the root of stagnation lies in the mind’s attempt to control existential anxiety through strategies of energy containment which give rise to psychosomatic compartmentalization. The author then goes on to suggest that attention to these strategies is at least as important as any particular acupuncture protocol.
Splits in Consciousness from an Acupuncture Perspective
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 11 / Number 2 / 1999
Acupuncture and Intention: Needling Without Needles
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 11 / Number 1 / 1999
The Use of Ear Acupuncture to Promote Vaginal Delivery After Previous Cesarean Section
AJA / Volume 20 / Number 4 / 1992
Whiplash Syndrome: A Transformational Approach
Humane Medicine / Volume 7 / Number 3 / 1991
By Peter J. Nunn, Michael T. Greenwood
Traditional Acupuncture Treatment for Whiplash Syndrome
AJA / Volume 16 / Number 4 / 1988
The Atlas of Mind, Body, and Spirit
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 20 / Number 3 / 2008
By Paul Hougham (Gaia Books, London, © 2006)
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 17 / Number 2 / 2006
By Claus C. Schnorrenberger (Wisdom Publications, Boston © 2003)
Complementary Therapies in Neurology: An Evidence-Based Approach
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 17 / Number 3 / 2006
Edited by Barry S. Oken (Parthenon Publishing Group, New York & London © 2003)
Healing Uncontrived: The Bear's Embrace: a true story of surviving a grizzly bear attack
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 164 / Number 11 / 2001
By Patricia Van Tighem (Greystone books, Vancouver, B.C. © 2001)
Chinese Medicine and Psychiatry: A Textbook and Clinical Manual
Medical Acupuncture / Volume 13 / Number 1 / 2001
By Bob Flaws & James Lake MD (Blue Poppy Press, Boulder CO, © 2001)
Medical Acupuncture - Published by The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
AJA - American Journal of Acupuncture
Humane Medicine - A Journal of the Art and Science of Medicine Published by the Canadian Medical Association
CMAJ - Canadian Medical Association Journal Published by the Canadian Medical Association
JAMAC - Journal of the Australian Medical Acupuncture College