The Biomedical Basis of Holistic Acupuncture

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The Biomedical Basis of Holistic Acupuncture

by Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac.

 

Abstract

 

In trying to find ways to unite or just bring closer the mysterious

transformational techniques of the East to the reductionism theories

of the West, our Western medical science has tried to organize a

logical explanation of how the insertion of tiny acupuncture needles

can reduce and even dissolve pain in the human form.This research

takes a look at the different approaches the Biosciences have

attempted in explaining the way holistic acupuncture works in

healing. This research will take a look at the biochemical,

biomechanical, as well as bio-electromagnetic theories that have been

developed in trying to explain the healing aspects of the Ancient Art

of Acupuncture.

 

Keywords

 

Acupuncture, Biomechanical, Biochemical, Electromagnetic,

Biosciences, Healing, Meridians, Channels, Traditional Chinese

Medicine, Analgesic, Connective Tissue, Cellular Biology, Health,

Eastern, Western, Medical, Paradigm, Physiology, Physics.

 

The Ancient Art of Acupuncture is the needling of specific points

along " meridians " or channels that run throughout our body.

Acupuncture can be traced back as far as the Stone Age in China, when

stone knives and pointed rocks were used to relieve pain and

diseases. " These instruments were known by the ancients as " bian " In

the Han Dynasty (206 BC to 220 AD) an Analytical Dictionary of

Characters " Shuo Wen Jie Zi " describes the character " bian " as

meaning a stone to treat disease. " (1) Later these stones were

replaced by needles made of bamboo and slivers of animal bone, then

finally in the Shang Dynasty bronze casting techniques made metal

needles possible, which conducted electricity and Qi. This led to the

mapping of the meridian system or channels of energy within the body.

 

Acupuncture remained relatively unheard of until 1974 when James

Reston, a reporter for the New York Times accompanied President Nixon

on a trip to China where they witnessed an appendectomy and several

demonstrations of serious surgeries being performed with acupuncture

as the only anesthetic using Acupuncture Anesthesia. Despite many

efforts to prove it's efficiency, Western science has never been able

to reconcile how Acupuncture works. They can prove " that " it works,

but not " how " it works.

 

Biochemical theories

 

Most of the scientific studies of acupuncture have been centered on

the analgesic aspects of pain relief. Acupuncture is definitely

effective in treating pain; it works 70% to 80% of the time, far

greater than the placebo, which only has about 30% efficiency. (2)

The problem with attributing all of acupuncture's effects to the

placebo effect, which is based on a " suggestive way " or the fact that

one just wants to believe that it works, was the fact that

veterinarians in China have used acupuncture successfully to treat

animals. (3)

 

Dr. Bruce Promeranz, working at the University of Toronto, was very

involved in research done on acupuncture analgesia. By activating

small myelinated nerve fibers, acupuncture applications send impulses

to the spinal chord, midbrain and pituitary-hypothalamus in the

diencephelon. (4) Neurological research done in the late 70's

discovered the naturally occurring chemicals in the body known as

endorphins. (5) By binding to the opiate receptors that are found

throughout the nervous system, endorphins are able to stop pain. The

hypothalamus-pituitary releases Beta-endorphins into the blood and

cerebral spinal fluid to create an analgesic effect by causing

incoming pain signals from reaching the brain. Pomeranz discovered

that pre-treating rats with a drug called Naloxone, a drug known to

block the healing endorphins, could not achieve acupuncture pain

relief. This finding suggested that endorphin release caused by

acupuncture stimulus was an important mechanism behind acupuncture's

pain relieving effects.

 

Pomeranz was then interested in the effects of electrical stimulation

and manipulation of acupuncture needles. What he also discovered was

the difference between high frequency, low intensity vs. low

frequency, high intensity application.

 

The low frequency, high intensity produced an analgesic effect which

was slower at the onset but longer in duration and also having

cumulative effects. Therefore, repeated treatments produce more and

more benefits for the patient.

 

The high frequency, low intensity produced a very rapid analgesic

effect, which is great for acute pain but shorter in duration with no

cumulative effects. (6)

 

There are presently 100 different neurotransmitters and

neuroendocrine substances in the body, of which the endorphins

constitute only one class. (7) Hence, there is much work to be done

in testing and researching these chemicals and their possible effects

with acupuncture.

 

Biomechanical theories

 

The biomechanical questions had to do with the presents of meridians

in the body. These are the channels in the body, which are filled

with our life force, energy – Qi. The meridians are said to circulate

Qi throughout the system of the body. In an attempt to locate the

meridians anatomically, two French Drs. Claude Darras and Pierre De

Vernejoul injected human studies with radioactive isotopes into

acupuncture points. A solution of an ionic salt of technetium was

injected and followed over a period of time with a gamma ray camera.

The radioactive technetium followed the exact same pathways of the

meridian channels described and illustrated in several hundred-year-

old acupuncture charts of the human body! (8) To ensure that the Drs.

were measuring meridians and not blood vessels or lymphatic channels,

some patients received technetium injections adjacent to non-acupoint

skin regions as well as in nearby blood and lymphatic channels. The

radioactive tracers tended to diffuse outward from the injection site

into a typical small circular pattern. (9)

 

In 1975, Dr. Liu YK researched the location of acupoints present at

sites of motor nerves. His work realized that acupoints correspond to

regions where motor nerves enter skeletal muscle and where there is a

great density of motor nerve terminal elements at the surface. As

well, there was found to be dense clusters of encapsulated autonomic

nerve mechanoreceptor sites at these points. (10) Further research

was done on Dr. Liu's work. Dr. Watari published a report in Beijing,

China in November 1987, based on his work. He found that

histologically, volume density of corresponding acupoints to blood

vessels are elevated fourfold and that of nerves 1.4 times over that

of surrounding tissues. These vessels and fibers mingle to form

glomerular structures. (11)

 

This was exciting new biomechanical evidence in both identifying the

meridian channels in the human body and the fact that the acupuncture

points on the body have corresponding volume densities that increase

with stimulation.

 

Bio-electromagnetic theories

 

Science has long been aware of an electrical phenomenon called

the " Current of Injury " .This happens when tissue in the body

undergoes trauma or microscopic damage to an area of skin. When skin

cells are pierced, as with an acupuncture needle, they start leaking

electrically charged ions into the surrounding areas of tissue. A

weak electrical battery-like charge is created. This electric current

is called the current of injury, which is know to stimulate a healing

response from the nearby cells. This does not explain how stimulating

acupoints with low level, non-invasive lasers could achieve the same

therapeutic effects. (12)

 

The electrical conductivity of acupoints has been known for several

decades thanks to the work of Nakatani in the 1950s and by Dr. Robert

Becker in the 1970s. Becker's work on the Large Intestine and the

Pericardium meridians found that the points along these channels

showed significantly more electrical conductivity than areas of skin

with non-acupoints.

 

In 1986 German scientist Fritz-Albert Popp and Chinese biologist,

Chang-Lin Zhang developed a model they called the " Standing Wave

Superposition Hypothesis " . This research attempts to accommodate the

holographic nature of acupuncture such as the homunculus or miniature

representation of the whole body represented in the ears and the

feet. The theory also strives to explain the anomalous skin

resistance properties of acupuncture points as well as the apparent

interconnectivity between them. (13)

 

In the Zhang-Popp model, it is shown that the body is composed of

sodium, potassium and other electrically charged inorganic ions such

as proteins and DNA which when accelerated will emit EM radiation in

accordance with conventional physical theory. With these many types

of charges oscillating in the body, an interference pattern is

produced formed by the various waves of various wavelengths.

 

The highest combination of wave amplitudes forms the acupuncture

points and meridians by means of constructive interference. At these

points the skin is at the highest in electrical conductivity. This

conductivity depends on the internal electrical field, which is

determined by the interference pattern from the superposition of the

numerous waves. (14) Hence, the standing wave pattern of a sick

person would have a varied pattern from that of a healthier person.

The treatment of acupuncture with needles in the acupoints would

cause a disturbance in the standard wave pattern caused by new

boundaries formed by the needle. The needle activates the current of

injury response resulting in a change in the EM field, producing

changes in the biological response, which may promote healing. It is

this theory, which implicates the EM fields of the entire body.

 

 

The principle of the Connective Tissue Continuum is another approach

at viewing the correlation of acupuncture to the bio-electromagnetic

theory. From a cellular level through to the bodies' connective

tissue, these living organisms are considered a continuum. Not only

is the entire cell now known to be mechanically and electrically

interconnected in a " solid state " (15), but, all the cells in the

body are in turn interconnected to one another via the connective

tissues (16).

 

The function of connective tissues is to keep the body organized,

acting as a lace work between the major organs and tissues, to

strengthen the wall of arteries, veins, intestines and pathways and

to provide fascia and the skeletal structure attachment to the

muscles. It is believed that connective tissues may be largely

responsible for the rapid intercommunication that enables our body to

function effectively as a coherent whole, and is therefore central to

our health and well-being. Recent studies with Nuclear Magnetic

Resonance has shown that the muscles in living human subjects provide

evidence of a " liquid-crystalline-like " structure (17). Liquid

crystals usually undergo rapid changes in phases or transitions when

exposed to electromagnetic fields. Liquid crystals will also respond

to changes in temperature, hydration, pressure and shear forces.

Biological liquid crystals carry static electric charges and are

influenced by pH, salt concentration and dielectric constant of the

solvent.

 

There are many types of liquid crystals, from those which are most

liquid, to those which are most solid. Those that are most liquid can

flow as water does, and even though all molecules tend to be aligned

in one direction, individual molecules can move very freely and

change places with each other while maintaining their common

orientation. The ones that resemble solid crystal will have order and

will remain flexible and responsive. It is already widely recognized

that all the major constituents of living organisms may be liquid

crystal such as lipids of cellular membranes, DNA, possibly all

proteins, especially cytoskeletal proteins, muscle proteins, and

proteins in the connective tissues such as collagens and

proteoglycans (18). It is through this " liquid network " that

scientist believe an acupuncture response is solicited.

 

In conclusion

 

By looking at the Bioscience attempts in explaining the way holistic

acupuncture works in healing, we are introduced to some very notable

concepts. Observing the biochemical view, we see, by Pomeranz

research, that the hypothalamus-pituitary releases Beta-endorphins

into the blood and cerebral spinal fluid to create an analgesic

effect by causing incoming pain signals from reaching the brain. The

low frequency, high intensity produced an analgesic effect which was

slower at the onset but longer in duration and also having cumulative

effects. Therefore, repeated treatments produce more and more

benefits for the patient. The high frequency, low intensity produced

a very rapid analgesic effect, great for acute pain but, shorter in

duration with no cumulative effects.

 

Biomechanically, Drs. Claude Darras and Pierre De Vernejoul injected

human studies with radioactive isotopes into acupuncture points. A

solution of an ionic salt of technetium was injected and followed

over a period of time with a gamma ray camera. The radioactive

technetium followed the exact same pathways of the meridian channels

described and charted in several hundred-year-old acupuncture charts

of the human body! Dr. Liu YK researched the location of acupoints

present at sites of motor nerves. His work realized that acupoints

correspond to regions where motor nerves enter skeletal muscle and

where there is a great density of motor nerve terminal elements at

the surface.

 

Bio-electromagnetic theories are based on the Current Of Injury,

which is know to stimulate a healing response from the nearby cells.

The electrical conductivity of acupoints researched by Nakatani in

the 1950s and by Dr. Robert Becker in the 1970s found that the points

along the channels showed significantly more electrical conductivity

than areas of skin with non-acupoints.

 

The Zhang-Popp model, shows us that the body is composed of sodium,

potassium and other electrically charged inorganic ions such as

proteins and DNA which when accelerated will emit EM radiation in

accordance with conventional physical theory. The acupuncture needle

activates the current of injury response resulting in a change in the

EM field, producing changes in the biological response.

 

The Connective Tissue Continuum embraces the concept that the

cytoskeletal structure of each individual cell in the body is a

homunculus of the connective tissue in which it creates. Magnetic

Resonance has shown that the muscles in living human subjects provide

evidence of a " liquid-crystalline-like " structure. Liquid crystals

usually undergo rapid changes in phases or transitions when exposed

to electromagnetic fields. It is through this " liquid network " that

scientist believe an electromagnetic response from acupuncture is

solicited. This research represents much of the current biological

views on how acupuncture heals and tries to explain the Biomedical

Basis of Holistic Acupuncture.

 

References

 

1. Sources of Chinese Tradition –Vol. 1 WM Theodore DeBary,

Irene Bloom Columbia University Press NY, NY 1999

2. Scientific Basis of Acupuncture – B. Pomeranz Acupuncture

textbook and Atlas, NY, NY 1987

3. Vibrational Medicine for the 21 Century- Richard Gerber M.D.

Eagle Brook, NY, NY 2000 – " Acupuncture and "

4. " Can Western Science Provide A Foundation For Acupuncture " -

Beverly Rubik, PhD. Alternative Therapies Magazine September 1995,

Vol. 1 Number 4

5. Vibrational Medicine for the 21 Century- Richard Gerber M.D.

Eagle Brook, NY, NY 2000 – " Acupuncture and "

6. Scientific Basis of Acupuncture – B. Pomeranz Acupuncture

textbook and Atlas, NY, NY 1987

7. " Can Western Science Provide A Foundation For Acupuncture " -

Beverly Rubik, PhD. Alternative Therapies Magazine September 1995,

Vol. 1 Number 4

8. Vibrational Medicine for the 21 Century- Richard Gerber M.D.

Eagle Brook, NY, NY 2000 – " Acupuncture and "

9. Vibrational Medicine for the 21 Century- Richard Gerber M.D.

Eagle Brook, NY, NY 2000 – " Acupuncture and "

10. " Can Western Science Provide A Foundation For Acupuncture " -

Beverly Rubik, PhD. Alternative Therapies Magazine September 1995,

Vol. 1 Number 4

11. " Can Western Science Provide A Foundation For Acupuncture " -

Beverly Rubik, PhD. Alternative Therapies Magazine September 1995,

Vol. 1 Number 4

12. Vibrational Medicine for the 21 Century- Richard Gerber M.D.

Eagle Brook, NY, NY 2000 – " Acupuncture and "

13. " Can Western Science Provide A Foundation For Acupuncture " -

Beverly Rubik, PhD. Alternative Therapies Magazine September 1995,

Vol. 1 Number 4

14. " Can Western Science Provide A Foundation For Acupuncture " -

Beverly Rubik, PhD. Alternative Therapies Magazine September 1995,

Vol. 1 Number 4

15. Clegg J.S. and Drost-Hansen W. On the biochemistry and cell

physiologyof water. In: Hochachka and Mommsen (eds.). Biochemistry

and molecular biologyof fishes. Elsevier Science Publ. vol.1, Ch.1,

pp.1-23, 1991

16. Oschman, James L. (Oct. 1996-Jan. 1998) What is 'Healing

Energy'?The Scientific Basis of Energy Medicine. J of Bodywork and

Moveme nt Therapies.(Series of articles.) Part 1-6. Kreisand

Boesch, 1994

17. Giraud-Guille, M.M. (1988) & quot;Twisted plywoodarchitecture

of collagen fibrils in human compact bone osteons & quot;,

Calcif.Tissue Int., 42:167-180.

18. Knight,D. and Feng, D. (1993). Collagens as liquid crystals,

British Association for the Advancement of Science, Chemistry

Session: Molecular Self-Assembly in Science and Life, Sept. 1, Keele.

 

 

 

Andrew Pacholyk, MS, L.Ac

http://www.peacefulmind.com

Therapies for healing

mind, body, spirit