The tradition is as much about the maintenance of health as the management of disease. Western or medical acupuncture is a more recent development practised predominantly by doctors and physiotherapists which uses acupuncture techniques within their existing scope of practice on the basis of a western medical diagnosis. There are twelve main pairs of meridians connected by deeper pathways with twelve organ systems which the meridians are named after. The meridians are quite separate from the nerves, blood vessels and lymphatic ducts, and although they do not appear to have any defined anatomical structure, points on the meridians can be detected with electronic instruments.
There are over six hundred points on the main meridians and many extra ones in other areas.
It is the stimulation of these points by which acupuncturists regulate the energy flow and thereby affecting your body's own healing response.
Acupuncture Means Needle Piercing
