Acupoint Location and Needling

AcuSkills is an educational site that covers acupuncture point location and needling techniques. It covers 143 acupuncture points and their primary TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) functions and uses.

There is are also a list of commonly used acupuncture point combinations in clinical practice.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Acupuncture Theory

If you are interested in TCM Theory, there is a section that starts with the principles of Yin and Yang through to TCM diagnostic principles and patterns of disharmony for the Zang-Fu system.

Modern thoughts on Traditional Acupuncture

In ‘Mapping the evidence base and use of acupuncture within the NHS’, DPHE 2007, Report Number 59, the following points are made:

• Inserting and manipulating needles regulates functions such as heart rate, body temperature, and respiration, as well as sleep patterns and emotional changes.

• Acupuncture treatment is thought to have an effect on motor function and be mildly sedative – the reasons for this are not clear.

• Its calming effects are often used in combination with other techniques in complex emotional disorders such as depression, panic attacks, insomnia, addiction etc.

• Acupuncture has been used in clinics to:
  • Relieve stress and anxiety.
  • Reduce symptoms of depression.
  • Help people with physical ailments.
  • Assist people with substance abuse disorders through detoxification.

Additionally, The British Medical Journal 1999; 319:973-976 (9 October) states:

• Certain aspects of traditional acupuncture, which have some empirical support, resist conventional explanation… there are no known anatomical or physiological explanations for these observations.