Acupuncture; an ancient route to balanced health.

In ancient China acupuncture was the main medicine used before the spread of Western medicine. The early Chinese communist party questioned the ancient medicine calling it superstitious, ridiculous and backward and encouraged the integration of conventional medicine. Nowadays our society is beginning to revisit these ancient times and use more traditional and alternative health treatments such as acupuncture. The launch of The Acupuncture Council of Ireland in June 2006 by Minister for Health Mary Harney T.D. is a reflection of this change. I visited Rossadale Medical Centre in Bishopstown to find out more.
Gary Murphy is a qualified acupuncturist since 1978. But Gary wasn’t the only Murphy to rebalance chi for a living. His father Kerry Murphy was the first traditionally qualified acupuncturist in Ireland in 1960. As a young child Gary was fascinated with his fathers work and vowed to follow in the footsteps of his talented father. And that’s exactly what he did. He presently works from his own practice in Bishopstown where his exuberant energy entertains his clients as he rebalances theirs.
But what is acupuncture all about? To understand the art of acupuncture it’s necessary to think outside the box. In school we learn of the different systems the body is made up of; the circulatory, excretory, digestive and so on. But what of the energy our body is made up of? This energy is known as chi and runs along unseen paths called meridians. When an illness or health condition occurs it is due to an imbalance in the energy distributed throughout the body. This imbalance or blockage will manifest itself as a headache, migraine, depression or skin problem, the list is endless. Acupuncture is effectively the balancing of this chi through the insertion of needles at specific meridians. ‘We are trying to create a balance in the system’, says Gary, ‘An acupuncturist would never claim to cure any condition or illness. They will stimulate the bodies own natural healing process. That is not to say that acupuncture can not treat any condition or illness but the success with some can be more effective than with others. A condition which has been worsening over thirty years may not be as treatable as a three week old injury or illness but acupuncture will certainly alleviate the symptoms.’
So what does a treatment entail? Gary diagnoses the condition using pulse points on the wrist. These points correspond to the organs in the body and a weak pulse indicates an imbalance in the complementary organ. ‘The pulses tell us the strength of chi which is the life force within the organs internally. Because the system is a complete unit the pulses should all read the same. When they don’t I know something is wrong’. Once an imbalance is diagnosed extremely fine needles are placed in the acupuncture points barely under the skin. This may seem daunting but trust me it’s not painful. ‘For organic problems the less needles applied the better and the more specific the treatment’, Gary tells me as I question the lone needle on my knee, ‘The wiring system on the knee taps into problems involving the liver, stomach, spleen, bladder and kidneys. The arms contain meridians for the lungs, heart, colon, intestines and circulatory system. The other 950 meridians scattered around the body are used in conjunction with these points to improve the quality of the energy. Acupuncture is also great for treating muscular problems as it deals with all aspects of the problem at the same time i.e. muscular tightness, nerve pain and inflammation of the tissue. We can use as many needles as we like in a given area as the condition is not specific’.
Gary recommends 6-8 treatments but stresses that the duration of treatments differs with the severity of the condition. ‘A sports injury can be sorted out and this is where the story ends for the patient and me. An organic problem can reoccur more easily therefore it is a good idea to have a couple of sessions a year as a preventative measure once an imbalance has been sorted.’ It is important to note that since acupuncture is essentially a detoxifying process therefore symptoms can worsen at the beginning of a treatment as the problem comes to the surface. ‘This is perfectly normal’, Gary tells me, ‘And shows that the body is beginning to heal itself. Once your system balances out you will feel good about yourself both inside and out’.
Research is ongoing with regards to acupuncture. The University Medical Centre in Berlin concluded that acupuncture can help ease the pain of arthritis and that patients were seen to enjoy a better quality of life as a result of 15 sessions of acupuncture. Of course this is just one of many studies and many are sure to follow. With the increasing awareness of alternative health treatments in today’s society the vast range of ailments acupuncture can relieve are sure to be soon researched and revealed. A session with Gary costs €30.00 and you can contact his surgery on 021 4342000.