[imark3000]

This is only 1/10000 of what goes on in our bodies through the curative application of this ancient medical science, Western medicine has a long way to catch up !
Imad
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27083_3-20006371-247.html

[lindylanka]

I am old enough to remember the experience of James Reston in China when he came down with, I think, appendicitis, in Beijing, many years ago, and was operated on by surgeons using acupuncture.

I had a year of weekly treatments prior to diagnosis. I would say they held back some of the effects of PD for at least half the week, and allowed me to function while working. They in no way offered any kind of 'cure', but that is something my acupuncturist would never have claimed. The treatments were not all the same, they worked on how I was on the day of the treatment, and I guess that there is a whole different way of thinking by the acupuncturist that does not correlate at all to the thinking within western or allopathic medicine.

I have no problems accepting the 'chi' system, anyone who has done a lot of martial arts will understand how it works, it is neither bogus, nor mystical. It is a practical way of thinking about the body.

Prior to diagnosis, I had a long period of devastating migraine, with little actual pain, but with full blown visual effects, nausea, and a heaviness on my PD affected side, sometimes several times a day. The only thing that had the least effect on these was using a series of acupressure points on both hands, self administered, which brought the migraines to a swift end. Later, on sinemet these completely disappeared. In over seven years I have only had 4 migraines. I did not have a great belief in using these points initially, I was quite sceptical

The study reported above may not be as good at proving the validity of acupuncture as it may appear, given the reported very short effect of anenosine. Nevertheless, there are those among us who have benefited from procedures such as DBS that have no more basis in 'hard science' than acupuncture, and we take medication that is efficacious even though the mechanisms are poorly understood.

Science itself is not the clear cut thing we believe it to be, often it postulates an effect, and then looks for the causes and conditions to prove the theory. If we apply the same logic that discredits acupuncture to many medical therapies (often for chronic conditions), as opposed to medical procedures (often for acute conditions), we would find that they too are on the fuzzy borders of understanding.....

I am keeping an open mind on the meridians, chi points, and acupuncture. It's often difficult to remember that less than 300 years ago, medical science in the western world was using leeches, cupping, and blood-letting as therapies across the board for a multitude of conditions, acute and chronic, the barber was likely to be the best medical professional you could find, and that the simple art of hand washing had not yet been linked to sepsis.
Having said that, leeches have now made a comeback, and are used for chronic ulcerative conditions. And the use of herbs is now widespread, and many millions find that they more effective, and have fewer side-effects than science derived medication.

In the Middle East medical science was very far advanced when the west was in the dark ages, with a long history of scientific observation, as was the case in India, and China......... it is hard to discount the observation of many generations of careful and systematic thinking......

[imark3000]

Very thoughtful and balanced post Lindy. thank you.

The achievements of western medicine are monumental without any doubt ...however many western thinkers like physicist Fritjof Capra in his book "the turning point" believe that modern medicine has become so disintegrative and its fails to see the whole person.
A fundamental error it makes is in it's aim to cure parts of our bodies instead of seeking overall wellness.
Now I am talking like Fiona even if I don't have her talent of expression

Imad