Five Element Acupuncture

[Look what I can do...]

I had my first treatment of five element acupuncture last night and was stunned by it. I didn't have much idea what to expect to be honest, but it is very interesting and I experienced some effects immediately. Has anybody else had this treatment? I am really looking forward to going back next week, though some of the needles did hurt a bit! I'll keep you posted. It's pretty amazing stuff and works on all levels.

 

[sunray]

Hi Candie,

One of the schools of thought in TCM is "5 elements". I was told that it was one of the ealiest forms of TCM (Tony may knwo more about the history side). Now I have no clue how a 5 elements acupunture treatment would be different from a "normal" one, in practice. Another question for Tony?
The five elements are Earth, Metal, Water, Wood and Fire. They all have an apsect on each level: physical, mental, emotional...

Having said all this, I haven't experienced it myself. In fact, never had an acupunture treatment. But I do know that some points can hurt when they are pressed! We use the same ones in Shiatsu, but without needles. The painful points eventually get less painful as the symptoms get better.

Artemis

 

[xheyiukwijqieherp]

Yes, the five elements were once a part of TCM but after China became a communist state, this part of Chinese Medicine was extracted out, probably because it dealt more with the psycological, the emotional and the spiritual. So Modern TCM, which is what is practiced in China today, is a more clinical form based on good pattern differentiation, knowledge of channels, qi, blood etc.

But all was not lost..........the five element approach had been adopted in countries like, korea and vietnam, where it thrived. After WW2 British, European and American troops travelled these areas and for some the five elements became a fascination that was to last the rest of their lives. People such as Professor J R Worsley who founded the College of Traditional Acupuncture in Leamington, Dr Van Buren who founded ICOM and Father Claude Larre, founder of the Ricci institute in Paris.

So, ironically, what we have today is a situation where colleges in the West are teaching acupuncture in a way that has been all but lost to China and thereby keeping alive a very precious part of oriental medicine and one that is well suited to many western patients.

Modern TCM is also taught in UK colleges and is another vital part of oriental medicine, some colleges teach an integrated approach, where they bring together both systems, much in the way it must have been taught in the pre-communist era.
There is tremendous value in both systems and I expect they will both continue to thrive in the UK.

Best wishes, Tony

 

[Corinne G]

The concept of five element acupuncture, briefly and as I see it, is that everyone has a constitutional element which is the driving force in the way they operate in life. In times of trouble it is this element that goes out of balance leading to disharmony in other elements also, and eventually to symptoms of ill-health. The five element acupuncturist first of all determines what your constitutional element is, and then uses acupuncture techniques to treat it. It is looked on as treating the very core of your being and is often used following a TCM treatment by those trained in both styles.

Some good books on the five elements are, Healing Your Emotions by John and Angie Hicks and anything by Father Claude Larre or Elizabeth Rochat de vallee.

Tony

 

[Platesandscrews]

Indeed, some colleges do teach an integrated system which incorporates various 'tools' of Chinese medicine. For a comprehansive list of accredited colleges, go to the British Acupuncture Cuncil website www.acupuncture.org.uk, where they list fully accreditted colleges. If you go to the Open Days at each College, you'll find out about how each college does things differently, and usually for free!
Bonny

 

[Kevin Martin]

I would like to point out the The British Acupuncture Council are a professional body and not a governing body as acupuncture is still under review.

So when Bonny talks about accreditted colleges, then he is referring to colleges accreditted to the BAC only. There are other professional bodies with regard to the practice of acupuncture in the UK and the reality is that they will probably all be dissolved once acupuncture becomes 'recognised'. The likely hood is that they will all be replaced by a single governing body.

With regard to professional bodies - membership is voluntary, assuming that you can fill the criteria and there are several, whereas membership of a Governing Body is mandatory to be able to practice and have more power to protect the public.

Certainly it is better to seek out someone that is registered with an appropriate professional body, whether it be for TCM or 5 Element acupuncture if it's traditional acupuncture you are interested in.

As for Western Acupuncture (otherwise known as dry needling), which is a different system altogether, then the issue is more complex. Largely because this is usually used as an adjunct treatment by medical doctors, physios, osteopaths, etc, that already have their own governing body. This is based on western physiology and is usually only taught over short courses, but does have great benefits, especially for musculo-skeltal and pain disorders, but not for the treatment of more systemic disorders, as treated by the traditional systems.

There's a basic overview of these three systems here - http://fp.osteopath.plus.com/holistic-centre/serv/acupuncture1.htm
but there are others.

Andrew.

 

[unliddips]

At the moment, the BAcC has no plans to dissolve if acupuncture becomes government registered. It will continue as the main professional acupuncture body in the UK, as it is now.

In their negotiations, the Department of Health has expressed their interest in using the BAAB (British Acupuncture Accreditation Board) as the benchmark for educational standards for the new proposed mandatory governing body. These are the standards currently required for membership to the BAcC. At present no other professional body reaches these educational standards of acupuncture practice.

It will be interesting to see what will happen once the decisions about the regulation of acupuncture become governement driven (i.e. finacial) as opposed to professionally driven (i.e. patient safety and wellbeing).

Sorry - there was a topic here somewhere, wasn't there

Cheers
Aragorn

 

[Aktigoo]

Dear Aragorn

Thanks for filling in the bits. I'm assuming that something along the lines of what happened with osteopathy will happen with acupuncture.

Will try and get back to this, but in short - a newly formed Governing Body will be independent and not governed by the government. And their main objective will be patient protection and care. With osteopathy, this is the General Osteopathic Council.

There will also need to be a proffesional body with the role of supporting acupuncturists - a kind of trade union, if you like. Again, for osteos in the uk, this is the British Osteopathic Association.

Do you know of a website that has up to date info on the acupuncture situation?

Cheers - Andrew.

 

[jocminsk]

In the case of Shiatsu, there is a new "umbrella" association that has been created that groups all the existing Shiatsu associations. The gouvernemnt said that they do not want to negotiate with 4-5 different associations but only with one. I am not sure if any of the associations will "dissolve".

Artemis

 

[W_cheape]

Hi Andrew
I often refer to the BAcC website which has a members only section with latest news and in depth discussion about the current situation. So, I can't really help, sorry.
The full DoH proposal is on the net somewhere - good luck finding it!

The idea of a General Acupuncture Council is still favoured by the BAcC, but the government would prefer a Joint Council for Herbs and Acupuncture together. It's supposed to cut down costs by sharing facilities and administration, but as far as I can tell, it will just share out the Herbalists high costs into the Acupuncturists relatively low costs.

Best wishes
Aragorn

 

[Samantha Gibson]

I have started a new topic, as we are wandering a bit, from the Five Element subject!
But yes, the draft regulations are available. See my new post under acupuncture regulation.
Bonny

 

[Dr. Truth]

I've also just started having 5 element treatment, and also noticed a difference immediately. First time I had acupuncture was about 10 years ago, by a man who insisted I eat chicken soup, although knowing I was veggie!!(what the....anyway????!!!) and after 5 months decided he couldn't help me! (If I'd only known then...etc). The next lady a couple of years later was lovely but didn't help at all either... I believe there's a right time/place/therapy and practitioner for whatever ails us, and now I've got it right.