A bit about the historical background and the philosophy of acupuncture.
The word “acupuncture” is derived from Latin “acu punctura” which means “needle piercing”. The history of acupuncture goes back thousands of years and has its roots in Taoism and Chinese culture. Here, it was found that you could influence the function of different organs by stimulating various points on the body. In the early days of acupuncture all acupuncture points still weren’t discovered. Today more than 500 different points are used on the body, of which 365 are on the 14 primary meridians of the body.
When acupuncture came to Denmark
Acupuncture came to Denmark in the 1970s. Today acupuncture is used widely by alternative therapists and therapists in certain parts of the conventional healthcare system including doctors, dentists and midwives. Acupuncture is a treatment in which needles are used for balancing the body and not just certain symptoms. The purpose of this treatment is to prevent imbalance and thereby block the imbalances that can cause pain and disease. For treatment, thin, sterile disposable needles are used in selected areas of the body.
Holistic approach
Alternative therapists often use a holistic approach to treatment. The patient is seen as a whole, consisting of body, mind and spirit, where all aspects play a role in the course of better well-being. This is unlike the normal Western understanding of a disease where things are interpreted more isolated. From the holistic approach treatment principles and acupuncture points or herbal formulas are selected according to the individual patient. That means that patients with the same disease or symptoms can receive different treatments. A more simple and conventional treatment would be to give the same standard treatment to patients with the same disease or symptoms. My own approach is holistic as I think it is very important, for example, to try to determine whether a problem is due to an over- or underactivity in the organ, as the treatment method and needle technique will be different and crucial to the outcome of a treatment.