Glossary of Acupuncture and Bodywork terms
Glossary of terms
Acupuncture: Medical practice of East Asia involving the insertion of a selection of fine needles into the body at specific points. A point is needled to change the flow of Qi (energy) in the Channels of the body. This rebalances the body’s Qi to bring about healing and health. There are many styles of acupuncture. The style standardised in the Peoples Republic of China in the 1950's brought together a lot of regional systems but also rejected a reasonable amount of traditional practice and was labelled TCM (traditional Chinese Medicine).
There are a number of different styles which grew out of a resurgence of interest in indigenous medicine in Japan and Korea which base their theory on the ancient Chinese classics of medicine. Point selection is based more on palpation and the release of restrictions in these systems, rather than on an internal diagnosis.
There is another style referred to as 5 element acupuncture which was formalised by an Englishman after his travels and experiences in the orient. Furthermore there is ‘medical’ acupuncture which is the term given to acupuncture as used by physiotherapists and doctors which tends to use set point prescriptions for problems rather than consider the whole person. The amount of training of people practising medical acupuncture can vary a great deal.
Afferent: Term used to describe neural pathways that have an 'affect'. They carry signals from the central nervous system to other parts of the body e.g. muscles.
Blood: In oriental medical systems many terms have more meaning than in western medicine, this is one of those. Blood in Chinese medicine is a nourishing substance which cools and moistens the tissues including the skin, and anchors the shen (mind/spirit). Therefore someone who is blood deficient may have dry skin, or their sleep may be disturbed by vivid dreams.
Bodywork: An umbrella term encompassing an array of things which can be done to work on the body. I use this term since many of the techniques I use are not simply massage, but involve client participation, movement and awareness, stretching and release techniques which function by utilising the nervous system to bring about release of tension.
Channels: Over 2000 years of empirical practice has mapped out the course of the flow of Qi along the channels and identifies key focus points along these channels. It appears that they were identified to explain the progression of diseases and also by the massaging or needling of the channels relieving symptoms.
Cupping: An adjunctive physical technique of TCM (Chinese Medicine) employed by acupuncturists. It involves creating a vacuum in specialised cups to affect the body. It increases fluid circulation in the tissues and has been shown to reduce inflammation. It is also used on internal problems including colds and appears in traditional medicines around the world including Turkish, Romany and Brazilian. You can see Sicilian immigrants using it in Godfather II to treat colic.
Efferent: Term used to describe neural pathways that have an 'effect'. They carry signals from the body to the central nervous system e.g. your sense of touch.
Fascia: Connective tissue which wraps around and is continuous though muscle tissue. It is this connective tissue which the contractile muscle cells pull on to effect movement. It also connects the muscles to tendon bones and each other, for example the fascial sheet at the lower back is an attachment for many different muscles, and therefore tightness in one place can also affect a distant muscle.
Jing: Essence. It is a condensed form of Qi which one is born with. It has functions but mainly is seen as the store of energy one is born with, determining a person’s constitution. On a continuum it is seen as a more Yin dense Qi, as opposed to Shen (mind/ Spirit) which is a more rarefied Qi giving rise to consciousness.
Moxibustion: The practice of burning a herb (Moxa/ artemesia vulgaris) over an area, on a needle or on the skin (with precautions to prevent burning the skin) in order to warm the area. This warming can be used to engender the production of Qi and blood (Tonifying), to promote circulation and healing. In Japanese acupuncture systems the use of moxa is more refined and it can be used for almost anything, to clear heat even in the case of fever.
Muscle energy technique: basically involves using motion on the part of the client to facilitate lengthening of muscle tissue to return it to its normal resting length.
Myofascial release: a technique which releases muscular tension by working on connective tissue (fascia). It is currently thought that the transverse pressure applied induces the peripheral nervous system to release the muscle. It can be effective in any problem featuring tight muscle tissue, and is very effective in relieving myofascial pain.
Positional Release: A highly useful technique born of osteopathic practice based on the idea that finding a position of a muscle where it is under no strain (position of ease) allows the muscle to release. It is thought that this position allows the nervous system to reset afferent stimulus holding the muscle in a contracted and painful position by minimising the painful stimuli. It is performed by the therapist by moving a joint gently without the participation of the client, in different ranges of motion while ease is determined by palpation and the feel of the movement. It can also be done with the client giving feedback about pressure on a tender point.
Qi: This Chinese word is usually translated as energy, or vital energy. The character is formed of a pictogram meaning rice and another meaning steam or vapour. Together they imply that Qi can be material or immaterial, and has a connotation of the transition from one state to another. This is the way it is seen in Qigong practice and Chinese medicine. There is a continuum from the solid material Qi (Jing) to the Qi which we influence with needles, massage or exercise (and herbs) through to the more rarefied Shen (mind/spirit). By working on the quality of Qi, one can therefore benefit ones physical constitution, and the quality of ones consciousness.
Qigong: The term Qigong is relatively recent and refers to physical practices which aim to work on Qi. The character Gong means, work, or endeavour, so it is working on ones Qi. There are hundreds of different systems of Qigong, often stemming from family traditions or martial arts schools, and many variations to those systems. They are given the label of internal exercises as they work on ones internal systems. Some Qigong involves movement; other systems hold static postures. Seated meditation can also be seen as Qigong, and some believe that any exercise can be Qigong if the right intention and presence of mind is brought to it.
Shen: Mind or Spirit. It is seen on a continuum as a rarefied, more yang form of Qi, as opposed to Jing, a condensed store of Qi. Shen gives rise to conscious thought and all spiritual considerations of the human condition. It was thought by the Taoists to reside in the head or brain, and by the Confucians to reside in the heart. It can be subdivided into constituent parts in diagnostic terms: will (zhi), intent (yi), mind (shen), ethereal soul (hun), and corporeal soul (po).
Taiji: The supreme ultimate or great polarity. This is represented by the commonly known yin-yang symbol and is the name given to the popular internal martial art Taiji Ch’uan: Great polarity fist (the word Ch’uan means fist, boxing, grasping but also letting go in different contexts). It is a core principle in oriental thought and medicine. Diagnosis uses the idea of the interconnectedness, interdependence, and mutually transforming nature of yin and yang to understand disharmony in the person and how this affects health.
Trigger Points: These are areas of myofascial (muscle) tissue where the local circulation has been impeded to the extent that they are held in contracture. They are exquisitely painful are characterised by referred pain patterns. That is, the point causes pain elsewhere in the body. They form in muscle that is held in undue stress for long periods and pain can be managed by releasing them. The patterns of referral and common sites of trigger point formation have been mapped and often correspond with acupuncture points and channels.
Yang: In the Taiji symbol, the white half with the seed of black in it. The parts making up the Chinese character mean the sunny side of a hill. It describes the active part of nature, the more airy, moving, hot and ascending qualities of the world, human physiology or disease. Yin and
yang are seen as a dynamic interface which is interdependent, transforming and mutually supportive. There cannot be one without the other and each contains the potential of its opposite.
Yin: In the Taiji symbol Yin is represented by the dark half with the seed of white in it. The Chinese character means the dark side of a hill which shows us the roots of the philosophy in the natural world. It describes the passive part of nature, the more solid, grounded, still cold and descending qualities of the world, the person or illness. Yin and yang are seen as a dynamic interface which is interdependent, transforming and mutually supportive. There cannot be one without the other and each contains the potential of its opposite.