Oh yes, 得气 may be necessary after all…
By mchern • Jan 31st, 2008 • Category: AcupunctureIn an earlier article, I explained why you don’t need to 得气 for acupuncture to be effective.
Having just read an article proposing a theoretical explanation for how acupuncture treats pain, it now makes sense to me WHEN 得气 is necessary - assuming that the theories proposed are true.
- 得气 is necessary when treatment’s got to do with pain relief - this is when the sensory nerves have to be involved.
- 得气 is not necessary when the parasympathetic nerves are involved.
The pathomechanism of (2) has already been discussed in another article. Here we will look at the pathomechanism of (1):
- The nervous system is triggered: sensory nerve is triggered. This causes electrical impulses to travel along spinal cord nerve to cause certain things to happen:
- Spinal cord nerve signals other nerve cells to release endorphins, causing dulling of pain.
- Spinal cord nerve signals brain to release neurotransmitters to block pain pathways. More specifically, the pituitary gland releases pain-killing and anti-inflammatory chemicals into brain tissue and bloodstream, causing cessation of pain.
Just a reminder here… The feeling of “qi has arrived is not the feeling of pain when the needle pricks the skin or the tissue beneath.