Filling the Whole in Acupuncture Part 2: What are we Doing in the Supplementation Needle Technique?
Stephen Birch EJOM Vol. 6 No. 3 (2009)
In the first part of this paper (published in EJOM Vol 6 No 2) the author discussed the purposes, traditional explanations and possible mechanisms of the supplementation needle technique and began to model what might be happening when we apply it. He highlighted local and global qi circulatory effects triggered by the act of needling, and also the effects arising out of the interaction between the person needling and the person being needled. In this concluding part of the paper, he proposes various scientific perspectives and models that could explain the same observed effects of the needling and their various interactional effects, including mental interactional effects. Finally he briefly discusses the implications of this for understanding acupuncture practice.
Direct Moxibustion and Immune Response: A Review Study - Part 1
Merlin Young and Jenny Craig EJOM Vol. 6 No. 3 (2009)
There is a large amount of published research on the potential immunological effects of direct moxibustion which remains relatively unexplored in English. There are also many indicators in the classical literature of oriental medicine that moxa was used in ways that may have had direct effect on the immune system. The purpose of this study is to cast some light on both these sources and to explore their validity based on contemporary context and in the light of clinical experience. The paper is in two parts. In this first part, which explores the more general literature on the subject, we find much inconsistent evidence of immune response but a deficiency of conclusive evidence for specific responses of white blood cells to moxa treatment. There is, however, enough record of a varied immune response to endorse more focused research on the subject.
