The Qi Jing Ba Mai (8 Extraordinary Vessels) as Representatives of the 7/8 year Life Cycles Avi Magidoff Although the use of the qi jing ba mai is very widespread, not many people pay deep attention to the philosophical statements that they might represent. This article is an attempt to look at the qi jing ba mai as the basic scheme of human life. The ideas presented here are based on the work of Daoist priest Jeffrey Yuen and the author's own understanding and experience.
Falling Pregnant While Fending off Menopause and Cajoling Ovaries Jane Lyttleton This article presents a case study of a woman in her 30s suffering from a number of chronic disorders including headaches, back pain and depression as well as erratic ovulation and possible early menopause. Treatment involved both acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and focussed initially on her general health and on regulating her menstrual cycle with specific fertility treatments commencing two years later. The case study highlights many of the sorts of questions which practitioners have to deal with in trying to help women seeking treatment to aid fertility, and provides a good example of how useful the information from basal body temperature (BBT) charts can be and how it can influence the course of treatment. Read the whole article'Let A Hundred Flowers Bloom' - Post Conference Reflections on our Research Agenda Jennifer Dale This paper aims to continue the debate arising at the 1998 BAcC conference by arguing the case for a pluralistic approach to research methods. It does not claim to provide a comprehensive overview of methods or the underlying debates about what constitutes ‘evidence’ in research. Rather, it considers some of the varied purposes of research and illustrates some of the ways in which the sorts of questions which arise in the real world of research lend themselves to different methods.
Lung Ki: The Rhythm of the Breath of Life Ken Waight and Kim Chan At birth we breathe in and at death we breathe out, and in between we are born and die millions of times. This is the continuous flow of life that manifests through our being. Breath is our vital link to the universe, the inside and the outside of our lives. The way we breathe, the connection we have with our breath, can open the pathway to reconnect us to a greater sense of self that we often lose sight of. Breath is the key to the eastern techniques of meditation, martial arts and ki-movement, including the Seishin Kitaido system. This understanding lies at the heart of both Chinese medicine theory and these eastern practices. A theme common to all three aspects is the link between movement and stillness. The Lung ki has a special role in this through the rhythm and flow of breath, infusing Heaven into Earth, enabling the exchange of the invisible and the visible, the finite and the infinite.
Women's Cycles: Two Case Studies Felicity Moir The beginning of the menstrual cycle, puberty, and the end of the menstrual cycle, menopause or the climacteric are extremely important events in a woman’s life, both personally and in relation to their role in society. While most girls move smoothly into puberty and establish regular pain-free cycles, there are some who never establish a pattern and the resultant imbalances lead to pain, pre-menstrual tension and irregularity which daunts them physically and emotionally for many years and leads to problems later such as infertility and fibroids. Similarly, most women in the climacteric also move into the next phase of their lives with few symptoms, but for 20-30% there can be major problems, and for a further number the fear and dread around the menopause generates low self image and subsequent illness and loss of power. This article examines these issues through the prism of 2 case studies, one involving a teenage girl suffering from irregular painful periods accompanied by nose bleeds, and the other involving a woman in her mid-50s who had recently started to experience hot flushes and night sweats, along with a number of other symptoms.
The Clinical Application of Point Penetration Acupuncture Pang Jun, Han Zhi-Yong and Faye Richardson Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physicians through the ages have utilised point penetration acupuncture therapy. It is characterised by the use of fewer selected points with stronger stimulation resulting in better effects. Through clinical practice, the author has identified four types of penetration that produce different effects. Each method is described with common effective prescriptions for specific diseases. Case reports describe in detail manipulation methods and precautionary procedures utilised in applying these methods for maximum effectiveness. Therefore, point penetration acupuncture is an acceptable, viable therapy for many conditions previously treated with medicine or surgery.
Expanding Horizons: Doing Research That Counts - Report on the Fourth Annual Acupuncture Research Symposium Mark Bovey This article reports on the proceedings at the Fourth Annual Acupuncture Research Symposium organised by the Acupuncture Research Resource Centre and held on May 8, 1999. The Symposium began with David St George who outlined his vision of the future, calling for research that meets the needs of acupuncturists and their patients. Ruth Endicott spoke on the contribution of qualitative research to health care, and Charlotte Paterson reported on her ongoing research into concepts of wellbeing and its measurement using the MYMOP (Measure Yourself Medical Outcomes Profile) questionnaire. Stephen Birch spoke about the difficulties of designing credible research to test traditional forms of acupuncture practice and defined the steps necessary to do this appropriately. Edwina Webb presented a retrospective observational study of her acupuncture practice in Manchester over the period 1989-1996 which included measurement of treatment outcomes and average cost per course of treatment. Hugh MacPherson reported on the ongoing York back pain project and the development of the research protocol for the project’s NHS-funded pragmatic randomised controlled trial. The presentations concluded with Kevin Ergil’s overview of acupuncture research in the USA.
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