Acupuncture is a treatment that consists in piercing the skin with a special needle in order to relieve symptoms or cure disease. It originated in China, where it formed part (although not the whole) of traditional Chinese medicine, which is largely herbal. Ancient Chinese medicine was part of a wider philosophical system based on the notion of yin-yang polarity. Health was thought to depend on a balance between these two fundamental forces of Nature. Another important idea is that of chi, a subtle form of `energy' that is supposed to flow through the universe and also through the human body, where it maintains life processes. It travels with the blood in the blood vessels and also in special channels misleadingly called `meridians' in the West. Acupuncture is supposed to work by altering the flow of chi in the channels in order to restore normality when it is disordered. There are about 365 points in the body, mainly on the channels, where acupuncture is carried out. A related form of therapy, moxibustion, consists in local heatings at specified points. Diagnosis by examination of the tongue and the wrist pulses is used.
From China, acupuncture spread to other countries in the Far East, especially Korea, Vietnam, and Japan. Knowledge of acupuncture first reached the West at the end of the seventeenth century; since then it has been used by Western doctors and others. The present wave of interest arose in the 1970s after President Nixon's visit to China, following which there has developed what might be termed a modern or non-traditional version of acupuncture. It is practised mainly by doctors, physiotherapists, and other health professionals, who believe that the treatment works via the known physiological systems (especially the nervous system) rather than by the traditional apparatus of yin and yang, `meridians', and so on. However, some Western practitioners, especially those who are not conventionally trained, do adhere to the ancient ideas. A certain amount of research has been carried out in Western countries but there is still little agreement about whether, or how, acupuncture works, although it is possible to put together a reasonably plausible explanation for its effectiveness in pain relief.
In recommending books one has to keep in mind the distinction to the two approaches to acupuncture alluded to above. There are few texts that cover both types of acupuncture adequately, and people who wish to obtain a comprehensive view of the subject are advised to read or at least glance at one book from each category to get an idea of what is on offer. The bibliography accordingly contains separate sections for each type of acupuncture; those in the `modern' section are mainly intended for a professional audience. Some of the books cited do include information about how to do acupuncture but the bibliography does not aim to provide information of this kind since acupuncture cannot be learnt safely by reading.
Dr Anthony Campbell is a consultant physician at Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital, Director, Research Unit, R.L.H.H., Hon Editor, British Homoeopathic Journal. Books: 'The Sacred Malady' (1967), 'Seven States of Consciousness' (1973), 'The Mechanics of Enlightenment' (1975), The Two Faces of Homoeopathy' (1984), 'The Natural Health Handbook' (1985), 'Acupuncture' (1987), 'Natural Selection Versus Natural Medicine' (1997).
Needham, J. and Gwei-Djen, L. (1980). Celestial Lancets: A History and Rationale of Acupuncture and Moxibustion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
This is the most authoritative history of acupuncture to have appeared in the West. It covers the origins and development of acupuncture in China, the routes by which it came to the West, and also scientific attempts to investigate acupuncture in modern times (although this part is inevitably now becoming somewhat out of date). This is a large (and expensive) book and is not for the faint-hearted.
Kaptchuk, T.J. (1983). Chinese Medicine: The Web That Has No Weaver. London: Hutchison Publishing Group. ISBN 0-09-153230-2.
Kaptchuk is an American who learnt Chinese and spent many years in China, qualifications which few Western enthusiasts for the traditional system can match. His book is probably the most balanced, readable, and reliable account of traditional Chinese medicine for a popular audience that we have and is strongly recommended. Unless you want to go into the subject in considerable depth, this will tell you as much as you need to know.
Ernst, E. and White, A. (Eds.) (1999). Acupuncture: A Scientific Appraisal. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann. ISBN 0-7506-04976 -9.
A critical look at acupuncture by a number of authors, this book has a chapter on the origins of acupuncture but concentrates mainly on the scientific status of the subject today. It is mainly aimed at readers with a scientific or medical background.
Filshie, J., and White, A. (Eds.) (1998). Medical Acupuncture. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0-443-04580-1.
This is another multi-author book. It gives a good view of how acupuncture is seen from a non-traditional angle today, and also shows how wide is the variation among different practitioners' approaches. Strongly recommended for those who want to go into the subject in some depth; some of the chapters assume a medical or scientific background in the reader.
Baldry, P. E. (1998). Acupuncture, Trigger Points, and Musculoskeletal Pain. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone. ISBN 0-7506-0844-7.
The author is a physician who uses acupuncture to treat musculoskeletal pain, on the assumption that it works almost entirely on what are known as trigger points. The first part of the book contains an explanation of this approach and cites a lot of research evidence; the second part describes the application to particular disorders. The book is mainly suitable for a professional audience although the interested non-medical reader would certainly get something out of it.
Mann, F. (1992). Acupuncture: Cure of Many Diseases. (Second Edition). Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.
A book written by a very experienced medical practitioner for the general public. Strongly recommended for an introduction to acupuncture for newcomers.
Mann, F. (1992). Reinventing Acupuncture: A New Concept of Ancient Medicine. Oxford: Butteerworth Heinemann.
Although the author started practising acupuncture in the traditional way, he later became a modernist as the result of experience; this book explains the reasons. Although it is really a textbook, it is written in an informal style, with amusing sketches, and is quite accessible to a non-medical reader. Recommended.