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The World Health Organization Viewpoint On
Acupuncture
Abstract: A World
Health organization interregional seminar on acupuncture, moxibustion
and acupuncture anesthesia was held in Beijing ( Peking ) in
June 1979 attended by participants from twelve countries. Its
purpose was to discuss ways in which priorities and standards
could be determined in the acupuncture areas of clinical work,
research, training, and technology transfer. Scientific investigation
must be closely correlated with demonstrations of acupuncture's
clinical efficacy. Apart from acupuncture analgesia used in
major surgical procedures, acupuncture also has been applied
as a diagnostic aid and in conjunction with fluoroscopy in gastrointestinal
diseases. Acupuncture is clearly not a panacea for all ills;
but the sheer weight of evidence demands that acupuncture must
be taken seriously as a clinical procedure of considerable value.
During the past decade, there
has been a growing convergence between the most advanced research
knowledge from physiology, biochemistry and pharmacology, and
knowledge obtained by research in the field of acupuncture;
that is to say, a convergence of modern international science
with traditional Chinese medicine. For example, in more than
600 cases of coronary heart disease, the effectiveness of acupuncture
in relieving the symptoms was over 80 percent. In 645 cases
of acute bacillary dysentery, 90 percent of the patients were
cured within ten days as judged by clinical symptoms and signs
and the results of stool culture. The technique is also comparatively
effective in controlling fever, inflammation and pain.
From the viewpoint of modern
medicine, the principle action of acupuncture ( and of moxibustion
) is to regulate the function of the human body and to increase
its resistance by enhancing the immune system and the antiphlogistic,
analgesic, antispastic, antishock and antiparalytic abilities
of the body.
The World Health organization
Interregional Seminar drew up the following provisional list
of diseases that lend themselves to acupuncture treatment. The
list is based on clinical experience, and not necessarily on
controlled clinical research: furthermore, the inclusion of
specific diseases are not meant to indicate the extent of acupuncture's
efficacy in treating them.
- Upper Respiratory Tract: acute sinusitis,
acute rhinitis, common Cold, acute tonsillitis.
- Respiratory System: acute bronchitis,
bronchial asthma.
- Disorders of the Eye: acute conjunctivitis,
central retinitis, myopia (in children), cataract (without
complications).
- Disorders of the Mouth: toothache, post-extraction
pain, gingivitis, acute and chronic pharyngitis.
- Gastro-intestinal Disorders: spasms
of esophagus and cardia, hiccough, gastroptosis, acute and
chronic gastritis, gastric hyperacidity, chronic duodenal
ulcer (pain relief), acute duodenal ulcer, acute and chronic
colitis, acute bacillary dysentery, constipation, diarrhea,
paralytic ileus.
- Neurological and Musculo-skeletal Disorders:
headache and migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, facial palsy
(early stage, i.e., within three to six months), pareses
following a stroke, peripheral neuropathies, sequelae of
poliomyelitis (early stage, i.e., within six months), Meniere's
disease, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, nocturnal enuresis,
intercostal neuralgia, cervicobrachial syndrome, “frozen
shoulder", "tennis elbow", sciatica, low
back pain, osteoarthritis.
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