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The Tools of the New Laws of Healing -- 1. Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been in use for at least three thousand years and some evidence that our ancestors were first exploring this amazing form of healing seven thousand years ago. We now have several forms of acupuncture being practiced: Traditional Chinese, that operates on a system of yin and yang, of five elements, of Qi and channels along which it flows. There are many schools and styles of traditional acupuncture, and distinct forms of treatment have grown up in many parts of the Far East, including Japan, Korea and Vietnam. There is also something called "medical acupuncture," that ignores the principles and precepts of traditional Chinese medicine, and instead focuses on stimulating tender spots and using simple "recipes" for treating people. This stimulation might be with needles, lasers of electricity. Both types of acupuncture have been subjected to a great deal of research.

It may be that medical acupuncture works simply by stimulating the release of endorphins, or modulating some other chemical transmitters in the brain and spine. But the situation with traditional acupuncture is far more complex. Every competent practitioner has seen clinical responses that cannot be explained on that basis alone. I have seen many people report moving sensations that cannot be explained by any known anatomical or physiological pathways. In one of the first people that I ever treated when still a rookie, I stimulated a "liver" point in her foot, and she immediately said, "Oh, I can feel that in my eye." She was not to know that the liver channel runs from the foot and terminates in the eye.

I have personally treated people paralyzed by strokes, and have seen them recover far more than we would ever expect in Western medicine. Other odd things too, like the cartilage being restored in people with arthritis. The frustrating thing is that none of the treatments works every time. But when it does, it can be amazing.
Recent studies that have been published in major journals have extended the list of conditions that may improve with acupuncture to include:

- Fibromyalgia
- The side effects of HIV medicines
- Arthritis of the knee
- Overactive bladder in women
- Itching associated with dialysis

On the other hand, I was surprised to see a large study of people with migraine, who failed to obtain much benefit. More than 20 years ago I reported good results using acupuncture for migraine at a conference in London. An esteemed colleague from Chicago immediately disagreed, saying that he had tried acupuncture and it had not worked for him. I think the message here is that it is not just the therapy, but also who is doing it.

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About Richard G. Petty

Dr. Richard G. Petty is an internist, psychiatrist, acupuncturist, homeopath and researcher. He has the distinction of being a member of both the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom. He has taught at major universities, and for many years served the Research Council for Complementary Medicine and Prince Charles' Foundation for Integrated Medicine. What he teaches is the fruit of 35 years of experience, together with an analysis of many thousands of books and research papers, and working with some of the foremost thinkers, intuitives and spiritual leaders of our time.

Richard G. Petty graduated in medicine from the London Hospital Medical College, University of London, in 1976, having been awarded a place there when he was only 17 years old.

In addition to his basic medical degree, he holds an advanced degree in Biochemistry, and a Research Doctorate in Endocrinology. He practiced and taught internal medicine and endocrinology for 14 years, having trained at several of the major teaching hospitals in London, England. He did his psychiatric training at the Bethlem Royal & Maudsley Hospitals, London and Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore.

Dr Petty has had a 35-year interest in complementary medicine, both as a practitioner and as a researcher. He served for some years as the Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Research Council for Complementary Medicine, before becoming the Chairman of the entire Organization from 1992-1994. His involvement, from 1993-98, with Prince Charles' Foundation for Integrated Medicine lead him to serve first, as Chairman of the Scientific Committee, and then as a Trustee of the Foundation. For eight years, he also served on the Council of the Scientific and Medical Network, a prestigious international group of scientists, doctors, psychologists, engineers, philosophers, complementary practitioners and others who are engaged in creating a new worldview for the 21st century.

Richard Petty has been a Visiting Professor, Guest Lecturer or Keynote Speaker in 44 countries in the last five years alone.

He was for several years on the Faculty of the University of Pennsylvania where he founded and was the first Director of the Department of Psychiatry's Integrated Medicine Program. He has over 140 publications to his credit, and he has received many awards, including the 1997 Resident's Award for Excellence in Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania.

In addition to his medical credentials, he has, in parallel, had extensive training in acupuncture, including advanced work in China, as well as hypnotherapy, homeopathy and Reiki. He began studying with a number of spiritual teachers while still in his teens, and he has himself taught meditation, T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qigong.

In recent years he has been moving away from providing individual patient care into full-time research, writing and teaching.

His originality, clarity and compassion, coupled with a dynamic and charismatic style of presentation, have made him an extremely popular and sought after speaker, and he regularly appears on television and radio programs throughout the world.