Positive Health Online

Abstract

BALDRY, p.baldry@ukonline.co.uk, reports on the integration of acupuncture within medicine in the UK. Abstract: When acupuncture first arrived in the West in the 17th century, the principles which the Chinese had used to explain its actions were at variance with current scientific knowledge of the body's structure and function. This led to the rejection of acupuncture by the medical profession in the UK. The pioneering British physician Felix Mann taught acupuncture in the 1950s to other medical practitioners and organised regular meetings in London, from which the British Medical Acupuncture Society, BMAS, emerged in 1980. The Society was involved in standardization of the meridian nomenclature published in 1990. Many individual members have contributed to the Society's characteristic Western 'medical' approach to acupuncture in which needling is seen as a form of neuromuscular stimulation that owes little to traditional meridians or points. The Society has shown a particular interest in acupuncture for myofascial trigger point pain. Members of the Society have contributed to the evidence base of acupuncture with several books, clinical trials and reviews. The Society is optimistic that it will have an increasingly important role in promoting the use and scientific evaluation of acupuncture for the public benefit.

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References

Baldry P. The integration of acupuncture within medicine in the UK—the British Medical Acupuncture Society's 25th anniversaryy. Acupuncture in Medicine 23 (1): 2-12, Mar 2005.