Acupuncture一Old Chinese Medicine

For more than 4,000years people in Asia have used acupuncture to treat illnesses.________ (46)Todayacupuncture is also very popular in Europe,Americaand Australia.

Acupuncture cancontrol pain and sickness.It can also be used if you have a headache or backpain.Some doctors use acupuncture along with regular treatments for

asthma,high blood pressureor stress.________(47)Some people think that acupuncture can treat depressionand even help people to stop smoking. Many patients feel more

energy after atreatment,while others may feel more relaxed.

People who practiceacupuncture must take courses to learn how to do it correctly._________(48)

During treatment thepatient lies down and needles are stuck into certain points of the body. Thereare hundreds of possible points and each one has a certain effect on the

body._________(49)For example you stick a needle into the hand to treat problems with yourstomach.

Acupuncture needlesare made of metal and about as thick as a human hair. They normally go lessthan one cm into the skin.When they are in the skin the acupuncturist may

twist them or send electricitythrough them.The patients rest for a short time and then the needles areremoved.

Acupuncture normallydoesn't hurt. There is also a milder form of acupuncture called acupressurewhere you don't need needles.Doctors use their fingers to press the points of

the body.

Chinese medicineteaches us that all acupuncture points are located along pathways calledmeridians.Each of these meridians carries energy,which the Chinese call"qi" to

certain points ofthe body.If this "qi" gets blocked from an area the person will getsick or feel pain.Sticking needles into the correct points can help"qi" flow again and make

the person well.

Doctors today arenot sure how acupuncture really works.They have not found any proof that thesepathways of energy really exist.Some think that needles cause the body to

produce pain killingsubstances.________(50)Some also say that acupuncture only works becausepatients believe in it.

_________（48）

A.In manyplaces,especially outside of Asia,only doctorsare allowed to perform acupuncture.

B.The earliestwritten record of acupuncture is found in the Huangdi Neijing.

C.Doctors have evenused acupuncture to stop pain during an operation.

D.The points canalso be very far away from the place of pain.

E.Others think thatthe needles block pain signals that travel along the nerves to the brain.