We talked about the exact curative effect and advantages of Chinese medicine in treating diabetes, and basically discussed it around Chinese medicine prescriptions. As a classic therapy of traditional Chinese medicine, is acupuncture beneficial and effective in treating diabetes? Let's discuss this problem together.
More than 2,000 years ago, Su Wen wrote in Huangdi Neijing Strange Diseases: "This person must eat sweet and fat, and the fat person will make his body warm, and the sweet person will make his body full, so he will overflow and turn to quench his thirst." Then he specially set up an article to quench thirst in Synopsis of the Golden Chamber, put forward the symptoms and treatment methods of quenching thirst, and then went to The Secret of Foreign Taiwan Province. Many records of ancient Chinese medicine books fully show that the ancients were very clear about the symptoms of diabetes.
The most serious harm of diabetes is complications, and ancient doctors have already summed up their experience. "Qian Jin Fang Demonstration" records: "But those who don't drink water have little intention of defecation and also strengthen their kidneys. The kidney actually disappears, and it is beneficial not to be thirsty. " This is a common clinical manifestation of patients with diabetic renal failure, and "internal elimination" is like diabetic renal failure; According to the Theory of Diabetes Syndrome, "the lesion is multiple carbuncle", which is similar to the microvascular lesion and skin lesion of diabetes. It is mentioned in Liushu Hejian Xuan Ming Fang General Theory of Diabetes: "Diabetes is a syndrome, so it can become passerine or cataract", which is similar to diabetic retinopathy. It shows that ancient physicians have a profound understanding of diabetic complications.
Regarding the acupuncture treatment of diabetes, the article "Medical Understanding and Three Disappearances" said: "Those who have not treated the disease should moisten the lungs and clear the stomach; Those who treat middle energizer should clear stomach and nourish kidney; Those who are cured should nourish the kidney and replenish the lungs. " Acupuncture treatment mainly focuses on nourishing yin and promoting fluid production, clearing away heat and moistening dryness. Qian Jin Fang Yao expanded the selection of points along the five meridians in A&B Classic to the selection of points along the eight meridians, and supplemented the selection of points along the odd meridians. In Song Dynasty, eight new acupoints for treating diabetes were added to the Zi Sheng Jing. Puji Fang in Ming Dynasty collected most acupuncture prescriptions for treating thirst before Ming Dynasty, and selected 44 acupuncture points 18 according to syndrome differentiation. The integration of acupuncture and moxibustion in Qing Dynasty was further concretized in classified treatment.
Generally speaking, in ancient medical books, acupuncture treatment of diabetes is mainly based on syndrome differentiation. The most commonly used acupoints are Yujiang, Interrow and Yongquan. The most commonly used acupoints are Shuigou, Jinjin, Yu Ye, Haiquan, Shujiang, Li Anquan, Qihai and Shenshu. Because the common symptoms of diabetes are dry mouth, thirst, excessive drinking and body heat, doctors use acupoints with the function of promoting fluid production and quenching thirst.
Insulin resistance and islet β cell secretion dysfunction play an important role in the occurrence and development of type 2 diabetes. Recent studies have confirmed that acupuncture can not only effectively improve the insulin resistance index of patients, but also obviously protect the function of islet cells, improve the utilization rate of insulin, increase the insulin sensitivity index and insulin secretion index, thus speculating that acupuncture may improve insulin resistance, increase the sensitivity and secretion function of islet β cells, and thus achieve the effect of lowering blood sugar.