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Since 1993

4 Various symptoms related to acupuncture and the autonomic nervous system

 

Last time, I wrote about the Oriental medical way of thinking about acute low back pain. I wrote about how each element of the body works, including the state of mind and the situation in which the person was placed, and the overall balance of the network in regards to the symptoms of acute low back pain.

 

Symptoms that affect the functioning of the body's systems, in particular the autonomic nervous system, can be said to be the specialty of Oriental medicine acupuncture and moxibustion; especially symptoms related to the autonomic nervous system such as headache, palpitation, dizziness, fatigue, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, diarrhea, constipation, stiff shoulders and depression.

 

The nervous system connects the brain and spinal cord, which is called the central nervous system, includes somatic nerves (motor nerves, sensory nerves) and autonomic nerves. Motor nerves are nerves that transmit signals from the brain to the muscles that want to move. Sensory nerves are nerves that connect to sensory organs such as sight, smell and touch.

 

As the name implies, the autonomic nervous system works autonomously regardless of the will of the body's master. For example, heartbeat, blood vessel constriction, sweat gland opening and closing, internal functions, etc. Also, the autonomic nerves relates to the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nerves that act as accelerators and brakes.

 

Simply put, the sympathetic nervous system affects the body in activity and combat mode, and the parasympathetic nervous system affects the body in relaxation and rest mode. In a healthy body, the two nervous systems switch naturally, according to the situation. In the daytime, the sympathetic nervous system dominates and the mental and physical activities become active, and at night, the parasympathetic nervous system dominates and the body becomes sleepy and enters the rest mode. In this way, our body can maintain its vital energy and activity by alternating between tension and relaxation.

 

However, if the switch does not work well and becomes abnormal, the various physical disorders and symptoms described above will appear. Causes include changes in the living environment, mental stress, eating habits and disordered lifestyle habits. In a busy modern society, the sympathetic nervous system is often dominant. With the development of Internet technology, it has become possible to process a lot of information all at once, and it may be that this stress on the sympathetic nervous system is caused by overuse of the optic nerves due to long term use of the brain and sensory organs using PCs or smartphones than ever before. I would like to discuss this matter in another talk on computer and smartphone work and acupuncture treatment.