by Richard A. Feely, DO

The Chinese discovered acupuncture more than 5,000 years ago. Chinese science had a very different paradigm/way of thinking than the Western world. It emphasized wholistic patterns, relationships, cycles, and processes. In contrast the western paradigm emphasizes linear thinking, causality and reductionist explanations.

Acupuncture was first introduced into Europe by the French Jesuit's in the 17th Century. It was not widely accepted in the West because of the clash of paradigms, that is, Western linear thinking couldn't understand how a needle inserted into the hand could cure a toothache. The acupuncture analgesia did not fit into the existing physiological paradigms of the Western scientist and was thus dismissed.

Up until 1976, the evidence of acupuncture anesthesia was mainly anecdotal. There are few scientifically controlled experiments. Since then, the situation has changed dramatically, in the last few years there have been thousands of scientifically controlled experiments in acupuncture. Today, there are at least 17 different lines of scientific evidence verifying acupuncture's effect upon humans and animals.