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Acupuncture For NHS Staff During The Coronavirus Pandemic: A Unique Project

Author: Peter Deadman, Soreh Levy and Cara Beckinsale

In the early weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown in the UK, there was an explosion of community spirit, with all kinds of voluntary organisations springing up to help those in need. This was matched by an outpouring of affection for what may be Britain’s greatest treasure – the free-at-point-of-delivery National Health Service (NHS), whose staff we applauded from our doorsteps every Thursday night. We understood what strain they were under and how we now all depended on NHS staff more than ever – not only the doctors but also the underpaid and overworked nurses, cleaners, porters and other frontline staff. Inspired by these two phenomena, a group of acupuncturists in Brighton and Hove in the South of England decided to offer acupuncture to NHS workers, which became the ‘Acupuncture for NHS: Brighton & Hove’ project (see www.acu4nhs.co.uk for more details).

This article is an edited transcript of an interview between Peter Deadman (PD) and two founder practitioners of the project, Soreh Levy (SL) and Cara Beckinsale (CB).

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Acupuncture and Tuina in Ophthalmology

Author: Agnes Fatrai & Sabine Zeitler

The treatment of eye diseases with Chinese medicine can be an effective complement, and in some cases an alternative, to orthodox biomedical therapy. This article gives a short overview of the history and theoretical basis of Chinese medicine ophthalmology, especially in terms of treating eye diseases with acupuncture and tuina. It also presents two cases: the treatment of allergic rhinoconjunctivitis with tuina and the treatment of primary open-angle glaucoma with acupuncture and tuina, to illustrate the theory presented.

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Acupuncture Strategies to Tackle Post COVID-19 Psychological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Author: Liuzhong Ye, Peilin Sun & Tianjun Wang

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, COVID-19 poses significant challenges to a human’s xing (形, physical body, internal organs), qi (气, vital energy) and shen (神, mind, spirit). This article explains the close relationship of these three aspects of the human being and how they are affected by COVID-19 to cause neuropsychiatric disorders. The authors explain how acupuncture can be utilised to adjust xing, regulate qi and balance shen in order to effectively treat post-COVID-19 psychological and neuropsychiatric symptoms.

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COVID-19-Linked Loss of Smell and Taste: Case study and Discussion

Author: Tianjun Wang

Increasing evidence indicates that loss of smell and taste are key symptoms of COVID-19. This paper discusses the aetiology, pathology and mechanism of loss of smell and taste from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The primary Chinese medicine patterns of damp-cold and damp-heat with toxin are described, along with an explanation of the main zang-fu organs involved (the Lungs and Spleen), and how the mind and brain may be involved. A confirmed COVID-19 case in which the patient lost their sense of smell and taste is also reported, including symptoms, pattern identification and treatment with Chinese herbal medicine and acupressure.

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Efficacy of Traditional Chinese Medicine for COVID-19 Pneumonia

Author: Zhizhou Zheng, Ningning Ma, Lily Li & Dan Jiang

Coronavirus disease, COVID-19, is a new viral illness that was initially identified in the central Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. It causes an extremely high incidence of pneumonia, is highly infectious and has spread quickly throughout the world. The treatment of viral conditions is well established within the context of Chinese Medicine. Here we report two successful cases, including CT scans of the patient’s chest and temperature charts from before, during and after treatment to demonstrate the benefits achieved. Because traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) shows a positive effect in the treatment of COVID-19, it is highly recommended that TCM is incorporated early in the treatment of patients affected by this disease.

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Jīngmài Diagnostics of the Huángdì Nèijīng Língshū: Rényíng/Cùnkou Pulse Methodology

Author: David White

Pulse palpation is the cornerstone of the classical medicine of the Huángdì Nèijīng (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic), and forms the majority of the text’s approach to diagnostics and subsequent needling of the primary channels (jīngmài). Rényíng/cùnkou pulse diagnosis is a ratio-based palpation method dependent on the strength of two pulses felt simultaneously at the wrist and neck, in order to determine a state of excess or insufficiency in the six pairings of the twelve primary channels. Considered a central diagnostic method of the Hàn dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) era of Chinese medicine, this paper will discuss the theory behind this unique diagnostic method and the basic principles of practice and application based on primary source and clinical research of the Huángdì Nèijīng.

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Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Jīngfāng Prevention and Treatment Recommendations

Author: Huang Huang, Yizhong Yao, Jinhong Liu, Yiming Li, Yan Lu, Xueguang Zhang & Dahua Yang

Novel coronavirus pneumonia (coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by an entirely new pathogen. The prevention and treatment of this disease is a major challenge facing humanity today. Jīngfāng, the classical herbal formulae of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), were recorded in Shāng Hán Lùn (伤寒论, Treatise on Cold Damage) 1800 years ago. Since that time Shāng Hán Lùn has been has been widely used as a clinical guide for the treatment of acute febrile diseases. Due to similarities between symptoms described in Shāng Hán Lùn and that of COVID-19 patients, the possibility of crossing the barrier of 2000 years to apply prescriptions from Shāng Hán Lùn to treat COVID-19 is worth exploring. This article provides recommendations for the Jīngfāng treatment of COVID-19 based on study of ancient literature and current clinical research, across four categories: group therapy, individualised therapy, psychological intervention and general prevention.

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The Treatment of Acute Neck Pain with the Extraordinary Vessels and Moxibustion: A Case Study

Author: Andrea Lane

Neck pain and torticollis affect a significant portion of the population. Acupuncture and traditional East Asian medicine (TEAM) are well-documented in their ability to aid in pain management. In this case study, a 34-year-old woman came seeking treatment for acute torticollis that had begun five days previously. At the time of treatment, her self-reported pain was six out of ten. By the end of treatment, her pain had decreased to one out of ten, and in the days following was eliminated completely with no recurrence.

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The Treatment of Norovirus with Moxibustion- A Case Study

Author: Wen Sheng Zhou and Peilin Sun

Norovirus is a highly infectious disease resulting in approximately 700 million cases and 200,000 deaths annually across all ages worldwide, with a global financial burden of 60 billion dollars a year. After the acute infection, nearly one third of patients will subsequently develop chronic irritable bowel syndrome. Because norovirus strains evolve quickly and diversely, vaccination and medical treatment are still in the experimental stages. This report presents a 55 year-old norovirus-infected man with severe symptoms who was treated successfully with moxibustion. The symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, dyspnoea and body aches disappeared after three sessions and there was no reoccurrence. This prompt improvement suggests the potential value of moxibustion for treating norovirus, an area which would be worthy of further study. The presentation includes a discussion of huoluan (霍乱), an ancient Chinese medicine disease label that is similar to norovirus in terms of symptoms and pathogenesis.

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