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The System of Traditional Five Element Acupuncture of Professor J.R. Worsley
In his training, Dr. Miller has studied the traditions
of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Japanese acupuncture and Vietnamese
acupuncture, but it is a tradition that comes to the United States
from England that he has found to be most useful. The system of
acupuncture developed at the School of Traditional Acupuncture in
England by Professor J.R. Worsley is one that has attempted to preserve
the oldest traditions of acupuncture. It is referred to variously
as Traditional Acupuncture and Traditional 5-Element Acupuncture.
There are similar systems in schools in France and Vietnam and Japan
that understand the importance of early treatment and intervention
as a means of preventing serious disease. This can be a hard idea
for the Western mind to grasp, for there is very little emphasis
on preventative medicine in Western medicine, though there is increasing
awareness that the energy spent in keeping a person well is as important
as the treatment of a disease once it occurs. There are aspects to the tradition of acupuncture that pre-date the China of Mao Tse Tung that still survive, especially in the traditions of acupuncture in Japan, Vietnam and the styles of acupuncture taught and practiced in England and Europe. In these oldest traditions of acupuncture, the most skilled practitioner was the physician who could, through a careful evaluation of subtle physical signs and a careful evaluation of the condition of the mind and spirit of the person
detect disease in its earliest stages, before the person had become
gravely ill. In ancient China, the physician was only paid as long
as everyone in the family was healthy and if the head of the family
became ill, it was the physician's duty not only to treat the ill
person but to support the family until the illness had passed. This
aspect of identifying and treating imbalances in a person before
they have degenerated into serious physical problems has proven
very useful for the people seen in this office. What is Formula Acupuncture? Acupuncture, the most well known of the therapies
from Oriental Medicine has many forms. The simplest, known as 'barefoot
doctor' or formula acupuncture best treats the immediate symptoms
of an acute disease. In the West, many people turn to acupuncture
only when their disease is long-standing and Western medical therapies
have been less than successful. Chronic and diffuse constitutional
diseases benefit from a more classical and holistic approach. Additional
specialized techniques are used to support people undergoing chemotherapy
or radiation therapy for the treatment of malignancy. There are
some very effective techniques for the treatment of certain pediatric
diseases, and Dr. Miller has had specific training in the treatment
of infants and children. What is Traditional Acupuncture? Traditional acupuncture, in contrast to formula
acupuncture, considers symptoms as a signal of distress, evidence
or some underlying problem. This distress may take the form of a
headache, an ulcer, arthritis, insomnia, menstrual problems, allergies
or asthma, impotence, pain, or any of a number of other complaints.
Simply alleviating or covering the symptoms is not sufficient, for
if health is to be restored, the imbalances and innate vulnerabilities
in the body and mind and spirit of the individual must be discovered
and treated. It is not the symptom that has the person, but the
person that has the symptom that must be treated. This is the essence
of Oriental Medicine in its finest and most refined form, and can
result in not only marked reduction in symptoms, but also lead to
a remarkable sense of full health and well-being. Dr. Miller is
a Traditional Acupuncturist, preferring this form of therapy, but
uses whatever treatment is most appropriate for each individual. (Damon P. Miller II, M.D. practices 5-Element Traditional Acupuncture in the Worsley tradition in Los Altos, CA.) Return to Executive Health Home Page
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