Muscle Meridian Acupuncture for Treatment of Obesity

Muscle Meridian Acupuncture for Treatment of Obesity

Abstract Obesity is one of the leading health risk factors worldwide and the use of biomedical anti-obesity drugs has been limited by side effects including mood changes, suicidal thoughts, and gastrointestinal or cardiovascular complications. Recent research suggests that acupuncture treatment is more effective than conventional biomedical drugs and lifestyle modification, such as diet and exercise, for achieving and maintaining weight loss. This study explores the twelve muscle meridians (十二筋经) and the Ashi (阿是) points in classical Chinese medicine theory and the method of using acupuncture to re-align muscle and body structure in the treatment of diverse types of obesity. Acupuncture needle targets on the tension area of muscle meridian for relaxing the tightness. Supplementary moxibustion, cupping, and other hyperthermia therapy are applied to improve the circulation of chronically congested area. Muscle meridian plays a crucial role in restoring balanced body shape through realignedmuscle groups. Consequently, obesity related symptoms, such as muscle pain and gastro-intestinal malfunctions, can also be cured. Our clinical observation shows that muscle meridian Ashi points acupuncture is more effective than conventional acupuncture treatment of obesity in that it directly applies treatment in both muscle system and the middle burner (zhongjiao) organs, which play a pivotal role for obesity treatment. Key words: muscle meridian, Ashi points, acupuncture, obesity.