Chen-Chiu therapy, a method of treatment in which special metallic needles of varying length are inserted into body tissues at strictly determined points.

There are two kinds of acupuncture: acupuncture proper and ignipuncture (moxibustion)—punctate cauterization with special pressed rods of plant matter. Both varieties of the method have been used in Chinese folk medicine since ancient times, have spread to other countries, and have found application in clinical medicine. There are 664 known “active” points on the body, and, depending on the nature of the disease, the physician chooses the appropriate ones. These “active” points differ from neighboring areas of the skin in a number of features: higher sensitivity to pain, a higher level of metabolic processes, higher electric potential, and low electrocutaneous resistance.

Needles for acupuncture are made of metal and are 1.5–12 cm long and 0.3–0.45 mm thick. When the needles are inserted into the “active” points, there arise sensations of rheumatic pain and rupture and a feeling of the passage of current, which serve as criteria of the accuracy of the insertion. The needles are inserted either by slow rotation or by rapid puncture, or the needle is driven deeper into the tissue by slowly rotating it after a rapid puncture. Usually two to four needles are inserted and left in the body for 5–10–20 minutes. The course of treatment consists of 10–15 such sessions carried out every other day or daily; then there is an interval of 10–15 days after which the course may be repeated. The effect of acupuncture is explained by the moderate stimulation of the sensory nerve branches in the skin, muscles, and blood vessels. This stimulates and regulates the activity of the nervous system, improves the neural regulation and nutrition of organs and tissues, and alters the production of hormones and biologically active substances.

Acupuncture has a therapeutic effect in many diseases of the peripheral nervous system (neuralgia, neuritis, including neuritis of the facial nerve, and radiculitis); some diseases of the central nervous system (chorea, epilepsy, residual effects of poliomyelitis); diseases of the autonomic nervous system with vascular, trophic, and secretory disturbances; functional diseases of the nervous system (neurasthenia, psychasthenia); a number of diseases of internal organs (gastroenteritis, stomach ulcers, colitis, bronchial asthma); rheumatic arthritis; allergic states; and disturbances of the menstrual cycle. In some acute infectious diseases acupuncture may serve as an ancillary method of treatment. Acupuncture is contraindicated in diseases that require immediate surgical intervention, such as appendicitis, hemorrhage of internal organs, pathologic parturition, and malignant neoplasms.