Acupuncture in Practice Beyond Points and Meridians,
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Butterworth-Heinemann
An imprint of Elsevier Science Limited
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© Anthony Campbell 2001
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Campbell, Anthony, 1933–
Acupuncture in practice: beyond points and meridians
1. Acupuncture
I Title
615.8
92
ISBN 0 7506 5242 X
Composition by Genesis Typesetting, Laser Quay, Rochester, Kent
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, Guildford and King’s Lynn
Acknowledgements
I should like to thank Heidi Allen, Robert Edwards, Jackie Holding, and
the rest of the team at Butterworth-Heinemann for the care and interest
they have taken in the production of this book.
Foreword
Acupuncture is full of controversies, and none is greater than the
fundamental approach we should adopt. On the one hand, the traditional
practice of acupuncture has evolved over many centuries of clinical
observation and been passed down by respected masters to grateful
apprentices. Supporters of the traditional approach argue that its concepts
of energy flow operate as a knowledge system in its own right which
should not be rejected just because it does not fit in with current western
understanding of the body’s mechanisms. On the other hand, the ‘modern’
approach declares that acupuncture is a relatively straightforward form of
stimulation therapy that is beginning to be explained in physiological
terms. So, learning complicated rules about where to place the needles
and different methods of stimulating them is no longer necessary.
This debate is particularly active in Britain, where Anthony Campbell
is perhaps the best known proponent of the modern approach, and
certainly the most articulate. He was originally attracted to acupuncture
by his knowledge of and fascination for eastern philosophy. He soon
came across Felix Mann, one of the first to challenge the old ideas and
look afresh at what happens when a patient is needled. Anthony was
instinctively sympathetic to a modern approach, and tested it carefully by
many years of careful observation of his own patients. Through teaching,
the rigour of his thinking has been refined in the hot fire of critical
challenge by students. He has been prepared to knock down (but always
politely: he is highly respectful of traditional philosophies in themselves)
any icons or preconceptions that are not common sense and that hinder
progress. The sum of all this wisdom and experience is accumulated in
this text, which will stand as one of the most thoughtful yet accessible
treatises on acupuncture of all time.
This is a radical book that succeeds in demystifying acupuncture. It
presents a closely argued but entirely practical approach to needling
patients. It is compatible with the little we do know about the function of
the nervous system, requiring no leap of faith or suspension of disbelief.
Anthony Campbell does not claim to provide short-cut recipes for treating
patients – that still requires careful thought and application of basic
viii
Foreword
principles. He accepts that there are plenty of aspects of acupuncture that
we still cannot explain, but reassures the reader that modern science is the
best way of finding useful and meaningful answers. This book reflects the
author’s truly innovative contributions in certain particular aspects of the
technique, most notably what he calls the ‘acupuncture treatment areas’
that replace traditional points. He also emphasizes the likely role of the
brain’s limbic system, which suggests that patients’ nervous systems must
in some way be ‘prepared’ (but not simply by suggestion or belief) if
acupuncture is to be really successful, which in turn leads on to an open
acceptance of the essential role of ‘placebo’ in all clinical practice. This
book promises to become a milestone in the debate about acupuncture and
the development of a rational approach to the technique.
Dr Adrian White
MA BM BCh Dip.Med.Ac, Lic.Ac
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