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Photonic acupuncture
PHOTONIC ACUPUNCTURE I attended a seminar by Dr. Brian McLaren, an Australian veterinarian, and retired practitioner who also did general practice. This man has an encyclopedic knowledge of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology. He explains the efficacy of acupuncture and other alternative therapies very convincingly. His therapeutic claims are rather extravagent, but he worked on my horse and I was impressed. He described "Photonic acupuncture," as a model to explain acupuncture, from phylogenesis to the multiplicity of methodologies and results.
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He said, "Photonic acupuncture is the applicaton of monochromatic light to classical acupuncture points, and is the correct name for what has been described as laser acupuncture, or low-level laser therapy. "There is much confusion caused by the inability of some workers in acupuncture to demonstrate the exact nature of an acupuncture loci, or to identify them in neuro-anatomical terms. As it was known that the skin over a muscle motor point had the least resistance to electrical stimulation, one of the earlier attempts to explain acupuncture points was in terms of the relatively fixed patterns of motor lines." He said that while it has been demonstrated that dry needling muscles at motor points relieves pain, acupuncture has not been fully explained in western neuro-physiological terms. Due
to the number of methods of stimulating acupuncture points, there are difficulties in accurate interpretation, as it is unknown to what extent extraneous influences occur, and to what extent these may cause errors. He described four major theories that attempt to explain the reduction in pain and the wide range of physiological effects of acupuncture: 1) The neural non-opiat theory; 2) The neural opiate theory; 3) The hormonal opiate theory; and 4) The bioelectric theory. The later theory has neither been fully endorsed nor dismissed. Those interested in more informtion may contact McLaren USA, Inc., North Penn Plaza, 5629 N. Penn Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73112; phone (405) 767-0800. Robert M. Miller, DVM Thousand Oaks, California
JOURNAL OF EQUINE VETERINARY SCIENCE
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He said, "Photonic acupuncture is the applicaton of monochromatic light to classical acupuncture points, and is the correct name for what has been described as laser acupuncture, or low-level laser therapy. "There is much confusion caused by the inability of some workers in acupuncture to demonstrate the exact nature of an acupuncture loci, or to identify them in neuro-anatomical terms. As it was known that the skin over a muscle motor point had the least resistance to electrical stimulation, one of the earlier attempts to explain acupuncture points was in terms of the relatively fixed patterns of motor lines." He said that while it has been demonstrated that dry needling muscles at motor points relieves pain, acupuncture has not been fully explained in western neuro-physiological terms. Due
to the number of methods of stimulating acupuncture points, there are difficulties in accurate interpretation, as it is unknown to what extent extraneous influences occur, and to what extent these may cause errors. He described four major theories that attempt to explain the reduction in pain and the wide range of physiological effects of acupuncture: 1) The neural non-opiat theory; 2) The neural opiate theory; 3) The hormonal opiate theory; and 4) The bioelectric theory. The later theory has neither been fully endorsed nor dismissed. Those interested in more informtion may contact McLaren USA, Inc., North Penn Plaza, 5629 N. Penn Ave., Oklahoma City, OK 73112; phone (405) 767-0800. Robert M. Miller, DVM Thousand Oaks, California
JOURNAL OF EQUINE VETERINARY SCIENCE