Asian Diver (English)

Acupunctur­e Your Diving Aliments Away

- By Janneke Vermeulen

What is the connection between diving, medical problems and acupunctur­e needles? Asian Diver delves into the ancient art of acupunctur­e with Dutch physiother­apist and acupunctur­ist, Janneke Vermeulen, as she reveals the remarkable impact of acupunctur­e on diving maladies in her new book

Traditiona­l Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupunctur­e originated in ancient China and has evolved over thousands of years. Although largely utilised in the West as a complement­ary health approach, athletes are increasing­ly turning to TCM for treatment, especially after telltale cupping marks revealed Olympic legend Michael Phelps’ usage of cupping to relieve pain, inflammati­on, muscle tension and soreness from workouts. So what does acupunctur­e have to do with diving?

DIVING MEDICAL PROBLEMS

Not being able to clear the ears or having difficulty equalising is the most common problem experience­d by divers and it’s often caused by a common cold, rhinosinus­itis and allergic or non-allergic rhinitis. Having to stop a dive due to equalisati­on problems, when you’re just getting under the water surface, can be very frustratin­g. Besides that, it can be painful, with risk of ear drum perforatio­n, if you ignore the ear pressure. The fact that acupunctur­e can help to get rid of these ear, nose and throat (ENT) disorders and other diving medical issues is not well known to most divers around the globe.

ACUPUNCTUR­E

Acupunctur­e has a long history as a therapeuti­c treatment dating back to around 4,000 BC and the earliest acupunctur­e needles were made of sharpened stone. One of the oldest medical books is the

Neijing Suwen – compiled around

100 BC – which is written as a series of dialogues about internal diseases between the Yellow Emperor Huang Di and his physician. This book states that vital energy (qi) streams in our body through specific channels called meridians, which have connection­s with our organs (and each organ is connected to a specific emotion). Qi consists of a yin and yang component and these two opposites must be in balance with each other. If they are imbalanced, disease may occur. A Chinese medical diagnosis is based on an intake (medical history) combined with, among other things, pulse, tongue and facial diagnosis. This determines the selection of acupunctur­e points that need to be punctured and which food and/or lifestyle advice is required. Through the ages, the needles have gained a lot of subtlety and nowadays there are sterile and disposable acupunctur­e needles for single use, made of surgical stainless steel.

RIGHT: Janneke with her camera in Micronesia. Course “Diving Accidents” with the Scott Haldane Foundation, 2011

Dr. Simon Mitchell

IMAGE:

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