Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor, is generally credited
with authorship of the Nei Ching, the first book
describing acupuncture, c. 2700 BC in China.
According to Chinese traditional medicine, the life
force or energy, called qi, flows through 14 pathways,
or meridians, in the body. Disease and pain result
when the flow of qi is blocked. This can be resolved
by inserting hair-thin needles into certain acupoints
along the meridians that correspond to the specific
pain or disease the patient has. Acupuncture began to
be practiced in the United States in the late 1960s; it
can be particularly useful in treating muscle pain and
arthritis. Although scientists and pain researchers have
not definitively identified its therapeutic mechanism, it
is becoming more and more accepted in the West as a
tool with which to fight pain.