NAJOM Editorial November 2020
Dear NAJOM members,
In this issue our contributors share insights gained while facing their own, or a loved one’s serious medical challenges – terminal cancer, terminal aging, mental illness, severe stress. They remind us where our focus, and our hearts should be when we are with our patients. What Menjyo Yuki, Funamizu Takahiro, Maeda Atsuki, Takahashi Daiki, Ishihara Katsumi, Takashima Masaaki, Pamela Ferguson, Jean Carr, and John Dixon present are not case studies per se, summarizing an approach or technique, but rather, opportunities to for us to reflect upon how we interact with others at a very human level. They invite us to think more deeply about how we view life, and death, putting us in touch with our most uncomfortable emotions – fear, hope, regret. Traditional medicine is for the whole patient: the heart/spirit cannot be left out.
From the deeply personal to the global, we continue to monitor COVID-19’s impact on our members around the world. Practitioners in England, Australia, Japan, the US, India, and Italy reveal how different medical systems produce very different results. Japan and Canada have public healthcare: patients receive medical treatment immediately with little or no cost. It is reasonable to say that people with access to public healthcare are generally healthier, and thus there are fewer COVID-related deaths. Countries with privatized healthcare or particularly weak medical infrastructures (including some G7 nations) often present lower public health scores and the impact of the virus has been much greater.
In China, doctors of Western and Eastern medicine work side by side. Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and moxa are being used to treat COVID-19 with notable results. Herbs are not used for COVID cases in Japan, but basic healthcare covers kampo treatment. Acupuncture, anma massage, and shiatsu treatment are popular day-to-day medical practices. Even during Japan’s lockdown, acupuncture clinics remained open. The death rates in China and Japan have been relatively low, at 4,634 and 1,646 respectively as of 2020.10.5.
It appears there are fewer COVID-related deaths where traditional medicine is more available. In other words, traditional medicine is an effective support for the human immune system. The lower case numbers in East Asian countries may be characteristic of this virus, or due to differences in the living environments in Western and East Asian countries. More research will help us understand the hows and whys of this virus.
Meanwhile, we continue to stretch ourselves as practitioners, to increase the efficacy of our work in these unprecedented times. Tanida Yasuhiro offers a Western medical perspective on the merits of what seems to many of us an outrageous treatment modality: Danokyu, burning of the skin. It is interesting to read how effective this treatment can be, and more research is needed.
A first for NAJOM, is a short submission from Fujikawa Naotaka on auricular acupuncture. To go with this, we have George Chachis’s timely review of a new book on Yamamoto Scalp Acupuncture. I look forward to more on this topic from our readers, including case studies. Many thanks to Nagata Hiroshi, Yamamoto Masumi, Yamaoka Denichiro, Bob Quinn, and Stephen Brown for skillfully expanding our knowledge of a variety of treatment options. In this jam-packed issue, we also have helpful case reports from Faruk Sahin, Rama Kapur, Sawaguchi Hiroshi, and Yamada Tomoko, and an inspiring essay by Ehrland Truitt. While writing this, I also received a submission of simple but powerful words from Shudo Denmei Sensei.
NAJOM currently has about 400 members. We all currently receive a hard copy of the journal as well as a link to the pdf version. There’s something special about opening a package and turning through the pages. The digital version is handy for quick searches. If you are however among a growing number who prefer to receive only the pdf version, please let us know. Not only would you be doing your part for the environment, but it would help reduce our onerous printing and shipping costs.
Our Spring 2021 theme (deadline January 10) is “Yin and Yang.” What does this concept central to traditional Eastern medicine mean to you, what insights have you had about it through your work? Do you practice a style or modality in which the principles of yin-yang are consciously considered? Don’t hesitate to take us outside the box on this one. Please let NAJOM know that you are writing a piece so that we can reserve a spot.
Through NAJOM, we hope that the healing benefits of traditional medicine will advance further among practitioners and patients worldwide.
To all, we wish you good health.
Junji Mizutani, director
Dear NAJOM members,
In this issue our contributors share insights gained while facing their own, or a loved one’s serious medical challenges – terminal cancer, terminal aging, mental illness, severe stress. They remind us where our focus, and our hearts should be when we are with our patients. What Menjyo Yuki, Funamizu Takahiro, Maeda Atsuki, Takahashi Daiki, Ishihara Katsumi, Takashima Masaaki, Pamela Ferguson, Jean Carr, and John Dixon present are not case studies per se, summarizing an approach or technique, but rather, opportunities to for us to reflect upon how we interact with others at a very human level. They invite us to think more deeply about how we view life, and death, putting us in touch with our most uncomfortable emotions – fear, hope, regret. Traditional medicine is for the whole patient: the heart/spirit cannot be left out.
From the deeply personal to the global, we continue to monitor COVID-19’s impact on our members around the world. Practitioners in England, Australia, Japan, the US, India, and Italy reveal how different medical systems produce very different results. Japan and Canada have public healthcare: patients receive medical treatment immediately with little or no cost. It is reasonable to say that people with access to public healthcare are generally healthier, and thus there are fewer COVID-related deaths. Countries with privatized healthcare or particularly weak medical infrastructures (including some G7 nations) often present lower public health scores and the impact of the virus has been much greater.
In China, doctors of Western and Eastern medicine work side by side. Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and moxa are being used to treat COVID-19 with notable results. Herbs are not used for COVID cases in Japan, but basic healthcare covers kampo treatment. Acupuncture, anma massage, and shiatsu treatment are popular day-to-day medical practices. Even during Japan’s lockdown, acupuncture clinics remained open. The death rates in China and Japan have been relatively low, at 4,634 and 1,646 respectively as of 2020.10.5.
It appears there are fewer COVID-related deaths where traditional medicine is more available. In other words, traditional medicine is an effective support for the human immune system. The lower case numbers in East Asian countries may be characteristic of this virus, or due to differences in the living environments in Western and East Asian countries. More research will help us understand the hows and whys of this virus.
Meanwhile, we continue to stretch ourselves as practitioners, to increase the efficacy of our work in these unprecedented times. Tanida Yasuhiro offers a Western medical perspective on the merits of what seems to many of us an outrageous treatment modality: Danokyu, burning of the skin. It is interesting to read how effective this treatment can be, and more research is needed.
A first for NAJOM, is a short submission from Fujikawa Naotaka on auricular acupuncture. To go with this, we have George Chachis’s timely review of a new book on Yamamoto Scalp Acupuncture. I look forward to more on this topic from our readers, including case studies. Many thanks to Nagata Hiroshi, Yamamoto Masumi, Yamaoka Denichiro, Bob Quinn, and Stephen Brown for skillfully expanding our knowledge of a variety of treatment options. In this jam-packed issue, we also have helpful case reports from Faruk Sahin, Rama Kapur, Sawaguchi Hiroshi, and Yamada Tomoko, and an inspiring essay by Ehrland Truitt. While writing this, I also received a submission of simple but powerful words from Shudo Denmei Sensei.
NAJOM currently has about 400 members. We all currently receive a hard copy of the journal as well as a link to the pdf version. There’s something special about opening a package and turning through the pages. The digital version is handy for quick searches. If you are however among a growing number who prefer to receive only the pdf version, please let us know. Not only would you be doing your part for the environment, but it would help reduce our onerous printing and shipping costs.
Our Spring 2021 theme (deadline January 10) is “Yin and Yang.” What does this concept central to traditional Eastern medicine mean to you, what insights have you had about it through your work? Do you practice a style or modality in which the principles of yin-yang are consciously considered? Don’t hesitate to take us outside the box on this one. Please let NAJOM know that you are writing a piece so that we can reserve a spot.
Through NAJOM, we hope that the healing benefits of traditional medicine will advance further among practitioners and patients worldwide.
To all, we wish you good health.
Junji Mizutani, director
Information on COVID 19
Below are the official communications from the World Federation of Acupuncture and Moxibustion Societies (WFAS), in cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO)
| guidelines_on_acupuncture_and_moxibustion_intervention_for_covid-19__second_edition_.pdf |
| recommandations_sur_lutilisation_de_lacupuncture_et_de_la_moxibustion_dans_le_traitement_du_covid-19.pdf |
| pautas_sobre_el_uso_de_acupuntura_y_moxibustión_para_tratar_el_covid-19.pdf |
| 新型冠状病毒肺炎诊疗方案试行第七版中医方案部分diagnosis_and_treatment_protocol_for_covid-19_chapter_of_tcm_.pdf |
| 新型冠状病毒肺炎针灸干预的指导意见（第二版）.pdf |
NAJOM’s Global Community Working Together
Here are some of the responses NAJOM members have sent in on dealing with the Coronavirus.
Here are some of the responses NAJOM members have sent in on dealing with the Coronavirus.
| Member_responses_handling_the_coronavirus.docx |
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