Abstract
By Jason Jishun Hao and Linda Lingzhi Hao
Publisher: Blue Poppy Press
Boulder, CO 80301
Website: www.bluepoppy.com
First Edition, November 2011
ISBN-10: 1891845608; ISBN-13: 978-1891845604
255 pages; $39.95
Chinese scalp acupuncture (CSA) stands out as one of the most important and useful approaches in my clinical training. It can be used to deal with the daily challenges of acute and chronic pain, and is, in my opinion, the only acupuncture technique that can provide stabilization and improvement for difficult neurologic problems. I am pleased that my impatience to have Jason's teaching widely available through his book is now relieved—and fully justified.
Chinese Scalp Acupuncture is intelligently and usefully organized. It starts with a short history of this Chinese contribution to contemporary medical acupuncture, followed by a review of neuroanatomy and physiology and an interesting linkage of CSA with the principles of traditional acupuncture. Jason confidently proclaims that CSA regulates the functions of the Zang-Fu and channels, harmonizes the under- and overactive functions of the brain, and restores proper circulation of Qi and blood to the brain. All chapters have useful photographs and clear illustrations, and chapter titles are attractively ornamented with his own calligraphy.
Jason and wife-collaborator, Linda Hao, are systematic and clear in the chapters that present the CSA zones and clinical indications, and the needling techniques and treatment precautions. They conscientiously and comprehensively prepare newcomers to the technique for each step of their CSA interventions. You will not feel isolated or unsupervised if you elect to use only the book as your guide into this new territory, even without supervision by the authors.
As useful as Part One of Chinese Scalp Acupuncture is to launch you into the discipline, Part Two matches as an ongoing reference for the straightforward and difficult problems you will treat with the technique. These seven chapters organize the broad categories of pathology potentially accessible to CSA: paralysis, pain, aphasia, sense organ disorders, female and male disorders, pediatric disorders, and other neuropsychological disorders.
Each chapter then subdivides the categories into individual conditions, for example stroke, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, phantom limb pain, tinnitus, fibromyalgia, and attention deficit disorder. The individual conditions are illustrated with case examples, the treatment used for that case, plus a discussion of additions and variations to the example for other patients with the same diagnosis. You will refer to these case examples and discussions throughout your professional career.
If you are serious about acupuncture and you manage neuromusculoskeletal disorders in your practice, I enthusiastically encourage you to embrace CSA as a new skill to address difficult problems. Chinese Scalp Acupuncture is an excellent teacher and companion.