A Manual of Acupuncture
by Peter Deadman, Kevin Baker, Mazin Al-Khafaji

Once in a great while an extraordinary book is published that sets an entirely new standard in its field. A Manual of Acupuncture, published by Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications, is just such a book. Painstakingly researched over many years by Peter Deadman, editor-in-chief of The Journal of Chinese Medicine, and colleagues Mazin Al-Khafaji and Kevin Baker, this book is certain to become the primary reference in the West for the study of acupuncture points and channels.

Introductory chapters describe and illustrate the channels and collaterals, the various categories of points, and methods of selection, location, and needling. Ensuing chapters present each of the points of the 14 channels as well as the extra (miscellaneous) points, identified by their English and pinyin names, and Chinese characters. Each point is located in accordance with the most exacting anatomical standards to be found in any Western textbook.

For each point there is a dedicated drawing, followed by regional body drawings. The quality of the 500 drawings is far superior to those in any other TCM text. There are also practical pointers for finding and needling the points, and cautionary information about what to avoid. In addition to point indexes by their English and pinyin names, there is an index identifying every part of the body reached by each of the channels, and separate indexes of point indications listed according to both TCM and biomedical symptoms.

Peter Deadman studied acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in England and China, and for the past 20 years has been in private practice in Brighton, England. In 1979 he founded The Journal of Chinese Medicine which he edits, writes for, and publishes. He has also been a teacher of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, and has lectured widely throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, Israel, Australia, and the United States.

Mazin Al-Khafaji studied acupuncture in England and China, followed by intensive studies in modern and medical Chinese in Taiwan. In 1987 he graduated as a Doctor of Chinese Medicine from the Shanghai College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and has since been in private practice in Brighton where he specializes in dermatology. Dr. Al-Khafaji is also a frequent lecturer in Chinese medicine in the United Kingdom and Europe.

Kevin Baker qualified in Medicine at Cambridge University and St. George's Hospital Medical School in 1979, subsequently specializing in Accident and Emergency Medicine and Surgery. He became a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London in 1983, and a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Edinburgh in 1986. Thereafter, he pursued studies in acupuncture in England and China, which he currently practices in addition to psychotherapy and general medicine.

The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook: Your Self-Treatment Guide for Pain Relief, Second Edition
by Clair Davies, Amber Davies, David G. Simons (Foreword)

Doctors who specialize in pain treatment suggest that trigger points, small contraction knots in the muscles of the body, are the primary cause for about 75 percent of chronic pain cases. They further report finding trigger points in virtually every patient they treat.

Because trigger points nearly always refer pain to parts of the body other than where they’re located, diagnosing and treating them is difficult—if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

This workbook teaches you exactly what to look for when assessing trigger points. Its clear illustrations show you where on the body trigger points form and the corresponding areas to which they refer pain. Then, in step-by-step detail, it explains how you can treat these sources of chronic pain with unusually effective massage techniques you can do by yourself at any time.

This fully revised and expanded edition of the first and best self-care guide to trigger point therapy includes progressive muscle relaxation techniques that reinforce and support your trigger point therapy. It also offers specific information for bodywork professionals who want to include trigger point therapy in their practices.

If you’ve struggled with chronic pain without finding relief, you owe it to yourself to learn and practice the techniques in this workbook—easy, reliable skills that offer real, lasting relief without drugs, doctor visits, and costly medical bills.

Clair Davies, NCTMB (Nationally Certified in Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork), is a member of the American Massage Therapy Association, and a graduate of the Utah College of massage Therapy. He specializes in trigger point massage for the treatment of pain.

Amber Davies, NCTMB, is a a professional massage therapist and professional educator.

Acupressure's Potent Points: a Guide to Self-Care for Common Ailments
by Michael Reed Gach

With your hands you have potential to relieve everyday aches, pains and ailments without taking drugs, to improve your health, and to increase your vitality. Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to stimulate key points on the skin that, in turn, activate the body's natural self-healing processes. With this book, it is a skill you can learn now--and use in your own home.

In Acupressure's Potent Points, Michael Reed Gach, founder and director of the Acupressure Institute of America, reveals simple techniques that enable you to relieve headaches, arthritis, colds and flu, insomnia, backaches, hiccups, leg pain, hot flashes, depression, and more--using the power and sensitivity of your own hands.

This practical guide covers more than forty ailments and symptoms, from allergies to wrist pain, providing pressure-point maps and exercises to relieve pain and restore function. Acupressure complements conventional medical care, and enables you to take a vital role in becoming well and staying well. With this book you can turn your hands into healing tools--and start feeling good now.

Michael Reed Gach, PhD, Dipl ABT, founded the Acupressure Institute in 1976, one of the leading international training schools in Asian bodywork. Gach is a national expert on acupressure therapy and has taught over 100,000 people from all over the world. He is also the originator of Acu-Yoga, a self-healing system of exercises that integrates acupressure and yoga. Gach received his PhD from Columbia Pacific University in health and human services.

Points for Profit: The Essential Guide to Practice Success for Acupuncturists
by Honora Lee Wolfe

This book/CD Rom set is the first of its kind designed for practitioners of acupuncture. It may also be used by other types of healthcare practitioners. The authors cover a lot of ground here from what you could be doing while you are still a student to the ins and outs of insurance billings, how to set your fees, how to manage patients, and lots of fun marketing ideas. The CD Rom has over 100 pages of insurance, patient management, HIPAA forms, marketing templates, and other resources to help new practitioners get up and running faster and easier.

The three authors are, in order, a marketing specialist, a successful practitioner, and an acupuncture practice management teacher with special knowledge of the insurance industry. Between them, they have over 40 years of experience in the business of acupuncture.

A New American Acupuncture : Acupuncture Osteopathy : The Myofascial Release of the Bodymind's
by Mark Seem

This book represents the fruit of many years of research into the use of acupuncture as a tool for releasing holding patterns in the bodymind as a way to restore functional/structural balance and to relieve chronic pain. Dr. Seem shares his clinical experience of how and why this style of acupuncture works and presents specific protocols for use in the clinic. This book is a valuable reference text for anyone whose practice focuses mainly on acupuncture.

Mark Seem has been practicing acupuncture for over 20 years. He is the founder and President of the Tri-State College of Acupuncture in New York City. Mark has written several books on acupuncture including Acupuncture Energertics and Acupuncture Physical Medicine.

The Complete Book of Chinese Medicine: A Holistic Approach to Physical, Emotional and Mental Health
by Kiew Kit Wong

The Complete Book of Chinese Medicine is the result of years of research and study by a world renowned Shaolin Grandmaster, Sifu Wong Kiew Kit, who has an excellent track record in curing many so-called Oincurable diseasesO like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, sexual inadequacy, kidney failure, rheumatism and asthma using qiqong therapy. The aim of this exciting book is to introduce the wonderful and unique concept behind Chinese medicine. Sifu Wong's command of both the Chinese and English Language has made this book possible as meanings are often lost or misinterpreted during translation.

Wong Kiew Kit, popularly known as Sifu Wong, is the fourth generation successor of Venerable Jiang Nan from the famous Shaolin Monastery in China and Grandmaster of Shaolin Wahnam Institute of Kungfu and Chi Kung. He received the "Qiqong (Chi Kung) Master of the Year" Award during the Second World Congress on Qiqong held in San Francisco in 1997.

Since 1987, Sifu Wong has spent more time teaching Chi Kung than Kungfu, because he feels that while Kungfu serves as an interesting hobby, Chi Kung serves an urgent public need, particularly in overcoming degenerative and psychiatric illnesses.

Sifu Wong is one of the few masters who have generously introduced the once secretive Shaolin Chi Kung to the public, and has helped many people to obtain relief or overcome so-called "incurable" diseases like hypertension, asthma, rheumatism, arthritis, diabetes, migraine, gastritis, gall stones, kidney failure, depression, anxiety and even cancer.

He stresses the Shaolin philosophy of sharing goodness with all humanity, and is now dedicated to spreading the wonders and benefits of the Shaolin arts to people all over the world irrespective of race, culture and religion.

He is an internationally acclaimed author of books on the Shaolin arts and Buddhism.

Standard Meridian Points of Acupuncture: Charts
by Institute of Acupuncture and Moxibustion of the China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine (Editor)

If you are looking for a detailed description of acu points and are trained in the US perhaps this is not for you. These are the most affordable posters that one can buy. For others one expects to pay >$60. It illustrates all 14 meridians, and extra points(EX). It nicely lists the names in PinYin with tones so the LACs can pronounce them properly. It also has the Traditional Chinese names. The Int'l Standard Org(ISO) designations (LU,ST,GB etc.) are not printed on the charts. Rather, they are included in the 44 page phamphlet. All in all, this is an excellent pictorial representations of Acupuncture Meridian points available. They can be used as posters or framed in the office as conversational center piece. This is highly recommended for those interested in pain control, acupressure, and acupuncture.

Finding Effective Acupuncture Points
by Denmei Shudo, Shudo Denmei, Stephen Brown (Translator)

There are many books about acupuncture points, but what is lacking are descriptions by expert practitioners of how they themselves actually go about selecting, finding, and using the points. This type of book would allow the reader to "peer over the shoulder" of the expert to find out what they really do in the clinic.

Finding Effective Acupuncture Points does just that. Shudo Denmei, author of Japanese Classical Acupuncture: Introduction to Meridian Therapy, and a leader of the meridian therapy movement in Japan, has selected about 160 of his favorite points, the ones he actually uses in the clinic. Here he describes in specific detail how to use palpation to find each of the points on the body, and to determine whether or not they are "active." Then he identifies the particular conditions for which each point is best suited, rather than merely reciting a laundry list of all possible indications.

With insightful stories about his own discovery and use of the points in a practice that has spanned nearly five decades, this master teacher brings each of the points to life for other acupuncturists. The book is organized by body region, which makes it especially convenient for finding appropriate points on particular parts of the body. There are also over 90 drawings which illustrate the locations of the points in relation to anatomical landmarks and other points and channels.

This is a book that belongs in the pocket of every practitioner, where it will become a well-thumbed treasure.

Acupuncture Physical Medicine
by Mark Seem

In this groundbreaking book, Dr Seem shares with us the fruits of 20 years of treating patients with all types of chronic fatigue, pain, and stress disorders. These are patients for whom standard medical treatments have offered little help and who often find their way to acupuncturists as a last resort. Included are Dr Seem's classification of the four major patterns of tight tender points that he finds in such patients, his treatment strategies in each pattern, and many charts and diagrams to help busy practitioners use his approach more effectively. This book is a must for acupuncturists treating any type of chronic condition.

Mark Seem is the founder and President of Tri-State College of Traditional Chinese Acupuncture in New York City. He has been in private practice for over 20 years and has written several other books on acupuncture including A New American Acupuncture.