Professor Zhiyun Bo

Abdominal acupuncture is a new form of acupuncture in Chinese medicine. It involves the application of needles according to the abdominal meridian system (AMS), as introduced by Professor Zhiyun Bo.  It is therefore known as Bo's Method of Abdominal Acupuncture (BMAA).

It is built upon a combination of existing TCM theories as well as new concepts devised by Prof. Bo.  It is a safer form of acupuncture, due to the superficial penetration of the needles.  It is much shallower than conventional techniques and so is less painful, as the de qi is not elicited in the usual way, which patients often find uncomfortable.

This new technique was discovered over two decades ago when Prof. Bo came across a resistant case of low back pain with sciatica.  Both Western and Chinese medical techniques failed to help the patient.  Prof. Bo decided to apply needles at the acupoints qihai (Ren 6) and guanyuan (Ren 4), which are part of the abdominal meridian system and have a connection with the meridian of the lumbar regions.  The pain disappeared within five minutes.  This was followed with further successes using the same treatment strategy.  Prof. Bo then dedicated his time to the further understanding of AMS.  Following decades of research into AMS, in 1991, Prof. Bo perfected the AMS theory and established the present protocols for the clinical practice of BMAA.

BMAA can be used to treat many disorders, particularly in relation to the following:  osteo-muscular-articular disorders such as a stiff neck; cervical-dorsum-lumbar spondylopathy; scapulohumeral periarthritis; tendinitis; rheumatoid arthritis; lumbar pain with sciatica; cervical spondylotic syndrome; and arthrosis.  It can also treat cerebrovascular disorders, including thrombosis hemiplegia; senile dementia; cerebral arteriosclerosis; angiocardiopathy; hypertension; hysteria; cerebral hemorrhage; and atrophy of the cerebellum.  Disturbances of the nervous system such as anxiety, depression, headaches, neuritis and dizziness can also be treated.  In addition, it can treat ocular disturbances -- for example, atrophy and retrobulbar neuritis, degeneration of the retina, optic atrophy, cataracts, and glaucoma.  Other disorders that can be treated include Parkinson's disease and diabetic neuritis.

Click here for more information on the Chinese Abdominal Acupuncture Committee.