ahaha yea, i've been an avid martial artist (studying tae kwon do and tai chi thus far) and i've had to believe in chi for my belt examinations. i don't know why it works either. i want to find that out!
Here's a theory I've heard in a few classes. A nociceptive (pain) sensory neuron from the painful area excites an interneuron. This same interneuron can be inhibited by another sensory neuron (mechanoreceptor) typically from the same area. This explains why, when you hurt your arm, you instinctively rub it to make it feel better. The pressure stimulation inhibits or reduces the pain stimulation. So, the same principle may be in effect with accupuncture. No proof, of course, but a nice little theory that seems to fit well.
Yep. Except, in most (practical) cases it means that there are a bunch of impurities in your "medicine". There are lots of constituents other than the active ingredients in herbal preperations. No pharmaceutical company in their right mind would sell a drug that consisted of an active ingredient mixed with a slew of unknown chemicals. Pharma is now trying to produce largely enantiomerically pure drugs. (Heck, they arent even contaminated with themself!).
