Acupuncture treatment targets tongues

As unpleasant as it may sound, tongue acupuncture has attracted a dedicated following in Hong Kong.

The treatment, pioneered by Sun Jieguang, takes a few seconds and targets ailments ranging from cerebral palsy in young children to Parkinson's or Alzheimer's disease in old people.

"It feels like being pricked by toothpicks," said Ricky Chan, aged 18, who was treated for uncontrollable trembling due to complications from encephalitis.

The innovative technique uses the same principle as conventional acupuncture, of stimulating pressure points on the body.

It has proved so popular that 2000 people are now on Mr Sun's waiting list in Hong Kong.

Four-year-old Lam Ngai-kong has trouble walking and writing due to a brain disorder that has weakened his limbs. But his mother said she had noticed an improvement in Ngai-kong after just five sessions.

"His hands were too wobbly to write properly but they are much stronger now. He doesn't even need that much support when he walks," she said.

"It has been truly miraculous."

Research carried out by Hong Kong University on 100 children has shown tongue acupuncture to be an effective treatment for some cardiovascular diseases and illnesses linked to brain disorders.

But Professor Virginia Wong, who specialises in child neurology at the university, said patients usually received other forms of medication at the same time.

It was, therefore, hard to isolate the impact of tongue acupuncture.

Most of the children studied suffered from illnesses with no known cures in Western medicine, such as autism and cerebral palsy, which causes a loss of limb coordination.

Mr Sun said: "We have seen remarkable improvements in the kids emotionally, in their ability to communicate, concentrate, write and learn."REUTERS " Sun told Reuters in an interview.

Sun began his research more than two decades ago in China and says he has since discovered 49 acupuncture points on the tongue.

In Hong Kong, local neurologists have successfully combined Western-style treatment with tongue acupuncture on patients with parkinson's disease, alzheimer's and stroke victims.

Despite the success and recognition he has earned, Sun has no intention of making the technique public knowledge and has so far taught it only to his son who lives on mainland China.

"People have tried to copy me after my visit to the United States where I gave lectures about my work," Sun said.

Sun sees around 80 patients a day but the backlog of patients is building. His clinic says the average wait for those seeking treatment is about three years.