In 1951 Dr. Yoshio Nakatani presented his research and theory of RYODORAKU
Acupuncture. Dr. Nakatani had found that there were a series of
resistance points (or high electrical conductivity) running longitudinally up
and down the body. When linked together these points closely
acupuncture meridians. Dr. Nakatani called these lines (or
“Ryodoraku” (ryo = good, 'do is (electro) conductive, 'raku = line). The points along the Ryodoraku he named Ryodoten.
Dr. Nakatani was the first person to measure the electrical activity of
acupuncture points and the first to formulate diagnostic and treatment
criteria from these measurements. Nakatani was the first recorded
acupuncturist to use electrical stimulation of acupuncture points.
Point location and electrical stimulation has become the norm for most
acupuncturists world wide but the Ryodoraku detection, analysis and point
selection for electrical stimulation is much less popular. This is
unfortunate as Nakatani's concepts provide an accurate pulse-organ diagnosis, accurate
location of required treatment points and a very time efficient treatment
regimen (generally only 7 seconds stimulation of each point is required.
classic acupuncture treatment lasting an average of 30 minutes would only take
2 - 3 minutes using Ryodoraku!).
The indications for Ryodoraku are identical to those for acupuncture, but the
results are often faster. In particular acute pain and acute
swelling e.g. sports injury will often respond during the initial
A Ryodoraku unit called a “Neurometer” uses a constant voltage of 12V
(occasionally 21V will be used in ear acupuncture) and a variable current
(this current is set to 200uA for treatment) . To provide
avoid artefacts because of dryness/wetness of skin a moist electrode is used
to locate the points of lowered electrical resistance i.e. Ryodoten or Electro
permeable Points (EPP).
The moist electrode consists of a small cup containing a plug of cotton wool
soaked in saline (sometimes alcohol is used). This is run lightly
skin until a high reading is seen on the meter i.e. this area of low
resistance, high conductivity allows current to flow. An increase
of 20-50 uA
is expected. As in other forms of electro acupuncture practice is
to achieve consistent results. Too much pressure or repeated
checking of a
point can change the electrical properties of the skin in that area and lead
to error. Computerised measuring Ryodoraku units are available in
give a steady 3g electrode pressure to the skin.
This EPP can then be located exactly by using the fine probe in the two or
three headed point locater on the Ryodoraku unit.
Nakatani discovered that the number of electro permeable points not only
varied with any disease process but also with the voltage of the detector
probe. Most of the traditional acupoints could be located if a 21
was used. However if a 12 volt circuit was used, there were other
conductive points over the body, not associated with any specific acupuncture
points. He called these Responsive Ryodo-points or Reactive
points (REPPs). These points often correspond with trigger points
or Ah Shi
(tender to touch) points. Nakatani theorised that they occurred
of the Autonomic Nervous system and were representative of internal
disorder/dysfunction and/or disease.
Nakatani showed that needling these REPP, and stimulating them for 7-10 sec
with a 200uA charge would render them electrically inert and produce symptom
relief. Headaches, neck aches, back aches and acute pains would
relieved - sometimes in minutes, sometimes over several days. This
is a very
effective form of local or regional acupuncture but Nakatani developed it
Using his knowledge of the Ryodoraku pathways Nakatani formalised Ryodoraku
acupuncture. He used the same concepts of the twelve paired
meridians or organ systems (Heart, lungs, triple warmer,pericardium, large
intestine, small intestine on the upper limbs and gall bladder, stomach,
liver,kidney, bladder and spleen on the lower limb ) and the two single
midline meridians (anteriorly, Conception Vessel and posteriorly, Governing
Vessel). However he did not use the classical names.
He assigned the letters “H” to each of the six Ryodoraku on the upper limbs numbering them from one to six. Similarly he assigned the letter “F” to each of the six
Ryodoraku on the lower limbs, numbering them from one to six. Thus H3 represented
the Heart meridian on the upper limb; F6 represented the stomach meridian on the lower
To further confuse the issue (at least as far as traditional acupuncturists
were concerned) Nakatani did not use either the Chinese name nor the more
commonly accepted, international numbering of acupuncture points.
[He numbered his Ryodo points starting at the end of each limb]. Acupuncture
uses the Yin-Yang energy flow concepts to number its acupuncture points. Thus
energy flows outwards towards the end of a limb along one meridian and back to the trunk
along another meridian i.e. the meridians are paired off. In the
paired meridians Lung and Large Intestine energy starts on the trunk in the Lung
meridian so L1 (the first Lung meridian acupuncture point) is on the anterior
chest. The first point for the Large Intestine meridian (LI. 1) is
index finger. In Nakatani's Ryodoraku system both H11 (the first
on the large intestine Ryodoraku) and H51 (the first Ryodo point on the lung
Ryodoraku) are on the finger tips.
Nakatani believed this was a much simpler way of representing and teaching
acupuncture. No knowledge of the complex acupuncture nomenclature,
and mnemonics was required. In fact a therapist theoretically did
have to memorise the exact position of the acupuncture points.
use the Ryodoraku Neurometer to locate the points.
In a further departure from traditional acupuncture Nakatani compared readings
from Ryodoraku on the right side of the body with those of the same Ryodoraku
on the left side of the body. If one side showed higher (or lower)
than the other, he would use a specific needling procedure to bring the EPP
readings to the same level. When the right and left paired
right and left H1 (Lung) Ryodoraku] had the same electrical reactivity, the
body was balanced for that organ system.
Initially, Nakatani measured the electrical resistance of each and every EPP
along a meridian, added them together and divided by the total number of EPP.
This gave him an average energy value for that meridian. This was
very time consuming and, eventually, Nakatani discovered that there was a
point on each meridian that was representative of the energy in that meridian.
He named this point a Representative Measuring Point (RMP). Thus
there are 24
RMP - six on each wrist and six on each foot.
These twenty four points were measured and charted on a special chart, the
left side being compared with the right side for the paired meridians.
Thanks to the New Zealand Acupuncture Website for the use of this article!
If your neck or low back is “going out” more often than you are,
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