YNSA (Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture) is a comprehensive system of acupuncture assessment, diagnosis and treatment, developed by the Japanese physician Toshikatsu Yamamoto, affectionately called Toshi by those of us who have had the pleasure of spending time with him.
It was discovered in the 1960s and first presented to the world at the Ryodoraku Congress held in Osaka, Japan, in 1973. Throughout more than forty years, Dr. Yamamoto has not stopped working to improve and complete the system.
In the early 70s, this method was made up of five Basic Points located on the forehead. It consisted of a single microsystem or somatotope, that is, correspondence of a body area point with a specific zone of the central nervous system, organ, muscle, etc. Since then, Dr. Yamamoto has discovered many more points as well as other somatotopes, and not only in the head but also in other body parts.
In traditional Japan, acupuncture was usually practiced by massage therapists, and therefore, it was not socially well-recognized. The Japanese medical community and society did not recognize the effectiveness of this technique until a few years ago, and there is no doubt that this has ocurred thanks to the tireless activity of Dr. Yamamoto.
In the 1960s, after studying and working abroad for ten years, Dr. Yamamoto returned to Japan along with his wife Helene, a German nurse who has accompanied him throughout his career, and their two daughters. In addition to being a gynecologist and surgeon, Dr. Yamamoto is also an anesthetist, which was very useful to start treating patients in his hometown of Nichinan.
That same night, Dr. Yamamoto turned to the experience of a massage therapist, who provided him with an old book about acupuncture. From that moment, Dr. Yamamoto decided to continue giving shots without anesthetics and started using acupuncture needles. This was the beginning of the Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA), currently applied with great success worldwide by thousands of therapists, and thus helping hundreds of thousands of patients.
The wooden cabin became too small, so Dr. Yamamoto decided to build a hospital with the invaluable help from his brother, who guaranteed a mortgage. More than 2,000 surgeries with acupuncture anesthesia were performed in these hospital facilities, such as appendectomies, deliveries, Cesarean births, hysterectomies, intestinal obstruction repairs and amputations. Subsequently, Dr. Yamamoto would also include hemiplegic patient treatment.
In the Yamamoto New Scalp Acupuncture (YNSA) system, there are several diagnostic, therapeutic and diagnostic-therapeutic areas (not only in the head), and the following stand out among them: neck, upper and lower limbs, pubis and abdomen (area developed from oriental abdominal acupuncture and adapted to scalp acupuncture). Therefore, there is a correlation between brain, neck and abdomen points with the rest of the body and with each other.
An association between the so-called Y Points or YPSILON Points and the twelve cranial pairs is made through the diagnostic technique in neck and abdomen areas. All internal organs are located at the Y or Ypsilon Points.
These points maintain a correspondence to the ZANG FU, which are meridians according to TCM and internal organs according to the Western approach. The system distinguishes between the YIN somatotope (on the anterior part of skull) and the YAN somatotope (on the posterior part of skull).
As a general rule, needle insertion is performed ipsilaterally in the case of pain treatment or musculoskeletal disorders, but contralaterally in the case of hemiplegia; although this pattern is subject to modification depending on diagnosis.
The needles usually remain in place for 15-35 minutes. I personally combine YNSA with other types of acupuncture, TCM, DNA, auriculotherapy, Dr. Tung acupuncture, Vietnamese acupuncture, Richard Tan acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and laser acupuncture.
There are very few complications and side effects are virtually non-existent.
The system is very effective in the treatment of pain and in the treatment of many neurological pathologies, such as post-stroke sequelae. In addition, it has proven very effective in many other ailments such as hypoacusis or tinnitus, thanks to its powerful neuroplastic capacity and reliance on the natural healing capabilities of the body’s biophysical and biochemical systems.
Dr. Yamamoto is an exceptional human being. But he is also very humble and grateful. He has never ceased to insist that everything he knows is thanks to his patients. In November 2017, I had the enormous privilege and great good fortune to be able to consult with Dr. Yamamoto at his Miyazaki Rehabilitation clinic and at his hospital in Nichinan, both in southern Japan. On January 1, 2018, a program on Dr. Yamamoto’s clinical and teaching activity was broadcasted in Japan, and I had the opportunity to participate.
This article is a humble tribute to him, not only as a physician and as one of the best acupuncturists in the world; but also as a teacher and above all as a human being. He is an example of humility, joy, constancy and compassion, and I try to follow his example whenever I can.