What is INMAS?

INMAS stands for Integrative Neuromuscular Acupoint System. The INMAS was created by Dr Yun-Tao Ma to be an upgraded understanding of the use of acupuncture treatment. Classical acupuncture was developed between 500 and 200 BC. It grew to encompass an intricate system of 14 meridians with 361 points, each having a fixed location and function. This is the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine and is still learned today.

The basic idea of the meridian system is that the acupuncture points are connected by flows of energy or qi. Stimulation of one point can produce effect elsewhere in the body based on these connections. However, intensive research in China and elsewhere has yet to produce concrete evidence of the meridians as described in the classical texts. Classical Chinese acupuncture produced valuable clinical experience, but the theories of why it worked have become increasingly at odds with modern physiological understanding. Simply put, acupuncture works, but the reason it works is not the reason that was traditionally given.

This presents what Dr. Ma calls a "bottleneck;" an ancient and valuable therapy is having trouble moving into the modern age because it is still described in archaic terms. The INMAS was created to remedy this. This system is based on a neuroanatomical understanding of physiology, while preserving the classical impetus to treat the whole person, not only the disease. It is based on an understanding of the peripheral and central mechanisms of the nervous system. Pain and other problems can be treated not by an understanding of "qi" in the meridian, but by where they are relative to spinal nerve distribution. The action of the acupuncture needle is not considered to affect qi, but to have a neurochemical effect. This leads to a clear and reproducible treatment protocol, as well as facilitating communication with other health care professionals.

At Naperville Acupuncture Center, we use many acupuncture techniques, but our understanding of what and why we do what we do is guided largely by Dr. Ma's work. Our thanks and gratitude to him for advancing our profession and making it more accepted and of more benefit to the public.