How Does Acupuncture Work?
Acupuncture is a holistic health technique that stems from Traditional Chinese Medicine from more than 2000 years ago. Acupuncture improves the body’s functions and promotes the natural self-healing process by stimulating specific anatomic sites–commonly referred to as acupuncture points, or acupoints. The most common method used to stimulate acupoints is the insertion of fine, sterile needles into the skin. Pressure, heat, or electrical stimulation may further enhance the effects. Other acupoint stimulation techniques include manual massage, moxibustion or heat therapy, cupping, and the application of topical herbal medicines and linaments.
However, the mistranslations of Chinese textbooks on acupuncture to the English language have led to some misinformation about acupuncture and what it really is. Acupuncture is not an energy medicine. Acupuncture is not voodooed religion or magic, and there are no invisible energy meridians as often thought. Acupuncture is a real physical medicine based on real anatomy.
What acupuncture actually does is improve the flow of oxygen (qi), nutrients (ying qi), and blood (xue), through the blood vessel system to nourish every cell of our body. By using super thin needles and inserting them into very specific parts of the body that correspond to where the problem is. There are no tricks or magic, just basic physiology. This stimulates the body to heal itself.
Acupuncture works by treating the 5 main factors that influence your health.
- The flow of oxygen in your body (Qi)
- The flow of blood in your body (Xue)
- The health if your blood vessels (Xue mai)
- The health of your organs (Zang fue)
- The health of your nervous system (Jing Mai)
Overall, acupuncture stimulates the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Acupuncture is reported to treat an endless number of conditions either on its own or in conjunction with Chinese herbal medicine or with other therapies.
What does acupuncture help with?
Acupuncture is known to treat the #1 cause of disease, blood stagnation (impaired blood flow in the body). When there is a problem with blood flow to any area of the body, there are will not be able to function properly. Acupuncture causes your blood vessels to dilate and increases blood flow to specific areas of the body to relieve pain, improve organ function and prevent aging. Acupuncture also works by stimulating the nervous system, by activating nociceptor sensory nerves and proprioceptor fibers that travel from the skin to the spine and into the brain. Acupuncture improves the nerve signal to your brain and forces your brain to release opioids (natural painkillers), to shut off the pain signal, thus eliminating your pain. Case-controlled clinical studies have shown that acupuncture has been an effective treatment for the following diseases, symptoms or conditions:
- Allergic rhinitis
- Biliary colic
- Depression Dysentery, acute bacillary
- Dysmenorrhoea, primary
- Epigastralgia,
- Facial pain
- Headache
- Hypertension, essential
- Hypotension, primary
- Induction of labor
- Knee pain
- Leukopenia
- Low back pain
- Malposition of fetus, correction
- Morning sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck pain
- Pain in dentistry
- Renal colic
- Rheumatoid arthritis
So if you are seeking natural solutions to your health problems, without chemicals and side effects. Why not give Chinese medicine a try? Look up an acupuncture practitioner and get more details today!
