MEDICAL ACUPUNCTURE

Acupuncture is a form of treatment in which small needles about the thickness of a hair are inserted into specific points in the body. The needles are then connected to electrical stimulation, which increases the effectiveness of the procedure.

Originally acupuncture was part of traditional Chinese medicine, which has roots more than 2500 years ago. In western medicine, acupuncture has been adopted and successfully incorporated into medical practice combining traditional knowledge with recent knowledge from the biomedical sciences.

HOW DOES ACUPUNCTURE WORK?

The human body can be looked at from three different perspectives. Mechanical, Biochemical and Electric/energetic. It is the electrical / energetic perspective that is very well understood in the east and is being more understood and studied in the west. Your body has a micro current of electricity running through it, which is a result of electrons moving around from all of the biochemical reactions that take place in your body. Without the movement of these electrons we would not be alive. These currents of electricity are measured in common tests performed by western doctors where electrodes are placed on various parts of your body such as in an EKG to test for heart function or EEG to test for brain function. Acupuncture needles affect the electrical/energetic activity of the area, which is being treated and thereby assists in healing.

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE FOR ACUPUNCTURE?

Considerable evidence supports the claim that natural painkillers or opioids are released during acupuncture, which explain its pain killing effects. Changes in blood flow due to altered secretion of neurotransmitters and neurohormones have also been documented.

WHAT DOES ACUPUNCTURE TREAT?