Acupuncture - A Health Benefit?

Before we begin a discussion about the benefits of acupuncture, let’s talk about the origins of acupuncture.  It was first used in China over 2000 years ago, and is one of the oldest medical procedures in the world.  It is a family of procedures that stimulate the anatomy of the body and helps to balance the energy flow throughout the body.  It is this kind of acupuncture that is practiced in the United Sates today, through the use of tiny, metallic needles placed in defined areas and manipulated by hand or by electrical stimulation. Acupuncture is considered an alternative medicine and is used to complement and in some cases replace Western medical practices.

Acupuncture is the basic foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine and is based on the belief that there are two opposing and inseparable forces within our body.  They are known as the Yin and Yang of the entire person. The Yin is representative of the cold, slow, or passive principle, and yang represents the hot, excited or active principle.  A healthy state is achieved by maintaining a balance state of the yin and yang.  This is done through vital pathways or meridians that allow for the flow of qi, or vital energy.  The vital energy flow occurs along pathways known as meridians. These meridians connect over 2,000 acupuncture points along the body.  There are 12 main meridians, and 8 secondary meridians.  Although traditional western medicine does not completely understand how acupuncture works, the proof that it does work has been shown in many studies conducted by western medical facilities.

Does acupuncture work?  According to the National Institute of Health, the answer is yes.  Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in many areas of health care. Areas such as postoperative nausea, chemotherapy side effects, osteoarthritis, low-back pain, headache, menstrual cramps, addiction, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, just to name a few.  The study revealed that acupuncture was able to provide pain relief, improve function and mobility of joints due to arthritis inflammation, and served to complement standard care. Although there are many who would doubt the effectiveness of acupuncture, once they are a patient, they are believers.

It has been proposed that acupuncture works and produces its effects through regulating the nervous system.  The theory proposes that since acupuncture produces its effect through regulation of the nervous system, it induces the release of endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites on the body. There is also the theory that acupuncture alters the brain chemistry by the changing the neurotransmitters in the brain. Without doubt acupuncture was a benefit in the study.

For those of you that are not comfortable in the use of needles, there is now a needless  acupuncture method. Due to the advancement of technology, a new form of acupuncture referred to as pulsed magnetic therapy is available. This form of alternative medicine treats the body in the same way as acupuncture by providing electrical stimulation along the meridian pathways. In contrast to inserting needles underneath the skin at a treatment point, a pulsed magnetic health treatment device transmits harmonized magnetic pulses that cause an electrical current flow within the cells of the body. This form of needless acupuncture provides the same benefit as traditional acupuncture but has many more conveniences. 

Although acupuncture is classified as an alternative medicine therapy, and there is still much to be understood about the way it works, it is a proven aid in maintaining optimal health. But what about the well individual, can acupuncture provide a benefit to them?  Absolutely. Because acupuncture works with the belief that we must maintain balance of our vital energy flow in order to remain healthy, acupuncture serves as the tool for maintaining the proper balance of the yin and yang state. Our vital energy flow can be out of balance, and we still feel and appear quite healthy.  It is in this capacity that acupuncture serves as a sort of preventive medicine.  Checking and balancing the flow of energy on the meridian points in your body is like your car receiving a preventive maintenance before it is in need of a repair.