ACUPUNCTURE: Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old healing technique of Traditional Chinese Medicine.  The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) has documented and publicized acupuncture’s safety and efficacy for treating a wide range of conditions.  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 by the insertion of fine, single-use, sterile needles into the skin. 

 

Modern research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous system, endocrine and immune systems, cardiovascular system, and digestive system. By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture can help to optimize health, resolve pain, and improve sleep, energy, digestive function, and sense of well-being.

 

What does Acupuncture do?

Traditional Chinese Medicine is based on ancient philosophy that describes four interconnecting forces: yin, yang, qi and blood.  When these forces are in balance, the body is healthy. However, if any of these factors become imbalanced, energy gets blocked, like water getting stuck behind a dam, and the disruption can lead to pain, lack of function, or illness.  Acupuncture therapy can release blocked qi in the body and stimulate function, evoking the body’s natural healing response through various physiological systems.

 

How does it work?

Scientifically, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and producing the needling sensation sets off a biochemical cascade which enhances healing.  Some acupuncture points are used very frequently to stimulate a "global" healing response that can affect many diseases.  Other points have more specific applications and needling at those points may affect only one of the signaling systems. It is common to combine the broad-spectrum points and the specific points for each treatment.