Acupuncture Treatment : How it works and its Benefits

Acupuncture WHO has approved for treating many diseases .

If you’re new to holistic healing as a type of treatment, acupuncture can seem a bit terrifying. How could pressing needles into your skin possibly make you feel better? Doesn’t that hurt?

Well, no, it’s definitely not the overtly painful procedure you may be imagining, and considering, that it’s been studied and practiced for over 5,000 years Trusted Source, it seems acupuncture enthusiasts could seriously be onto something. Some people swear by acupuncture, citing it as a “miracle” to improving their quality of life because it’s said to be able to treat everything from depression and allergies to morning sickness and cramps.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine-based approach to treating a variety of conditions by triggering specific points on the skin with needles. Acupuncture is a minimally invasive method to stimulate nerve-rich areas of the skin surface in order to influence tissues, gland, organs, and various functions of the body

Each acupuncture needle produces a tiny injury at the insertion site, and although it’s slight enough to cause little to no discomfort, it’s enough of a signal to let the body know it needs to respond, This response involves stimulation of the immune system, promoting circulation to the area, wound healing, and pain modulation. Contemporary research on acupuncture relies mainly on this theory. Also nowadays scientists approve that there are really the vital energy points and meridians as the CTM shown for 5,000 years ago. Make balancing if these energy flows thru each meridian is the key solution to treat diseases.

The Chinese philosophy behind acupuncture is a bit more complicated, as the ancient practice isn’t traditionally based in science and medicine. “They believed that the human body was filled with and animated by an invisible life-giving force which they called ‘qi’ (pronounced ‘chee’) and when the qi was flowing well and going to all the right places, then a person would experience good mental and physical health. When the qi was flowing incorrectly (blocked or deficient) that would result in illness,”

The concept of qi isn’t too out there — think of it as your body’s natural inner workings. Sometimes you’re more prone to illness when feeling stressed or anxious. When you’re relaxed and healthy, your body physically reflects that too. After all, your mood, mental health, and general well-being do affect your physical health. Thus, acupuncture aims to assist people in achieving balance, or qi, and, as a result, provide relief for many ailments.

What does acupuncture do?

You may be interested in acupuncture for a variety of reasons — for example, I sought treatment for my chronic headaches and sinus pressure — as there are countless conditions and symptoms that acupuncture has been said to help with. Here are just some of the many claims:

• allergies
• anxiety and depression
• osteoarthritis
• chronic pain often in the neck, back, knees, and head
• hypertension
• insomnia
• menstrual cramps and PMS
• migraines
• morning sickness
• sprains
• strokes

Some studies even suggest that acupuncture can help with cancer treatment and multiple sclerosis, however research for these conditions is limited and requires larger studies to confirm the benefits.

How does it work?

Traditional Chinese medicine explains that health is the result of a harmonious balance of the complementary extremes of “yin” and “yang” of the life force known as “qi,” pronounced “chi.” Illness is said to be the consequence of an imbalance of the forces.

Qi is said to flow through meridians, or pathways, in the human body. These meridiens and energy flows are accessible through 350 acupuncture points in the body.

Inserting needles into these points with appropriate combinations is said to bring the energy flow back into proper balance.

There is no scientific proof that the meridians or acupuncture points exist, and it is hard to prove that they either do or do not, but numerous studies suggest that acupuncture works for some conditions.

Some experts have used neuroscience to explain acupuncture. Acupuncture points are seen as places where nerves, muscles, and connective tissue can be stimulated. The stimulation increases blood flow, while at the same time triggering the activity of the body’s natural painkillers.

It is difficult to set up investigations using proper scientific controls, because of the invasive nature of acupuncture. In a clinical study, a control group would have to undergo sham treatment, or a placebo, for results to be compared with those of genuine acupuncture.

Some studies have concluded that acupuncture offers similar benefits to a patient as a placebo, but others have indicated that there are some real benefits.

Acupuncture Uses

Research carried out in Germany has shown that acupuncture may help relieve tension headaches and migraines.

The NCCIH note that it has been proven to help in cases of:

• low back pain
• neck pain
• osteoarthritis
• knee pain
• headache and migraine

They list additional disorders that may benefit from acupuncture, but which require further scientific confirmation.

In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) listed a number of conditions in which they say acupuncture has been proven effective.

These include:

• High and low blood pressure
• Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
• Some gastric conditions, including peptic ulcer
• Painful periods
• dysentery
• allergic rhinitis
•  facial pain
• morning sickness
• rheumatoid arthritis
• sprains
• tennis elbow
• sciatica
• dental pain
• reducing the risk of stroke
• inducing labor

Other conditions for which the WHO say that acupuncture may help but more evidence is needed include:

• Fibromyalgia
• Neuralgia
• Post-operative convalescence
• Substance, tobaccor and alcohol dependence
• Spine pain
• Stiff neck
• Vascular dementia
• Whooping cough, or pertussis
• Tourette syndrome

The WHO also suggest that it may help treat a number of infections, including some urinary tract infections and epidemic hemorrhagic fever.

They point out, however, that “only national health authorities can determine the diseases, symptoms, and conditions for which acupuncture treatment can be recommended.”

Benefits of Acupuncture

• Performed correctly, it is safe.

• There are very few side effects.

• It can be effectively combined with other treatments.

• It can control some types of pain.

• It may help patients for whom pain medications are not suitable.

The NCCIH advise people not to use acupuncture instead of seeing a conventional health care provider. While there’s no evidence that acupuncture is a miracle cure-all, it does seem to have some evidence as a worth-while treatment for people who may have multiple conditions and illnesses. There’s a reason it’s been around for more than 5,000 years and as research grows, so will our knowledge of exactly what works and what does.