Learn About
Acupuncture
How does Acupuncture work?
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.
What happens during an acupuncture treatment?
First, your acupuncturist will ask about your health history. Then, he or she will examine your tongue’s shape, color, and coating, feel your pulse, and possibly perform some additional physical examinations depending on your individual health needs. Using these unique assessment tools, the acupuncturist will be able to recommend a proper treatment plan to address your particular condition. To begin the acupuncture treatment, you lay comfortably on a treatment table while precise acupoints are stimulated on various areas of your body. Most people feel no or minimal discomfort as the fine needles are gently placed. The needles are usually retained between five and 30 minutes. During and after treatments, people report that they feel very relaxed.
What conditions are commonly treated by acupuncture?
Hundreds of clinical studies on the benefits of acupuncture show that it successfully treats conditions ranging from musculoskeletal problems (back pain, neck pain, and others) to nausea, migraine headache, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and infertility.
Case-controlled clinical studies have shown that acupuncture has been an effective treatment for the following diseases, symptoms or conditions:
- Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
- Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
- Headache
- Hypertension, essential
- Hypotension, primary
- Induction of labor
- Knee pain
- Low back pain
- Malposition of fetus, correction
- Morning sickness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Neck pain
- Periarthritis of shoulder
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Sciatica
- Sprain
- Stroke
- Tennis elbow
And So Much More....
The following diseases, symptoms or conditions have limited but probable evidence to support the therapeutic use of acupuncture:
- Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
- Acne vulgaris
- Bell’s palsy
- Bronchial asthma
- Cancer pain
- Female infertility
- Facial spasm
- Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
- Gastrokinetic disturbance
- Gouty arthritis
- Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
- Lactation, deficiency
- Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
- Osteoarthritis
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)
- Premenstrual syndrome
- Schizophrenia
- Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
- Spine pain, acute
- Stiff neck
And So Much More!!
