What Is Acupuncture?

When you think of acupuncture, what comes to mind? For most American people, the initial thing that comes to their mind when they hear about acupuncture is the use of needles. A lot of us have encountered depictions of acupuncture in films or other forms of entertainment, which may have created a skeptical or apprehensive attitude towards the method. After all, don’t those needles hurt? Isn’t acupuncture a type of therapy that became obsolete once more recent medical practices emerged? Though you likely have witnessed illustrations of acupuncture, many individuals do not comprehend the philosophy behind the treatment or the fact that acupuncture has proven to be beneficial for people’s well-being (even by the standards of Western medicine). Now is an excellent opportunity to investigate acupuncture and the beneficial results it can have on your health as more Americans are examining out of the ordinary wellness and stressing preventive healthcare. So, keep an open mind and read on. We guarantee that this therapy does not just involve being pricked with needles! Try giving acupuncture a go; it might just become a favorite component of your overall health and wellbeing regimen.

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a technique used in Chinese medicine to treat ailments. The procedure requires deliberately activating specific areas of the body. Typically, acupuncture is performed with very fine needles that are put into the body, however, there are some techniques of acupuncture which do not involve needles. So, if you are apprehensive about acupuncture because of the needles, it’s worth looking into some of the alternative ways. Yunuen “June” Beristain, the founder of Amplify Acupuncture based in Los Angeles, declared that acupuncture has its roots in China going all the way back thousands of years, serving as a part of the region’s medical practices. For thousands of years, Traditional Chinese medicine has been relied on as one of the most favored healing strategies because of its success. Beristain furthers this thought by noting that in TCM, the belief is that nature is filled with qi or energy. Our physical bodies should be in a condition of complete equilibrium. When the balance of the system is broken, health problems can arise. Acupuncture seeks to balance the system, allowing qi to travel in an unhindered manner.

Grasping the idea of this energy, in addition to its operations, components, and routes in the body, acupuncture is able to arouse it. By doing this, it encourages the body’s natural healing abilities, reports Beristain. Rather than treating illnesses, those that utilize traditional Chinese medicine think that acupuncture lets the body reach its own healing abilities and restore balance to its processes. “Our bodies know how to heal. They are constantly healing themselves. Beristain states that acupuncture taps into the natural intelligence and healing properties of the body to improve overall wellness. “It works with the body, not against it. Acupuncture is a great option for natural healing with low to no adverse effects and impressive outcomes.

What Does Western Medicine Have to Say?

If you’re looking for more concrete information than just energy flow and natural healing, you may be curious to find out what the scientific and medical research of Western medicine has to say about acupuncture, such as how it works and whether it is effective. The short answer? It sure does. Studies conducted by the NIH suggest that acupuncture works well to address a variety of issues, in particular those related to chronic pain and menopausal side effects like hot flashes, disturbed slumber, and feelings of unease. Research has concluded that acupuncture is effective in decreasing the signs and symptoms of menopause by around 37 percent. The study’s participants who underwent acupuncture reported an increase in life satisfaction. A research review including around 18,000 individuals being treated for long-term discomfort revealed that people who had actual acupuncture felt less pain in comparison to those given placebo acupuncture, which was set up to make it appear as though they got acupuncture when really they did not.

An examination of evidence by the NIH has determined that acupuncture can be used to alleviate a variety of conditions, especially chronic discomfort and signs associated with the menopausal period.

The National Institutes of Health has conducted a thorough investigation on acupuncture and has concluded that there is evidence to suggest that acupuncture could be beneficial in managing conditions of chronic pain, including low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain. This may also be beneficial in decreasing the number of tension headaches and avoiding migraine headaches. Therefore, acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider.” The resource goes on to say, “The effects of acupuncture on the brain and body and how best to measure them are only beginning to be understood.” While studies have shown that acupuncture can be effective for pain relief, Western doctors don’t entirely understand why it works so well. It is generally held that acupuncture impacts the electric transmissions going on in various regions of our bodies, as Joseph Feuerstein, MD has explained – Feuerstein being the director of integrative medicine at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, Connecticut and an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University in New York City. Studies have discovered that acupuncture may have an effect on various parts of the central nervous system simultaneously, such as releasing pain-reducing chemicals in the area and working in the spinal cord region and parts of the brain higher up. Feuerstein says this. Beristain agrees with this characterization. Dr. Joseph Feuerstein notes that acupuncture stimulates multiple points in the central nervous system at once, which contributes to the release of substances that are capable of reducing pain.

She states that acupuncture activates the minute electrical signals which give vigor to every component, every structure, and every activity in our systems. Electricity is abundant in connective tissue that is spread throughout the body. Through the wise utilization of small pins, acupuncture invokes an electrical reaction within the body that encourages healing to occur.

Who Should Try Acupuncture?

Given your knowledge of the Western and ancient Chinese concepts behind acupuncture, would you consider giving it a try? Most Americans who research acupuncture do so after conventional medical treatments have found to be unsuccessful in providing them with a resolution or aiding them in the healing process. Beristain emphasizes the significance of acupuncture in traditional Chinese medicine as a way to maintain good health. According to her, acupuncture can give you advantages even if you are not in poor health. It has been demonstrated that acupuncture can provide relief for those with chronic aches and discomforts due to menopause, which makes it a beneficial procedure to help maintain your wellbeing. Just as with eating nutritiously, performing physical exercise, and being mindful, therapeutic acupuncture is a positive practice that can contribute to one’s overall health. Many individuals look to acupuncture for assistance in regards to fertility problems, and all the experts interviewed said that acupuncture could be beneficial for fertility. However, the research is not clear-cut around this issue. A research study discovered that acupuncture can be beneficial for women having difficulty conceiving, potentially having a positive effect on female reproductive wellness. Research has demonstrated that, although there was no general increase in pregnancy rates among women having in vitro fertilization through the use of acupuncture, this method of treatment did bring about better pregnancy rates at clinics that had lower success outcomes.

7 Acupuncture Benefits

1. Helps Reduce Headaches and Migraines

Scientists from the Centre for Complementary Medicine at the University of Munich investigated more than 11 studies on 2,137 individuals who had acupuncture treatments and determined that it “might be an advantageous non-drug choice in people who get regular, chronic tension headaches.”

This review assessed multiple studies that compared the results of acupuncture versus simulated acupuncture and having no treatment at all in order to provide relief to migraine headache pain. The two groups, one that had needles placed randomly and the other that had needles placed strategically, both experienced a decrease in symptoms of headache. The control group did not experience any change.

Afterwards, the participants who received genuine acupuncture maintained a reduction in the quantity of days with headaches and the force of head pain.

2. Improves Chronic Pain, Including for the Back, Neck, Knee or Arthritis Pain

A 2006 study conducted by the University Medical Center of Berlin revealed that acupuncture is more effectual in treating chronic back pain than no acupuncture at all. Among individuals with long-term lower back pain, the people who went through acupuncture treatment over the course of eight weeks reported a significant reduction in pain compared to those who did not receive any treatment.

A 2012 research initiative undertaken by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics sought to gauge the efficacy of acupuncture for issues such as back and neck pain; chronic headaches; shoulder discomfort; and arthritis.

The scientists examined clinical studies including more than 17,000 individuals and discovered that those obtaining acupuncture had diminished agony contrasted with the individuals in the control group who were being given a fake treatment for lower back and neck muscle throbs, and joint inflammation and relentless headaches. It was determined that acupuncture is helpful when it comes to chronic pain, suggesting that it serves a purpose beyond that of a placebo effect, making it a viable option for physicians to offer as a referral.

3. Helps Treat Insomnia

In 2009, the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine performed a comprehensive study demonstrating that acupuncture was advantageous in reducing the effects of insomnia, as compared to not receiving any treatment. An investigation determined that people who were on drugs or herbs in an attempt to improve their sleep habits had significantly better results when they combined acupuncture with their original course of treatment compared to when they had simply taken the medications or natural remedies alone.

No harmful consequences were experienced by the participants, as opposed to many sleep medications, after engaging in acupuncture sessions.

4. Improves Cancer and Chemotherapy Recovery

Research conducted by the National Cancer Institute has uncovered evidence that acupuncture might be beneficial in improving immune system functioning and hastening the healing process post cancer treatments. An example of a randomized trial revealed that compared to not receiving any acupuncture, acupuncture treatment improved immunity, prevented a drop in healthy cells and revved up the platelet count after radiation treatment or chemotherapy.

The researchers proclaimed that patients who received acupuncture treatments succumbed to lesser amounts of pain, elevated quality of life, and a decline in the adverse symptoms associated with chemotherapy, for example nausea.

5. Helps to Prevent Cognitive Decline

Studies conducted in the past have uncovered fresh data concerning the efficacy of acupuncture for treating Parkinson’s Disease. Research has demonstrated that engaging in can help reduce the indicators of cognitive deterioration that happen with aging, as these activities trigger a neurological response in parts of the brain correlated with Parkinson’s disease, particularly the thalamus and the putamen.

In 2002, the Department of Neurology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine conducted a study in which 20 individuals with Parkinson’s disease underwent acupuncture for 16 sessions. 85 percent of them reported a positive effect on their individual symptoms, like tremor, walking, handwriting, slowness, pain, sleep, depression, and anxiety. There were no adverse effects.

6. Supports Pregnancy, Labor and Postpartum Health

Medical professionals are now suggesting acupuncture treatment as a way of managing stress, normalizing hormone levels, and soothing pain due to pregnancy and the birthing process.

It is thought of as a secure remedy for many of the normal manifestations during pregnancy – to alleviate the physical and emotionally charged pressure on the body – and in addition after the infant is born to aid in any state of mind, gloominess, intellectual or bodily symptoms the mother may endure. It may be employed shortly before the infant arrives to get the body ready for childbirth.

It is important to mention that there are some acupuncture locations on the body that a skilled acupuncturist will refrain from using during a woman’s pregnancy. I continually suggest that you do your research and make sure that the acupuncturist you go to has a valid license so that you get the top quality treatment.

7. May Help Alleviate Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Research suggests acupuncture may benefit those suffering from polycycstic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age, by “increasing blood flow to the ovaries, reducing ovarian volume and the number of ovarian cysts, controlling hyperglycaemia through increasing insulin sensitivity and decreasing blood glucose and insulin levels, reducing cortisol levels and assisting in weight loss and anorexia.” More research is needed to know the true efficacy of this treatment, though. Other studies have discovered that electro-acupuncture had greater positive results for individuals with PCOS than physical exercise or just leaving it as it was.

Risks and Side Effects

The NIH has acknowledged that acupuncture can generally be thought of as safe when done by somebody who is experienced in the practice and works with sterile needles. Nonetheless, it is important that one only seeks help from a certified professional and ensure that the facility they go to is strict about its hygiene standards, as neglected safety measures can be dangerous.

The FDA is making sure that acupuncture needles used by healthcare practitioners are sterile, safe and suitable for single use only. Consequently, it is currently believed that the risks associated with acupuncture needles are very minimal due to the lack of reported complications. It is clear that potential danger is present; people have experienced severe consequences when needles that have not been properly cleaned are used.

No clear clinical standards have been set regarding how much acupuncture is required in order to achieve a positive outcome. Acupuncture is typically suggested as a supplementary approach – to be used alongside other pain management approaches like physical rehabilitation, exercise, and calming inflammation through a nutrition-rich diet.