- Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.
- Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi (chee) — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.
- Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body’s natural painkillers.
Why it's done?
Acupuncture is used mainly to relieve discomfort associated with a variety of diseases and conditions, including:
- Chemotherapy-induced and postoperative nausea and vomiting
- Dental pain
- Headaches, including tension headaches and migrains.
- Labor pain
- Low back pain
- Neck pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Menstrual cramps
- Respiratory disorders, such as allergic rhinitis
Procedure
Acupuncture points are situated in all areas of the body. A gown, towel or sheet will be provided. You lie on a padded table for the treatment, which involves:
- Needle insertion. Acupuncture needles are inserted to various depths at strategic points on your body. The needles are very thin, so insertion usually causes little discomfort. People often don’t feel them inserted at all. Between five and 20 needles are used in a typical treatment. You may feel a mild aching sensation when a needle reaches the correct depth.
- Needle manipulation. Your practitioner may gently move or twirl the needles after placement or apply heat or mild electrical pulses to the needles.
- Needle removal. In most cases, the needles remain in place for 10 to 20 minutes while you lie still and relax. There is usually no discomfort when the needles are removed.
After the procedure
Some people feel relaxed and others feel energized after an acupuncture treatment.What conditions does Acupuncture treat?
Acupuncture can treat many types of health issues. Most often, people use it to relieve chronic (long-term) pain, such as:
- Arthritis.
- Back pain, neck pain or muscle pain.
- Headaches and migraines.
- Knee pain.
- Menstrual cramps.
- Sports injuries.
Other conditions Acupuncture may help include:
- Cancer and cancer treatment side effects.
- Face pain and other nerve discomfort.
- Immune system problems.
- Infertility.
- Irritable bowel syndrome.
- Menopause and hot flashes.
- Pregnancy discomforts.
Benefits
Acupuncture can be beneficial in that:
- 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.