According to Traditional Chinese Medicine there are as many as 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body, which are connected through 20 meridians (pathways). The meridians conduct energy, or qi (pronounced “chi”), between the surface of the body and its internal organs. Each point has a different effect on the qi that moves through it.
Qi, our life force energy helps to regulate the body’s natural balance in the flow of qi throughout the body, restoring health to the mind and body.
It is influenced by yin and yang – the natural, universal energies of balance. Acupuncture is believed to regulate that harmony between yin and yang, and thereby allow for the normal flow of qi throughout the body, restoring health to the mind and body.
The World Health Organization has recognized the ability of acupuncture and Oriental medicine to treat nearly four dozen common ailments, including gastrointestinal conditions (such as food allergies, ulcers, chronic diarrhea, constipation, indigestion, intestinal weakness, anorexia and gastritis); emotional and psychological disorders (such as depression and anxiety); neuromusculoskeletal conditions (such as arthritis, neuralgia, insomnia, dizziness, and neck/shoulder pain); circulatory disorders (such as hypertension, angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis and anemia); addictions to alcohol, nicotine and other drugs, and respiratory conditions (such as emphysema, sinusitis, allergies and bronchitis).
In 1997, a consensus statement released by the National Institutes of Health found that acupuncture could be useful by itself or in combination with other therapies to treat addiction, headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and asthma.
Other studies have demonstrated that acupuncture may help in the rehabilitation of stroke patients and can relieve nausea in patients recovering from surgery. There is an increasing amount of western scientific studies that confirm the efficacy of acupuncture – not to mention the thousands of years of clinical and empirical experience and knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Acupuncture treatments are performed using sterile, single-use, needles which are very thin. Depending on the case at hand, moxabustion or electrial stimulation may be used with the insertion of acupuncture needles. Auricular, Hand or Scalp Acupuncture may also be conducted. As with all the modalities within Traditional Chinese medicine, nothing stands alone. We treat the whole body, mind and spirit using whichever adjuncts are the most appropriate – including herbs, diet & nutrition, cupping, moxabustion, gua sha, etc.
For more information on Acupunture:
Acupuncture helps symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder
Acupoint sticking therapy for prevention of acute attack of chronic bronchitis
Long-term effect of acupuncture on quality of life in patients with early stage of stroke
Holistic acupuncture approach to idiopathic refractory nausea, abdominal pain and
bloating