There is a lot to learn about a medicine that has been in existence and practiced for thousands of years!
Most people are familiar with acupuncture is the insertion of small needles in different areas of the body to treat health conditions. Whether you are new to acupuncture or not, enjoy these facts about acupuncture you might not know!
Acupuncture is a highly individualized, patient-centered medicine. For example, if 30 people with a headache received acupuncture, all 30 people could have different acupuncture points chosen as part of their treatment. Each person responds to points differently, one point may work for some, but not others!
There are over 2,000 acupuncture points on the body. The points are located from head to toe and are connected by the acupuncture meridian system. Every point has its own special function and many work on both a physical and mental-emotional level.
Acupuncture looks at how root imbalances affect the whole system. When one thing is out of whack, it can affect you in multiple ways. Acupuncture excels at tackling multiple symptoms all in one treatment while also correcting the root cause.
You don’t have to have anything wrong to get an acupuncture treatment. One of acupuncture’s strengths is its ability to PREVENT things from going wrong. As a preventative medicine, acupuncture boosts the immune system, promotes healthy circulation, aids in organ and cell detoxification, decreases inflammation, and helps you healthily respond to stress.
In 2003, the World Health Organization published a review of clinical trials of acupuncture, Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials. This review endorses the use of acupuncture for over 200 symptoms and diseases. The US National Institutes of Health issued a consensus statement proposing acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention for complementary medicine.
Today’s acupuncture needles are as thin as a strand of hair and don’t hurt! They are single-use, sterile, and made of stainless steel. Thousands of years ago, this was a different story- the original acupuncture “needles” were made of sharpened stones, bamboo, or bone.
Acupuncture was unknown in the US President Nixon visited China in the early 1970s. An accompanying reporter from the New York Times had to undergo an emergency appendectomy and experienced significant post-operative pain relief with acupuncture. His first-person account of its benefits was widely publicized in the US.
Acupuncture is just one part of a broad system of Chinese Medicine. Other healing modalities include Chinese herbal medicine, tui na (massage), tai chi/qi gong (movement), and Chinese dietary therapy.
So there you have the 8 interesting facts about acupuncture.
Have Questions? Feel free to give us a call, e-mail, or text, we will happily answer any questions you have!
Comments