Acupuncture
If the U.S. Army, Harvard Medical School and MIT are in your corner, you know you’re in good company. Acupuncturists and their patients must feel pretty popular lately, because those are exactly the organizations vetting them. A recent paper published in a peer-reviewed journal conducted by Harvard Med School and MIT should silence many of acupuncture’s doubters: acupuncture was demonstrated to have an effect greater than placebo. So the positive medical benefits experienced by patients can’t be dismissed as “in their heads” any more or the products of chance. Even the U.S. Army believes. They’ve recently allowed “battlefield” acupuncture to be performed for soldiers suffering from chronic and acute pain.
Acupuncture is as effective as standard drug treatments for such conditions as migraine, arthritis, gastric bleeding, ulcers, liver and kidney problems, nausea, motion sickness, vomiting, and drowsiness while having none of the unwanted side effects of over-the-counter medication. According to the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, this Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is useful as a primary therapy for acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain, including muscle spasms, sprains, and repetitive stress injuries.
This ancient medicine is still working wonders at not just relieving pain but in treating other maladies as well. While physical problems such as high blood pressure, low back pain, and asthma can be treated with acupuncture, emotional pain - depression, anxiety, and generalized stress - can also be greatly improved with the use of acupuncture.
How does acupuncture work? Like many medical treatments, Western science is still unraveling the processes by which acupuncture produces its effects. Studies have shown that acupuncture releases natural opioid pain relievers in the patients’ brains. These opioids are also known as endorphins, the same chemical released during the “runner’s high.” When acupuncture points are stimulated during treatment, the body releases this natural pain-blocking chemical. These acupuncture points lie along pathways identified by Chinese medicine called meridians.
According to TCM, living organisms are a series of pathways of energy conduits or meridian channels. Diagnostic acupuncture uses these channels or meridians to detect blockages in flow, indicating blockages of energy. Vital energy, known as Qi in Chinese medicine, flows through 12 paired meridian channels, cycling throughout the body.
While many patients are apprehensive about having needles inserted into their skin, these needles are instrumental in the practice of acupuncture. And you’ll be relieved to know that they are actually pretty painless. The worst you’ll feel is similar to a mosquito bite, but often, you won’t feel a thing when they’re inserted. The insertion of these needles at the acupuncture points are what stimulate the dislodgment of “stuck” energy along the meridians. Acupressure also works in the same way but uses pressures, usually delivered manually, instead of needles.
Like other medical treatments, the severity, age and complexity of your health challenge will determine the frequency of length of treatment you’ll need with acupuncture. Those who suffer from long standing physical problems or who suffer from a generally weak constitution will obviously require more frequent and sustained visits with an acupuncturist than a patient who suffers from an infrequent or acute condition.
Acupuncture has been recognized by the National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization as a safe, natural, drug-free, and, perhaps most importantly, effective method of addressing the symptoms and root causes of many health challenges. Its use in China, Japan, and other parts of Asia for thousands of years speaks to its efficacy as well. It’s a natural and powerful medicine that has been practiced for over 2,000 years. And it works.
Tags: acupuncture, acupuncturist, acupuncturists, alternative medicine, complementary medicine, Fitness, health, infertility, los angeles acupuncture, los angeles acupuncturist, los angeles acupuncturists, medicine, pain relief, traditional chinese medicine
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