What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a complete medical system that is used to diagnose and treat illness, manage chronic disorders, alleviate pain and promote health through prevention and maintenance. It can be used for physical, emotional and psychological problems.

The term "acupuncture" describes a variety of different procedures all involving the stimulation of anatomical points on a person's body using many techniques. The acupuncture technique that has been most often studied scientifically, and the one most people think of, involves slightly penetrating the skin with thin needles that are then manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

Acupuncture is one of the oldest healing practices in the world. Various forms of acupuncture have been practiced in China and other Asian countries for thousands of years. As a part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture aims to restore and keep up a person healthly through the stimulation of different points on the body.

Acupuncture is performed by having needles inserted superficially on the skin throughout the body. The spots that the needles are inserted along are the “channels of energy”. Heat can also be applied by burning moxibustion which is a herb used in Chinese medicine.

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the body is seen as a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces, Ying and Yang. According to this theory, disease is due to an internal imbalance of yin and yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of vital energy. Vital energy can be unblocked by the practice of acupuncture. Thus, health is achievd by maintaining the body in a “balanced state”.

More and more mainstream doctors are increasingly recommending acupuncture for their patients. Their reasons often revolve around treating problems that often resist or are not resolved when treated using Western medicine.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), in 2007, 3.1 million people tried acupuncture. That was a million more than just five years earlier.

More than 3,000 U.S. physicians intergrate acupuncture into their clinical practice. There are as many as 20,000 licensed acupuncturists at work in the United States. Practitioners in most states must pass an exam administered by the National Certification Commission of Acupunture and Oriental Medicine.