Acupuncture is based on restoration of the body's natural healing ability. This power or energy is called "QI" (pronounced "chi"). It has been called different names by different cultures, however this "Life Force" or Innate Intelligence is the essence of self healing. The intent of acupuncture therapy is to promote health and alleviate pain by carefully restoring the natural flow of chi or qi as it circulates through 14 known pathways, called meridians. Meridians are connected to the bodily organ systems. Very simply, acupuncture works very much like chiropractic, restoring this natural flow of qi to areas that are weak or lack the indispensable life force.
HOW IS ACUPUNCTURE DONE?
The acupuncture treatment involves the use of very fine needles which are inserted into the meridians to open the passages of the energy flow. In most cases the tiny needles are about the size of a human hair. The insertion is almost unnoticed by the patient. In some cases, a cold laser light is also used along with the needles, this increases the effectiveness of the needle treatment. A mild electrical current is also a treatment option in some cases. This speeds up the recovery time and decrease visit frequency.
Acupuncture therapy is a technique that is employed to balance one's bodily energy. Inherent to living things is that energy or polar forces which are vital to the life process.
The World Health Organization recognizes the use of acupuncture in there treatment of wide range of health problems including
The World Health Organization (WHO), whose authority concerning health-related matters internationally cannot be challenged, has compiled a list of symptoms, syndromes, disease processes, pathologies, traumas and conditions that have definitely been proven as effectively treated by acupuncture. The WHO has also compiled a list of diseases, symptoms and conditions for which acupuncture has shown definite therapeutic effects, but more proof is needed to establish acupuncture as a mainstream form of treatment. Should a curious patient, insurance company or colleague require proof of acupuncture's effectiveness, the following list is something you will want to keep on file. Its use will be inevitable
In an official report, Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials, the WHO (WHO) has listed the following symptoms, diseases and conditions that have been shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture:
- low back pain
- neck pain
- sciatica
- tennis elbow
- knee pain
- periarthritis of the shoulder
- sprains
- facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
- headache
- dental pain
- tempromandibular (TMJ) dysfunction
- Bronchitis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- induction of labor
- correction of malposition of fetus (breech presentation)
- morning sickness
- nausea and vomiting
- postoperative pain
- stroke
- essential hypertension
- primary hypotension
- renal colic
- leucopenia
- adverse reactions to radiation or chemotherapy
- allergic rhinitis, including hay fever
- biliary colic
- depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
- acute bacillary dysentery
- primary dysmenorrhea
- acute epigastralgia
- peptic ulcer
- acute and chronic gastritis
