Frequently Asked Questions
About Acupuncture
What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a health care modality that has flourished in China for more than 5,000 years; it is widely used in Asia and Europe. Acupuncture's complex system of diagnostic tool taking into account the entire person, not just isolated symptoms. It is practiced based on discerning a pattern of imbalance in the body and treating accordingly. This imbalance can be based on physical and/or emotional difficulties.
How does acupuncture work?
Acupuncture is a therapy, which uses natural energies with the application of needles and/or other stimulus to specific points on the body. These points are grouped along certain pathways, known as meridians that are located on all surfaces of the body. Whenever the energy flow through these pathways is absent, deficient, interrupted, excessive, or blocked in any way, health is disrupted, resulting in illness or pain.
The intimate connection between the organ systems of the body and the meridians allows the acupuncturist to intercede and rebalance the body's energy by treatments of the acupuncture points along these meridians. There are approximately 300-400 primary points and hundreds of extra points. By stimulating appropriate acupuncture points along these meridians, the energy is released and regulated, and health is restored. This energy is called Qi (pronounced "chee"), and is viewed as the precursor to healthy organic function.
Can acupuncture prevent future health problems or enhance health?
Yes. Acupuncture has traditionally been used as a preventative medicine. Recent studies have verified that acupuncture stimulated immune function, which increases resistance to bacterial and viral infections. Many people find that a regular acupuncture tune-up is the best way to feel "in sync" and insure continuing health.
Is Acupuncture safe?
Absolutely. One of the great advantages is the infrequent occurrence of serious side effects, including those from herbs. Needles are the one-time disposable type. The acupuncturist can adjust treatment at any time to react to changes in an individual's condition. Women can be treated for any complications of pregnancy without causing any harm to the mother or baby, although certain points have to be avoided if there is any likelihood of miscarriage. Acupuncture can be combined Western drug therapy, or can be used to eliminate dependence on drugs for chronic conditions.
Can acupuncture be used with infants or children?
Yes. Needless treatment is primarily used for young children. Studies have shown that it is useful for treating jaundice in newborns. Infants and babies can also be successfully treated for colic, earache, cerebral palsy, and myopia. In the Orient, parents are encouraged to have their children treated every month as a preventative measure.
Can acupuncture be effective when other treatments have failed?
Yes. Every system of medicine has its own areas in which it has its greatest effectiveness. Acupuncture's advantage is its diagnostic and treatment system that includes a deep understanding of our energetic nature and the impact of energetic imbalance on healing. Diagnosis includes many symptoms that are not viewed as relevant in Western medicine. The acupuncture's approach is to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms. The disease is treated as the result of the individual's movement into a healthier state. An illness that eludes bio-chemical diagnosis is often successfully treated on a bio-energetic level.
What if you don't like needles?
Acupuncture is not like getting a shot, which is what we all equate with needles. Much of the discomfort felt from a shot is due to the injection of a liquid substance into the body. Acupuncture needles are as fine as a hair (less than ¼ the thickness of a hypodermic needle). Comparing an acupuncture needle with a hypodermic is like comparing a thread to rope.
Can prescription medications be taken while receiving acupuncture?
Yes. Acupuncture treatment may be used along with other medical care to great advantage. It has been used for pain control after medical or dental procedures and to expedite healing. It can also help to further strengthen an individual after long-term illness or counteract the side effects of numerous medications.
Are there any conditions for which acupuncture is not recommended?
Yes. Acupuncture is not generally recommended as the primary method of treatment for severe infections, cancer, and heart failure. However, acupuncture has been found useful in studies for easing the side effects of chemotherapy and of pain in advanced cancer patients. Chinese herbal medicines can be extremely helpful in these cases.
What is Chinese Herbology?
Chinese herbal formulas are safe, powerful medicines that can address many of today's ailments. The formulas are prescribed individually for the patient's unique constitution and ailment. They use only natural, non-synthetic medicinal plants, animals and minerals, which have been studied by the Chinese for thousands of years. Chinese herbs are capable of regenerating, vitalizing and balancing the vital energy, tissue and organs of the body without harmful side effects. They are used to treat illness, prevent disease, and promote well-being.
What is Qi?
Qi (pronounced "chee") is unknown in Western medicine, but in simple terms is the vital energy of the body. Qi is involved with all body activity and movement. It keeps the blood circulating, warms the body and fights disease. It is Qi that distinguishes living creatures from inanimate objects.
What do the Meridians do?
Qi flows through certain channels or meridians forming a network within the entire body and linking all parts and functions together so that they work as one unit. There are 12 main Qi meridians, each connected to an internal organ and named after that organ, and they follow a set pathway in the body. When a person is healthy the Qi moves smoothly through the channels, but if for some reason the flow is blocked or too weak or too strong then illness occurs. The aim of the acupuncturist is to correct the flow of Qi by inserting thin needles into particular points on the channels and so affect a change in a part, or function of the body. Changes in Qi precede physical change, so acupuncture can act as preventive medicine, correcting the energy before a serious illness can occur. If physical change has already occurred, it can be reversed by adjusting the Qi.
What are the fundamental differences between re Western medicine and Chinese medicine?
Western medicine looks for an external cause or agent of a specific disease, which it isolates and controls or destroys with drugs or surgery. Chinese medicine takes into account not only the disease symptoms but all other aspects of the individual, and attempts to put together an overall picture of the patient in order to evaluate any patterns of disharmony that have arisen.
Health is a state of total harmony between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual. Illness, on the other hand, is a disharmony that manifests itself as certain symptoms. The symptoms on their own are often unimportant; they are merely a part of the syndrome of harmony of disharmony, which makes up the whole person.
Why do we get ill?
Many things can upset the balance of the body and disturb the flow of Qi. Chinese medicine lays great stress on the importance of:
- Emotional states, such as stress, worry, anger, fear, grief, etc. each one of which has a particular effect on the energy balance of the body.
- Diet, malnutrition, overeating, too much salt or greasy foods, eating erratically or in a sate of tension, can cause illness.
- Drugs, alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, wrongly prescribed medicines, or medicines with side effects, even tea and coffee can over stimulate the body.
- Weather conditions, such as cold, wind, dry, damp, heat, etc., and particularly sudden changes in the weather.
- Exercise and rest- too little or too much of either can harm the balance of energy.
- Trauma, such as accidents, falls, operations.
- Hereditary factors
- Poisons
- Epidemics
What happens during a Visit to an Acupuncturist?
Examination and Diagnosis : Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treats the whole person - a patient's specific symptomatic concerns and personal constitution help to determine the diagnosis. All aspects of health are discussed during an extensive interview, which can take an hour or more. This interview provides vital clues about an overall pattern of health and disease. In determining the pattern of disharmony, the acupuncturist needs a detailed understanding of the patient's lifestyle, diet, work, medical history, emotional states, etc. The diagnosis included questioning, observation, and examination of the pulse and tongue. What the physician is looking for are not symptoms in isolation, but rather a pattern into which is woven a total picture of the patient. Tongue and pulse diagnosis is highly refined in Chinese medicine. The pulse is felt at the wrist on the radial artery and its strength, rhythm and quality indicate the balance of energy and the state of the disease. The tongue, through its shape, color, movement and coating indicates the progression and degree of the illness. Sound of voice, smell, overall appearance of face and skin, emotions - all are important indicators of overall condition. Particular patterns are discerned that determine which points to use during treatment. Each individual's pattern is unique, and therefore everyone may receive a slightly different treatment even though they may present with the same complaint.
What to expect during treatment: Most people are surprised by the fact that the needle insertion is usually painless. Following the needle insertion, one may feel numbness or tingling around the point, or in various areas of the body, feel nothing at all. Needles are left in the body around twenty minutes at a time. Often, patients find the treatment very relaxing; some even fall asleep. This is often flowed by a sense of overall well-being.
How many treatments will be needed?
Each person is unique with an individualized treatment plan. No two conditions or people respond exactly the same. The length of treatment depends on the type, severity and duration of the condition, and one's physical state at the time of treatment. Usually treatments are weekly, though more often is good for acute symptoms. When the initial complaint is better, treatment may be continued at less frequent intervals-biweekly, monthly, quarterly. The goal is to maintain the pattern of health acupuncture helped create. Treatment when your complaint is not active helps the body maintain a higher level of well-being.
What do the experts say?
Research has been done which validates acupuncture's benefits. The World Health Organization considers it the second major health care system in the world. The National Institute of Health (NIH) is in the process of studying the many uses of acupuncture. The NIH recognizes acupuncture for the treatment of Nausea, and vomiting following chemotherapy treatment. The American Cancer Society web site states the "complementary" therapies are supportive methods used to complement evidence-based treatment. In 1985, a French medical team demonstrated the movement of radioactive tracers along the pathways, which match Chinese acupuncture meridians. Tests have shown acupuncture stimulates endorphin release (pain relief) in humans and animals, and improves immune system function. Acupuncture activates the alpha brain wave activity, releases cortisal anti-flammatory neurotransmitters and increases white blood cells . Studies also indicate that acupuncture stimulates the central and peripheral nervous system.
