Acupuncture
At first glimpse, Acupuncture appears strange, as its primary notoriety is the utilization of needles placed in the skin at various locations to relieve pain or affect a body part.
How Does It Work?
Far too often in the medical professions, a patient is told after extensive examination, There is nothing wrong, It is all in your head, or Sorry, you’ll have to learn to live with it. The examining doctor unable to find the cause of the problem has little else to tell the patient. Fortunately, many physicians are now referring their patients for an Acupuncture evaluation as a last resort.
The human body’s energy flow courses over twelve meridians or channels that are normally well balanced. If a disruption of energy flow exists, it can alter the entire system, producing pain or symptoms in the body.
If we were to compare a 175 pound man on one end of a seesaw and a 47 pound child on the other end, it becomes obvious the seesaw would be broken due to the fact the heavier person would be sitting on the ground and lighter would be dangling in the air. Even though the seesaw is producing a symptom of being broken-extensive examination would not reveal anything wrong with the seesaw. The obvious answer is in the balance. Correction of the balance corrects the problem.
This is Acupuncture’s goal-to restore normalcy to the body’s energy balance by utilizing a combination of Acupoint’s located on the twelve meridians. This is accomplished by a variety of means, the needle is just one.
Is Treatment Painful?
One would assume inserting a needle into the skin would be painful since most of us can relate to being stuck with a pin or having a hypodermic injection. However, four Acupuncture needles can easily be inserted into the hollow tube of a hypodermic needle. Because of the extreme slenderness of the needle, most people compare the sensations to less than a mosquito bite. A phenomena referred to as TEHCHI occurs when the energy is contacted. This sensation is felt as a mild to moderate heaviness or tingling.
How Many Treatments are Usual?
Obviously the number of treatments vary with different conditions and individuals. Chronic problems generally require more treatment than acute ones. Some patients notice an immediate improvement after the first treatment, whereas others many not notice any effect until the seventh or eighth visit. Its been shown that a certain percentage of patients receive maximum benefit up to three months following a course of therapy.
