Acupuncture
Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.
How does it work?
Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi— believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.
In contrast, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body’s natural painkillers.
Uses
Research carried out in Germany has shown that acupuncture may help relieve tension headaches and migraines. It has been proven to help in cases of:
- low back pain
- neck pain
- osteoarthritis
- knee pain
- headache and migraine
- high and low blood pressure
- chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting
- some gastric conditions, including peptic ulcer
- painful periods
- dysentery
- allergic rhinitis
- facial pain
- morning sickness
- rheumatoid arthritis
- sprains
- tennis elbow
- reducing the risk of stroke
What to Expect
The patient will be asked to lie down on their back, front, or one side, depending on where the needles are to be inserted. The therapist should use single-use, disposable, sterile needles. As each needle is inserted, the patient may feel a very brief stinging or tingling sensation.
After the needle is inserted, there is occasionally a dull ache at the base of the needle that then subsides. Acupuncture is usually relatively painless.
Sometimes the needles are heated or stimulated with electricity after insertion.The needles will stay in place for between 5 and 30 minutes.
The number of treatments needed depend on the individual. A person with a chronic condition may need one to two treatments a week over several months. An acute problem normally improves after 8 to 12 sessions.
