The medical benefits of acupuncture have been thoroughly chronicled throughout history and only a hard core skeptic would deny its proven ability to treat many kinds of health conditions. Acupuncture is now widely accepted into mainstream medicine in the Western world. It is so popular that not a few health experts, dentists, health care providers and physicians publicly practice this ancient healing art in their offices. There are many instances where an acupuncturist would use acupuncture as an anesthetic/analgesic on a patient undergoing surgery that is required to stay conscious during surgery. Also, acupuncturists now use acupuncture in hospitals on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to relieve them of side effects of this highly toxic “therapy.”
During acupuncture treatment, the acupuncturist stimulates certain points in the skin called acupuncture points or just acupoints to treat or prevent an illness. The basis for this treatment is for the unhindered and normal flow of life energy in the body the Chinese refer to as chi. This energy runs on energy vessels called meridians of which 12 are known to exist. To enable the body to correct itself, acupuncture stimulates the brain and the central nervous system to release beneficial chemicals that aid the body in its quest to heal itself. Acupuncturists may use certain techniques such as cups or press, heat, electrical pulses or needles to treat an individual.
The World Health Organization (WHO) validated the benefits of acupuncture when it listed dozens of health conditions acupuncture can be used for treatment. In the United States, there are literally tens of thousands of licensed and certified acupuncturists practicing in various states of the union.
Acupuncture is a very safe treatment that has a one in a million chance of getting negative side effects. Some of the illnesses that acupuncture can effectively treat as listed by the WHO are diarrhea, constipation, colds, asthma, sciatica, rheumatoid arthritis, tennis elbow, low back pain, sinusitis and rhinitis.
Acupuncture treatment is mostly done with needles inserted in the patient’s skin. The procedure should not elicit any pain at all, especially under the hands of an experienced and licensed acupuncturist. The most sensitive part of the procedure is when needles are inserted in the skin. This mostly elicits a slight sensation. After that, patients mostly fall asleep due to the relaxing nature of the treatment. Rarely does it take a single session to treat a condition. One whole treatment may require 4 or more sessions at least depending on the patient’s condition and the magnitude of his/her problem.
The most important part of acupuncture treatment for one is finding a highly experienced and licensed acupuncturist for one’s illness. One way of finding a good acupuncturist is asking referrals from one’s own physician or health care provider. Another way is through one’s local chapters of national acupuncture groups or associations.
Tammi A. Jones is a licensed acupuncturist in Palm Harbor, FL, practicing acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and Western medical pathology. She is also the founder of Synoma Wellness Centre.
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