The first place that you would be when down with a flu or fever would be the clinic. The doctor would have prescribed a couple of pills and of course antibiotics to make you feel all better but how many of us have stopped to ponder about the cause of the illness and whether there is an alternative way of healing out there. The common perception is to complete the course of antibiotics to ensure the immunity level is given a boost to prevent the illness from occurring again.

Acupuncture: A Natural Method
We never stop to consider about a natural way of healing because higher amount of trust and confidence is given to doctors and their modern medicine compared to an acupuncturist and his needles. This is because there is fear surrounding alternative healing methods due to ambiguity and lack of knowledge about the procedure that is involved. Simple modern medicine that we just swallow everyday for maybe a headache can cause side effects to our digestive system. It is time to consider a natural way of healing to help us grow stronger mentally, physically and emotionally without side effects.

Acupuncture is a totally natural way of healing as seen in its definition, by the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture as a method to encourage the body to promote natural healing and to improve functioning by inserting needles and applying electrical or heat stimulations to precise acupuncture points (1). The fact that the treatment uses needles could be a main cause that most people tend to avoid it, as needles are usually associated with pain.

The needles used in acupuncture are not the same as the hypodermic needles that are being utilized in hospitals as those needles are hollow and have cutting edges (2). Acupuncturist use needles that are thin and solid which are made out of stainless steel so its application will not be painful as having an injection or taking a blood sample. There is lesser chance of experiencing irritation or abrasion on the skin so those with sensitive skin can also have a go at acupuncture treatment too.

What are the benefits of acupuncture?
Three main benefits of acupuncture treatment are that it provides healing for diseases and medical conditions, it maintains good health and well-being and it prevents illness. Acupuncture treatment has obtained worldwide recognition through the World Health Organization to treat medical conditions such as Digestive, Respiratory, Neurological, Muscular and Reproduction disorders.

Although acupuncture has much benefits to offer, it is still hasn’t secured its place in the community as many of us don’t fully understand the wonderful concept of healing in acupuncture that will allow us to grow stronger naturally. Since acupuncture originated from the Chinese culture one can only understand it better by looking back into its roots.

Why does it work?
The Traditional Chinese explanation states that there are energy channels called Meridian flowing all through our body. These Meridians are akin to rivers that flow in our body to flourish and irrigate the tissues in the body. When there is a blockage in the Meridian the energy can’t flow freely and it causes medical conditions to arise. Acupuncturist identifies the obstruction in the flow of energy and uses the needles to open back the passage of the Meridian for a smooth flow of energy, which will than, promote the body to heal itself internally naturally.

Modern explanation about the concept of acupuncture is that by placing the needles in specific parts of the body it stimulates the nervous system to produce chemicals, which is than released in vital parts of the body such as the brains, muscles and spinal cord. The chemicals help to reduce the feeling of pain or it sets off other chemicals and hormones that will stimulate the bodies own internal system to heal itself naturally.

Both the explanation emphasis on one factor, by using needles the healing process is triggered in the body naturally. Acupuncture also brings about a balance within the internal organs in the body that will eliminate problems in absorption, energy production and establish a better circulation of blood in the body.

The Acupuncture Process
Acupuncturists will first carry out a diagnosis before deciding on the treatment. The diagnosis is made based on the patient’s features, tongue, pulse, body odor, breathing patterns, body appearances and the sound of voice. The diagnosis will inform the acupuncturist about the seriousness of the medical condition of the patient. There is approximately 2000 acupuncture points in the body and the needles will be placed according to the diagnosis that is obtained.

The point that needs to observed here is that if we were to obtain a diagnosis in a hospital for a particular illness, there is always the pain staking process of blood sampling. Depending on the disease, there will be various tests taken that can be painful, also the test results will not be immediate whilst with acupuncture some people experience no pain at all, while others just feel a pinch.

Just because acupuncture is a classical art of healing it doesn’t mean that the treatment can only administered by a practitioner from an oriental background but there are also Western doctors who are trained and educated well in the art of acupuncture. This is known as Medical Acupuncture, which goes to indicate that acupuncture treatment can also be easily obtained even in Western countries. In today’s high tech world needs for natural healing are growing stronger day by day as more people become victims to stress and tension.

On the surface, acupuncture seems to be this perfect mode of treatment that can overrule modern medicine but the issue is whether it is as effective as modern medicine. Research has proven that acupuncture is in fact truly beneficial in treating medical conditions such as Headaches and neck pain, Musculoskeletal pain; that is pain, fatigue and discomfort in the abdomen, Dental pain, Backaches, Asthma, Pregnancy induced nausea or vomiting and Drug and alcohol abuse.

Currently acupuncture is being used to increase fertility in couples that experience reproduction problems and to help stroke patients. In the near future acupuncture will just not be an alternative method of treatment but has the opportunity of developing into the most desirable medical treatment if it can prove to treat chronic diseases such as cancer and heart diseases.

References:

1. http://www.medicalacupuncture.org

2. http://www.library.thinkquest.org

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 by GrowStronger at 8:14 pm and is filed under Medicine. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.