What Is Acupuncture?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is an “umbrella” heading for Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Cupping and Moxabustion. These are all treatments for improving and maintaining good health.
TCM has been around for at least 2,000 years. The of exact length of time that TCM has been in existence is always a debate, but we do know that it is the oldest medicine of our time. History tells us that when a person became ill, the group or tribe would help to care for them in this way: prayer, acupuncture, and herbal medicine. TCM then seemed to encompass all of the above mentioned modalities as time went on.

Acupuncture of today is the use of tiny, fine needles that are inserted into various places on the body to stimulate the flow of energy throughout the body in order to promote the body’s own natural health process. In TCM, pain or disease is simply defined as energy that is “stuck” and the needles help to move the energy along. There are 365 acupuncture points on the body, and by combining 10-15 of these points, you can stimulate different organs and tissues to encourage the healing process to occur with in the body.

Acupuncture needles are disposable, single use, and extremely small. Rarely does a person feel strong sensations much past a “pin-prick” on the surface of the skin when they receive their acupuncture treatment, however, the effects can be quite euphoric. Acupuncture releases endorphins (the body’s own pain killers, much like moraphine) that create a relaxed and delicious sense of well being. When the endorphins are released in the body, the immune system goes up, stress goes down, and life becomes much more manageable and pleasant.
Acupuncture can be measured by “ohms” through out the body, proving that acupuncture does work and is actually moving blood, body fluids, and hormones with in the system. Acupuncture encourages the production of serotonin and dopamine to the brain – the two “feel good” hormones that get low from stress and disease. Without production of these to valuable hormones we get sick and have pain.

The beauty of acupuncture is that it does not discriminate. No matter what kind of problem you have, acupuncture will help to fix all problems you may have – simply by encouraging the better flow and circulation of your whole body.