Acupuncture And Its Uses

Acupuncture is a drug free healing art, which has helped millions of people for thousands of years. It originated in China about four thousand years ago and due to its usefulness, today, it is being used worldwide to treat many ailments. Acupuncture is based on maintaining the energy balance throughout the body. Acupuncturists unblock the flow of vital energy by inserting hair thin needles in specific body points. Acupuncture has also been showed to raise Serotonin to help with mood and the White Bloods Cells to help with inflammation in the body.

As Acupuncture is a drug free therapy, there are no side effects. This is the reason why many people are turning to the acupuncture to treat their illness.

Acupuncturists believe that, when the energy flow is blocked or disrupted it results in aches, pains and illness. Through needle insertions, acupuncturists unblock the flow of energy, and it regulates the bodies natural ability to heal itself. Needle insertion increases a level of endorphins, which is a natural pain relief hormone. This way, it reduces the need of medical intervention and drug consumption for pain relief. Acupuncture for pain relieving has its long lasting advantages. Acupuncture proves immensely beneficial to relieve body aches and pains irrespective of age and gender of the person.

Apart from treating illness, acupuncture is beneficial to treat the various health issues during pregnancy and hormonal care. During each step, from pregnancy to labor and postpartum, acupuncture is the safe, beneficial and results oriented remedy.

Many women suffer from the morning sickness, back pain, nausea, headache, vomiting, pelvic pain, depression, anxiety, insomnia, heartburn, leg cramps and various such other health issues, during and after pregnancy. Treatment of Acupuncture for pregnancy is safe, because it cures health issues without exposing a mother and yet-to-born child to the chemical based drugs. Acupuncture reduces the labor duration and even lessens the Baby Blues symptoms. It is equally beneficial to solve many breastfeeding concerns.

Acupuncture can be used to treat infants' health problems like diarrhea, sinus, skin rashes, ear, throat, nose infections, fevers, colic, asthma, etc. Though it hard to see your baby being treated with needles, acupuncture needles are hair thin, and the process is much more gentle than the routine vaccinations. Babies do not have needle phobia like most of the elders. So, you might observe that your baby is actually enjoying the process. Acupuncture fastens the postpartum healing process and improvises the overall health of a baby and mother, as well.

People, who are experiencing infertility, acupuncture treatment is immensely useful for them, as well. Acupuncture regulates the body's own functioning. Irregular ovulation and menstrual cycle, blockage of sperms ducts are some of the contributing factors to infertility. Acupuncture reduces the intensity of such irregularities by balancing the flow of vital energy in the body. Acupuncture treatment, coupled with the herbal medicines, proves most beneficial to improvise the reproductive system of both, men and women.

Acupuncture in Ancient China - A History of This Traditional Medicine

Acupuncture originated in China around 8,000 B.C. during the new Stone Age. Back then they did not use needles. They used a type of stone called "Bian" to puncture abscesses and lesions on the skin. This technique healed wounds by draining toxins from the body. As acupuncture developed over the centuries, so too did the acupuncture needle. It evolved from using stone needles to needles made from animal bones. During the Qin Dynasty metal was developed and metal needles replaced bone. There were copper needles, then silver and gold. Today we use sterile, one-time-use, stainless steel needles.

The earliest known textbook on acupuncture and Chinese medicine is called "Huang Di Nei Jing" which was written between 770 B.C. and 221 B.C. during the Spring/Autumn and Warring States eras. This book described in detail the theories of the acupuncture diagnostic system. These theories, which are still used today, include the Yin/Yang theory, Five Element theory, Organ (Zang/Fu) theory, Meridian theory, and Qi/Blood theory. Together they form the basis and foundation for Chinese medicine, which treats a person's health in a holistic way.

Meridian theory is the most important theory in acupuncture. Through centuries of observation, clinical practice and detailed documentation, Chinese doctors discovered sets of points on the body that, when needle properly, were able to resolve disease. By the 3rd century A.D., Chinese doctors had documented 365 acupuncture points located on 14 meridians, or pathways, on the body. From the 3rd to the 19th century, Chinese doctors documented a few hundred additional acupuncture points, called "extra" points, which are not on the main meridians. Acupuncture points, when needled, have powerful properties, including the ability to conduct sensations up and down the human body, influence organ function, and interact with other acupuncture points along the meridians.

As early as the 6th century, doctors from Japan and Korea came to China to learn acupuncture. Chinese doctors also traveled to Japan and Korea to teach acupuncture. Acupuncture spread to Europe in the 16th century, and became known to the U.S. in the 1970's. In 1971, the New York Times reporter James Reston went to China on business. During his visit, he was struck with an acute case of appendicitis. He went to a Chinese hospital to get treatment. The Chinese doctors successfully removed his appendix using acupuncture anesthesia and treated his post-surgery pain with acupuncture. He was very impressed with the acupuncture he received. When he came back to the U.S. he wrote an article about his experiences with acupuncture. That started the awareness of acupuncture in the U.S. You can read the article he wrote in 1971 on our website.