What is acupuncture and how can it help me?
I recently had acupuncture for the first time, though the actual insertion of the needles was painless, the spasms as the knots in my energy points were released were quite startling to say the least! If you are an adult that has always searched for alternative forms of healthcare then you have no doubt heard about acupuncture. Used as a preventative healthcare method in China for thousands of years, acupuncture is also today being used in conjunction with Western medicine and treatments. Interestingly, in China over 80% of all people who have had acute appendicitis used acupuncture (as well as other herbal treatments) to resolve the problem without surgery.
If you’re afraid of needles what you have to remember is that acupuncture needles are actually quite small. They are very thin, extremely flexible and, although they penetrate the skin, most patients never experience any type of pain, bleeding or bruising. At worst they may have a ‘tingling’ feeling, a feeling of ‘heaviness’ or a mild ‘aching’ sensation. If you think about the type of needle that your doctor uses to take blood, know that you can fit approximately 12 acupuncture needles into the same size as one standard hypodermic needle.
The benefits of acupuncture are rather varied. People with poor vision and cataracts have been helped by acupuncture as well as people who have sciatica and even depression. If you have high anxiety or insomnia, acupuncture might be able to help you greatly. Some people have even gone to the acupuncturist for tinnitus, which is constant ringing in the ears, with great success.
Frankly that’s just the tip of the iceberg because there are many other reasons to go to the acupuncturist and many things that he or she can help you with. From chronic fatigue to drug addiction and things as diverse as bronchitis and infertility, acupuncture has been successfully used not only in China but all over the world. It can even help with athletic performance.
Recently a national survey of acupuncture patients was taken and the results of the survey clearly show that many people are happy with results of their acupuncture. For example;
• 70% of respondents said that acupuncture helped them to avoid some type of surgery.
• Nearly 84% said that, since starting acupuncture, they were visiting their medical doctor less often.
• Nearly 60% of the people who responded said that they were seeing their psychotherapists less frequently.
• Almost 80% said that since they were taking fewer prescription drugs because of the benefits they were receiving from acupuncture.
One of the best things about acupuncture is that it costs much less than typical medical care. With nearly 1800 practicing acupuncturists in the United States today, and a very high level of training and licensing, acupuncture should certainly be on your list of possibilities if you’re suffering and your medical doctor isn’t able to help you.
Acupuncture an ancient art
