Acupuncture is a complementary medicine treatment that has proven to be extremely effective at alleviating pain and healing the body. It supports the mind and body in their own natural healing processes.

Acupuncture improves body functions and promotes the natural self-healing process by stimulating specific anatomic sites, commonly referred to as acupuncture points.

Acupuncture inherits from a long tradition in the East and has been spreading steadily across the United States as a popular form of pain relief and healing.

As this article from Johns Hopkins Medicine explains acupuncture is the insertion of very thin needles through the skin at strategic points in the body. It is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine, most commonly used to treat pain.

Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management. Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system. This, in turn, releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. The biochemical changes may stimulate the body's natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.

National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies have shown that acupuncture is an effective treatment for a variety of conditions, including alleviating muscular pain and headaches.

Here are some of the conditions that can be treated with acupuncture:

• Lower Back Pain. Acupuncture for lower back pain involves placement of the needles at either lumbosacral spine points, or peripheral points. It may also involve auricular (ear) points as well releasing signals from the brain which provide healing.

• Neck Pain. The treatment typically includes needles in the muscles of your shoulder, about halfway between your neck and where your arms begin. This may also successfully treat the pain of a sore or stiff neck.

• Tobacco and Alcohol Dependence. Studies such as this one from the Cleveland Clinic confirm that adequate acupuncture treatment may help motivated smokers to reduce their smoking, or even quit smoking completely, and the effect may last for at least 5 years.

• Osteoarthritis. Acupuncture helps to relieve pain from rheumatoid arthritis, in which the body's immune system “attacks” the joints, causing painful inflammation. This technique has been shown to reduce inflammation, and relieve various forms of chronic pain including knee pain.

• Headaches and Migraines. Acupuncture helps reduce days with migraines and may have lasting effects, according to a new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

• High Blood Pressure. Acupuncture, and in particular electroacupuncture may benefit patients with high blood pressure and lower their risk of stroke and heart disease.

• Chemotherapy and Nausea. Acupuncture restores your natural energy flow with the point that's often used to treat nausea called P6.

• Ulcers. Acupuncture helps to heal peptic ulcers and prevents relapses in combination with regular medical techniques. It increases the total effective rate of drug therapy for the treatment of peptic ulcers.

• Sciatica. To treat sciatica with acupuncture, an acupuncturist stimulates specific points to remove the channel obstruction causing sciatic pain.  Typically this is done by placing acupuncture needles along the inside of the lower calf and ankle and along the wrist and forearm area.

• Sprains. Prompt treatment of sprained ankles by Acupuncture can reduce pain, swelling, and recovery time. Acupuncture improves circulation to alleviate inflammation and generates the flow of endorphins to relieve pain.

• Digestion and Intestinal Disorders. Acupuncture for digestive problems is a safe and effective way to naturally treat many acute and chronic conditions including: nausea and vomiting, morning sickness, functional disorders (irritable bowel syndrome, constipation, and diarrhea), peptic ulcer disease, Crohn's disease, and even gallstone disease.

• Fibromyalgia. Acupuncture reduces many types of chronic pain, including pain from fibromyalgia. It works by reducing inflammation, stimulating the release of endorphins, your body's own pain killer.

• Whooping Cough. Following the acute stage of a respiratory infection including Whooping Cough, acupuncture can help drug therapy.

• Tourette Syndrome. Acupuncture has a long and successful history in the treatment of the tics, uncontrolled movements, and vocal disturbances of Tourette syndrome. Acupuncture alone was associated with more than a 30% higher response rate and an improvement in tic severity over standard drug therapies.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a holistic health care system that addresses the root cause of an illness. For over 3000 years TCM has been used to treat people worldwide for a variety of ailments, from musculoskeletal issues to internal diseases. Acupuncture is one part of this holistic health treatment, together with Herbal Medicine and Quigong. It can treat digestive disorders, fatigue, insomnia, menopausal symptoms, chronic pain and inflammation, anxiety and stress.

Acupuncture is a technique with thousands of years of history healing many different types of conditions. Book your consultation now and find how acupuncture can help you.