According to the ancient philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, two forces pervade the human body. One is “yin” and another one is “yang”. These two forces are responsible for balancing our health and well being.
There is a series of energy that flows through our bodies. This energy is called Qi (pronounced “Chee”). Now, Qi is responsible for keeping both yin and yang balanced. Due to obstructions, sometimes this flow is blocked, which causes both of these forces to become unbalanced.
Acupuncture helps to overcome and get rid of that obstruction by releasing blocked “Qi”. It helps in stimulating and evoking the natural healing response of the body which helps to heal and treat the pain and improve overall well being.
Acupuncture is one of the most common and effective healing practices of Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM). Our bodies have a variety of pain points also known as acupoints that are injected with tiny steel needles into the skin at a specific depth or location. It’s commonly effective in treating and healing all types of chronic pain, ache, and discomforts.
Acupuncture helps to stimulate nerves, tissues and muscles through this acupoint and this stimulation tends to boost the release of natural pain killers in our body which helps to alleviate the pain.
A trained and licensed acupuncturist begins the treatment by examining the patient’s points on the body, using their expertise and experience. The examination involves:
- Health history
- Physical examination
- Assessment of tongue shape and color
- Pulses
As well, patients are assessed by unique tools based on their condition and pain. All this information is used to develop a treatment plan for the patient.
Acupuncture procedure involves sterilized hair-thin needles that are used to puncture nerves to improve blood flow in a specific location of the body.
The chronological steps that are included in the procedure:
- Needle insertion: Examining the acupoint, needles are inserted at a specific area where the flow is blocked.
- Twirl of needles: Sometimes nerves don’t get punctured through the insertion process in such situations needles are twisted and sometimes it’s done for better flow
- Removing of Needles: Once the required blood flow as per the acupuncturist is achieved the work of the needles is done and thus, it will be removed
Before the needle is removed, the patient has to lay down and relax for 10-20 minutes with the needle been inserted to stimulate the nerves, tissues and muscles which allow normal blood flow around the painful and affected region.
As per WebMD, People have tried acupuncture for neck pain, muscle pain, tennis elbow, and menstrual cramps, hoping to avoid medications and their side effects. The World Health Organization lists 28 different conditions that are sometimes treated with acupuncture.
Acupuncture helps in treating various conditions and can also act as a complementary treatment with the other ongoing treatments. It can help to get relief from various chronic pains.
Nausea
According to research, there are numerous spots on the individual wrist that can help reduce the feelings of nausea and vomiting. Acupuncture helps trigger those spots to minimize nausea feeling.
10 various acupuncture procedures, including needles, electrical stimulation, and acupressure, were compared to medications that prevent nausea or vomiting in studies, and the acupuncture treatments were shown to be effective.
Headaches and Migraines
Acupuncture has been shown in studies to help reduce several forms of headaches. It helps to stimulate the immune and circulation system that tends to release natural painkiller chemicals.
According to a study, there is consistent evidence that acupuncture is beneficial in the treatment of acute migraine attacks and has fewer adverse effects. It may be more successful than other treatments in treating headaches.
Body pain
There can be persistent pain in different places of the body, including the joints, back, muscles, and neck due for various reasons. Acupuncturists administrate the patient’s pain and condition before starting the treatment.
As per the research, it has shown mixed reviews where some people get relieved from the pain while some don’t see any result till 6-8 weeks of treatment.
Thus if other treatments haven’t helped you, Acupuncture is worth trying without any fear of side effects acupuncture can help to alleviate the symptoms by boosting blood flow.
Labour pain
Acupuncture during labour has shown that it helps in reducing labour pain intensity and increasing patient satisfaction. Research shows that women receiving acupuncture in labour appear to experience additional benefits including shorter labours and reduced rates of instrumental vaginal birth.
Dental pain
As per the study, the role of acupuncture in dental pain may not involve removing the cause of the pain, but rather, serving as an adjunct in achieving pain relief. It helps in Stimulating nerves in muscles and other tissues, causing endorphins and other neurohumoral substances to be released which tends to reduce pain and get relief.
Arthritis pain
According to WebMD, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, acupuncture can be a beneficial complementary to standard therapy for osteoarthritis. In some of the most promising early trials, acupuncture has also been shown to reduce arthritic pain in the knee.
As per Healthline, The American Medical Association accepts acupuncture as a medical treatment, and some insurance companies may cover the cost of treatment.
As per the Studies and Research present it shows that Acupuncture can play a major as an Alternative and Complementary Treatment for pain relief.
