Acupuncture is a part of a therapeutic practice known as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been used for millennia as a way to alleviate pain in any part of the body. Practitioners believe acupuncture works by using acupoints found on various parts of the body on the energy vessels called meridians through which vital energy called Chi (Qi) flows. Filamentous needles are stuck into certain acupoints in the body to alleviate headaches, pain associated with stress, and other types of ailments. Today, hundreds of millions of people around the world regularly use acupuncture despite the fact that there is no scientific explanation for how or why it works. It has been referenced in the Records of the Grand Historian, written by Sima Qian (Shiji), (109 to 91 BC) showing how acupuncture’s been used since at least 2,600 BC. This means that people have used acupuncture for at least 4,500 years.

With a long history of proven effectiveness, acupuncture in Maitland is a healing modality that unfortunately, is not totally understood by modern science. Scientific studies have yet to definitively understand why it works on certain conditions. For a lot of people, this treatment is seen as a controversial practice, more so among clinicians and medical researchers mainly because none of the benefits can be proven in a scientific way. These people conclude that the treatment’s effectiveness is mainly due to what is known as the placebo effect. The World Health Organization meanwhile published a list of 28 different types of health problems that acupuncture is able to treat. There is also anecdotal evidence to believe that acupuncture could also be able to treat several dozens more.

It seems that lack of scientific proof as to whether or not acupuncture works is not an issue with the hundreds of millions of people around the world suffering from stress factors and pain who have found relief from the treatment. For them, the only thing that matters is that acupuncture works. Acupuncture first became embedded in the minds of Americans when the New York Times published an article by James Reston who when through emergency appendectomy treatment while in China. During the postsurgical process, instead of prescription drugs, Mr. Reston was treated with acupuncture as a way to quell the pain. This helped inspire the first national group focusing on acupuncture in the United States to create the National Acupuncture Association. Since 1973, the US Internal Revenue Service allows acupuncture to be deducted as an actual medical expense, despite the fact that it is not clinically proven by modern science.

How Acupuncture Works

The body responds in a specific way whenever something stressful happens. It sets off certain biochemical reactions whenever it experiences physical or mental stress. The body releases a number of chemicals into the bloodstream during these times that triggers a series of physiological responses including increased muscle tension, high blood pressure, increased breathing rate, and rapid heartbeat. All these experiences are known as the fight or flight response or an adrenaline rush. During this time, the body is temporarily endowed with extra alertness, energy, and strength to deal with whatever stressful situation is at hand, and because all these things occur only within a short period of time there is no damage to the body; however, if the stress response goes out of proportion or becomes chronic, this healthy and natural response can become pathological in nature. Longstanding increased alertness, for example, can lead to exhaustion, insomnia, or mental strain, while extended periods of raised heart rates and rapid breathing rates can result in palpitations and panic attacks respectively. Long periods of enhanced muscle tone may lead to muscular tremors, pain, and tension.

In today’s modern world, a lot of people live in a state of constant stress, triggering one event after another continually causing a cycle of chromic stress that depletes the natural reserves of the body leading to the rise of illnesses. Constant stress can lead to symptoms such as gastric conditions, sleeping disorders, skin conditions, backaches, and headaches as well as psychological consequences like poor self-esteem, low levels of concentration, impaired cognitive function, memory loss, anxiety, and depression. Chronic stress may also bring about longstanding health conditions such as strokes, high chance of cardiovascular diseases, and high blood pressure. Hence, we can see why the need to reduce the levels of stress can be very important in our lives. A reduction or elimination in life stress and an increased sense of well-being are the first steps toward a long and healthy life.

The reason acupuncture benefits the body is because it helps ease muscle tension and regulates various physical stress-related factors in the body. It does not matter if you believe the existence of vital energy or Qi in order to believe the 4,500 years of clinical evidence. It also does not matter what medical science has to say about acupuncture. For people suffering from severe stress, this treatment has a proven ability for lowering blood pressure, slowing down heart rates, and providing them with a relaxing and tranquilizing effect. It also has the ability alleviate the feelings of depression and anxiety through its stimulation of the various muscle groups in the body as well as its stimulation of the release of chemicals within the body that help inhibit the effect of stress-related chemicals, which leads to the elimination of stress.

But for a lot of people, one of the greatest advantages of using acupuncture is the fact that it is not a pharmaceutically-based therapy. It is a completely natural treatment that generates an increased sense of well-being. It uses nothing more than the stimulated reactions of the body that is very similar to the effects of massage therapy. Acupuncture boosts blood flow in the body. It stimulates the release of pain-killing endorphins in the bloodstream which can help relieve the symptoms of constant stress injuries such as writs tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome. Once pain is treated the stress level vanishes. Acupuncture is ideal for people suffering from various forms of physical pain including knee pain, back pain, and any type of pain within the body. It relieves tension headaches and has a therapeutic effect similar to that of massage therapy, inducing a feeling of peacefulness and calmness in the person that in turn, permits for a transition into a life free of stress. Medical science questions the validity of using acupuncture because it does not fully understand how and why acupuncture works. In spite of this, it is still used on a regular basis by hundreds of millions of people around the world and has been used for thousands of years. This should at least make you consider trying it once and then see for yourself if it works for you or not.