What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is the ancient Chinese practice that involves puncturing the skin with hair-thin needles at particular locations, called acupuncture points. Acupuncture is believed to help reduce pain or bring a body function into balance. Needles can be placed or they can be twirled given a slight electric charge or warmed (moxibustion). Acupuncture is part of Chinese Medicine which incorporates a number of different healing modalities, although acupuncture has also been practiced as a stand-alone practice for over 2,000 years.s at particular locations, called acupuncture points. Acupuncture is believed to help reduce pain or bring a body function into balance.
Acupuncture (the insertion of very fine needles to promote the flow of energy within the body) is a balancing technique purported to restore the body to optimal health. The classical Chinese explanation is that channels of energy run in regular patterns through the body and over its surface. These channels, called meridians, are like rivers flowing through the body to irrigate and nourish the tissues, blood flow and nervous pulses also follow meridians to run through the body to various parts, structures and organs. An obstruction in the movement of these energy rivers are like a dam that backs up the flow in one part of the body and restricts it in others. Any obstruction and blockages or deficiencies of energy, blood and nervous pulses would eventually lead to disease. Needling the acupuncture points can influence the meridians: the acupuncture needles unblock the obstruction at the dams, and reestablish the regular flow through the meridians. Acupuncture treatments can therefore hel
