Acupuncture

A few years ago, one evening I started to get a horrible pain in my abdomen. The next morning, the pain was gone and the next evening it started all over again. The pain came back every day for several weeks. I finally noticed that the pain always followed eating protein (especially meat and cheese). The doctor couldn't tell me what it was and put me on a three month wait list for a not-so-pleasant test. So my options were to wait months for a test that may or may not tell me what the problem was, never eat protein again, or try something completely different. Well, I decided to go with that last option and what I chose to try was acupuncture. One single treatment later and I have never experienced that pain again!

If there's one complementary therapy that is truly gaining credibility in conventional medicine, it's acupuncture. There are tons and tons of studies that show that acupuncture can be beneficial in a number of conditions and diseases. Some of these include pain, addiction, AIDS, infertility, and cancer treatment side effects.^[1] Acupuncture may also be helpful with migraine headaches, hypertension, osteoarthritis and any number of other issues.

In acupuncture, special needles are inserted into the skin at special points (called acupoints) which lie along energy meridians.^[1] These needles help enhance the flow of qi in the body (see my explanation of qi and energy meridians). There are over 1,000 possible acupuncture points so you need a good acupuncturist to determine exactly what points will work for you and your unique situation. Your practitioner will interview you, take your pulses (according to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, there are 12 different pulses to check), and look at the surface of your tongue. Every individual is unique and the acupuncture points are selected for the individual, not just the disease or condition.

Some people are terrified of needles, which I can understand. All I can say is that acupuncture needles are much thinner than needles used to give vaccinations or take blood. There are generally 10 to 12 needles per treatment and they are generally left in place for 20 to 30 minutes, though treatments can vary greatly.^[1] Though you might feel a slight prick on your skin as the needle is inserted (depending on how sensitive you are), acupuncture is mostly pain-free. That being said, acupuncture is not for everyone and should be avoided if you have bleeding disorders or are taking blood thinners.

If you are interesting in exploring if acupuncture is right for you or you're looking for other alternative health options, come try a personal health consultation at Know Thy Health.

[1] Larry Trivieri, Jr. and John W. Anderson, eds., Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide (Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts, 2002), 62-70.