Acupuncture is not painful. In fact, it is quite pleasant and extremely relaxing… it is common for patients to fall asleep during their treatment. Rhonda calls the relaxed state patients experience “acu-high” because it is similar to runner’s high. Both are a result of natural endorphin levels increasing in the body.
Acupuncture is a 5,000 year old Chinese medical diagnosis and treatment discipline based on restoring the balance to the natural flows of energy through the human body. Acupuncture includes placing and gently stimulating tiny needles into specific points on the body, moxibustion (the application of heat), Tui Na (Chinese massage), cupping and other traditional healing techniques.How Acupuncture works:
Eastern Perspective
According to Chinese medicine, health disorders occur when Qi (chi) the “Life Force” becomes blocked, diminished, or redirected and causes pain and/or dysfunction. Acupuncture works by adjusting the Qi that flows through twelve major pathways known as the meridians in your body. An acupuncturist is trained in the discovery of unbalanced Qi and the selection of acupuncture points along the meridians that have specific therapeutic functions. Tiny acupuncture needles are inserted into the points promoting Qi flow through the meridians. This manipulation of Qi restores balance, which allows the body to carry out its proper functions eliminating undesirable symptoms and discomfort. The body subsequently adjusts to a healthy state of balance, and for this reason acupuncture treatment is often described as Awakening the Intelligence of the Body.
Western Perspective
From a Western medical perspective, acupuncture therapy achieves healing by increasing blood flow, releasing tight muscles and stimulating hormonal changes. Finally, a sense of well-being is obtained from the resulting increase of endorphins within the body.
How many treatments will you need?
Every person and every problem is different. Generally the longer the problem has persisted, the more treatments are needed. See treatment plans to get an idea of what is involved.