Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Acupuncture - How does Acupuncture Work?

By Donnie Boots

Acupuncture Treatments Overview

This article tells five things you need to know in order to understand how acupuncture heals. The history of acupuncture can help you understand more about it and how it works. In Chinese medicine, acupuncture is routine In the United States acupuncture is relatively new as an alternative treatment. Acupuncture origins within Chinese Traditional Medicine depict a very long history and a good record of successful treatments for a variety of health conditions.

The Acupuncture Mindset

The Acupuncture Mindset maintains a focus on wellness and health rather than on sickness. A good way to understand the Acupuncture Mindset is to find out how it compares with your existing knowledge. For instance you can look at the historical development within ancient China before much was known about human physiology in modern language. Rather than look for and treat illness and diseases that were not understood, acupuncturists found ways to help the human body begin to heal itself by restoring normal energy flow for their patients. Nature was the healing model and the teacher.

Acupuncture Training

Perhaps since the earliest times ,healers in China have focused on preventing disease rather than curing or conventional research. The acupuncturist taught his apprentices with instruction in the old ways and with direct practice of the methods. He also showed them how to live with healthy and productive intentions. So his function was somewhat like a mentor. The best acupuncture schools of today follow this same approach. Teaching the basics of how the body works, as explained in the practice of Chinese medicine and learning how to integrate herbs and acupuncture and nutrition and exercise is the holistic method of instruction. Classes are practical and create ways to integrate acupuncture into an already active medical practice.

Acupuncture Treatments

Each treatment is likely to last from 30 minutes to an hour and the patient should remain relaxed and drink water or mild tea afterwards for best results. Students must learn the locations and functions of the meridians (channels) through which energy (Qi) flows. This is a critical part of all acupuncture treatments. Since any blockage in the flow of energy results in some kind of disorder, acupuncturists find the locations of the blockage and apply tiny hair like needles to the skin for a period of time. This is said to be relaxing and not painful. The remarkable success rate for acupuncture treatments is relative to the experience of the acupuncturist and to regular and repeat treatments to allow the patient to restore health in his or her body.

Acupuncture and Conventional Western Medicine

Only recently have Western physicians begun to accept the knowledge and skill inherent in acupuncture. This is in spite of the fact that acupuncture had been used successfully for thousands of years in other cultures. Today we have a better understanding of the parallels between the different medical approaches. Our central nervous system has an energy field measured electrically and it is responsible for sending and receiving messages to all parts of your body. When compared with the meridians for Qi energy there is a lot of similarity, but with different language and focus.

Allowing for the oversimplification of all things are connected, both acupuncture and the nervous system of conventional physicians are performing the same functions within the body. A blockage of energy or a misfire in a neural synapse both can result in some physiological disorder. The acupuncturist seeks to restore wellness by clearing the energy blockage. The physician seeks to get rid of the disorder and its symptoms with medicine.

Acupuncture Doctors

Both patients and doctors can benefit from integrated medicine that includes alternative treatments like acupuncture. It takes different training to become a physician than it does to become an acupuncturist. But both can benefit from the skills and knowledge and tools of the other. Historically, the primary concern with acupuncture and other alternative medicine was the ambiguous certification and licensing procedures. Now since acupuncturists must be licensed to practice, in most states it is less disturbing. More and more chiropractors and family care physicians are adding acupuncture and other alternative treatments to their practices.

Summary

Acupuncture is real and gaining popularity today as more people become health conscious and seek alternatives to conventional treatments. The clash between Eastern and Western medicines is not so much a functional one as it is a communication rift that is being bridged by many health care professionals. - 14130

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