Acupuncture is a form of treatment based on the principles of Chinese medicine. Acupuncture adherents believe that illness is caused by a disruption
in the flow of qi (pronounced "chee"), the collection of energies that endow us with our vitality. Acupuncture therapy involves the insertion of
needles at certain points in the skin to activate qi.
Although practiced in China for thousands of years, acupuncture has become widely known in the West only since the 1970s. Since its emergence,
an estimated 9 to 12 million Americans have turned to therapeutic acupuncture each year for relief from chronic medical ailments.
In 1998, the National Institutes of Health released a consensus statement concluding that acupuncture is useful as an adjunct treatment for a wide
variety of medical conditions, including addiction, stroke rehabilitation, migraine headaches, rheumatoid and osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal
tunnel syndrome, asthma, muscle and nerve problems, depression, smoking, eating disorders, drug and alcohol withdrawal, acne, cancer, and constipation.
The theory in traditional Chinese medicine is that illness occurs when energy channels become blocked or unbalanced. Acupuncture is a technique used to
unblock the channels. In the United States, acupuncture is often used to treat and relieve chronic pain, such as back pain or headaches.
In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is used as an adjunctive therapy for a variety of conditions, such as allergies, asthma, depression,
anxiety, headaches, hormonal disorders, and just about any condition that you can think of.
How do energy channels become blocked? There can be many causes. The most common are excess emotion, the wrong food, drugs, too little or inappropriate
exercise, too much or too little sex, sleeping incorrectly, the list goes on and on. The best way to familiarize yourself with the correct way of keeping
your meridians clear, is to work with someone who knows Traditional Chinese Medicine.
By Dr. Randi Fredricks, Ph.D.
