Acupuncturist Q&A
Here are answers to some of the most frequently
asked questions about acupuncture:
What is Acupuncture?
Is Acupuncture Safe?
How Big Are The Needles?
How Does Acupuncture Work?
Do I Have To Believe
In Acupuncture For It To Work?
What are the Acupuncture
Channels?
How Can Acupuncture Help
Me?
What are some medical
conditions acupuncture helps?
Will My Health Insurance
pay for Acupuncture?
What is Acupuncture?
The medical effectiveness of acupuncture has
gained considerable attention and respect in western countries
over the past 25 years. At the same time, a new model for
health is emerging that is more aware of the intimate and
powerful connection between body, mind, and spirit. These
interconnections are integral to acupuncture theory and
acupuncture treatment allows natural healing processes to
unfold. Even though acupuncture is an ancient tradition,
it can address many of the manifestations of illness in
our modern society.
Acupuncture has been used to treat a wide
variety of illnesses for more than 2,000 years. Acupuncture
is just one component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
A diagnosis is made based upon a thorough patient interview
to understand how to balance the body's energetic systems.
The diagnosis includes the observation of the pulse and
the tongue. Once a diagnosis is made, acupuncture points
are selected. The focus of the treatment may be to balance
the yin and yang of the body: excess or deficient patterns,
hot or cold conditions, or exterior and interior patterns.
For example, a treatment may need to build a person's energy
if it stems from a deficiency. If the condition arises from
an excess of energy we will disperse energy in the treatment.
Inserting acupuncture needles at the appropriate points
promotes the flow of energy and restores balance throughout
the body. To read more about the benefits of Acupuncture
please read the National
Institutes of Health Acupuncture Fact Sheet.
Is Acupuncture Safe?
Acupuncture is safe and without any serious side effects,
one of the reasons for its acceptance. The stainless steel
needles themselves are pre-sterilized, and they are disposed
of after each treatment.
Acupuncture has been used by millions of Americans and is
recognized by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA regulates
acupuncture needles as medical devices, and rates them in
the category of "safe and effective." The National
Institutes of Health finished a two and one-half year study
of acupuncture, electrical acupuncture and microcurrent
therapies last year, and published their Consensus Statement
in November, 1977. The Consensus Statement from the NIH
states that, "While it is often thought that there
is substantial research evidence to support conventional
medical practices; this is frequently not the case. This
does not mean that these treatments are ineffective. The
data in support of acupuncture are as strong as those for
many accepted Western medical therapies. One of the advantages
of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects
is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other
accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions."
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How Big Are The Needles?
They're not very big. The typical Chinese
fine needle measures .25 to .30 millimeters in diameter,
and 30-50 millimeters in length. The diameter is similiar
to your own hair. Acupuncture needles, unlike hypodermic
needles, are neither hollow nor rigid, and the tip is shaped
to increase the patient's comfort during insertion. It has
often been stated that anywhere from half a dozen to a dozen
acupuncture needles will fit inside the bore of a hypodermic
needle; this depends, of course, on the diameter of all
needles under consideration. Some Japanese-made needles
are quite a bit finer than their Chinese counterparts. Interestingly
enough, needle diameter has very little to do with insertion
comfort; needling technique and needle tip shape are much
bigger factors.
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How Does Acupuncture
Work?
Contemporary Western medicine has developed more than 17
different ways of explaining different aspects of acupuncture
effects, but no unified theory. The traditional understanding
of acupuncture provides a unified framework for clinical
evaluation and treatment (the channel system, five-phase
theory, yin/yang theory). Western and Chinese medicine agree
on the fact that it really works, and that formal studies,
using techniques ranging from blood serum analysis to MRI,
have documented acupuncture's efficacy in ways that are
compatible with Western scientific methodology. The outcomes
of many studies suggest that acupuncture is more effective
when applied by a skillful practitioner using traditional
theories.
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Do I Have To Believe
In Acupuncture For It To Work?
Acupuncture's theoretical models are not based on faith.
Acupuncture works on horses, dogs, babies, and people in
comas. Its world view arises from empirical observation,
and the acid test for the validity of the view is the result
of its application by skillful practitioners. Simply put:
faith is not a requirement.
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What are the Acupuncture
Channels?
Channels or meridians, are rivers of energy that
flow on the body, Acupuncture points are located along the
12 meridians and 8 extra channels. There are 365 mapped
acupuncture points along the 12 channels, as well as hundreds
of extra points found all over the body. Qi (pronounced
"chi") is the Chinese word for the energy moving
through out the channels. The movement of the Qi assists
in balancing the Yin, Yang, excess, deficiency, disperse
or to tonify.These are selected according to the current
presentation of the patient, as well as underlying constitutional
excesses or deficiencies.
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How Can Acupuncture
Help Me?
Needle-less therapy is non-invasive. Receive all the benefits
of acupuncture without needles.
Have more energy for the things you want to do.
Improve your sleep.
Improves mental clarity so you will manage your time more
effectively.
Reduce stress and you will be more content.
Feel more relaxed and centered.
Have more endurance and flexibility.
Acupuncture helps reduce cravings, keeps you calm and enhances
detoxification.
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What are some
medical conditions acupuncture helps?
Addictions
Alcohol, nicotine, food, drugs
Circulatory
Hypertension, post-angina, arteriosclerosis, anemia
Emotional and Psychological
Stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia
Gastrointestinal
Food allergies,heartburn, peptic ulcer, constipation, chronic
diarrhea, indigestion, anorexia, and irritable bowel syndrome
Gynecological
Irregular and painful periods, PMS, infertility in women
and men, menopause, fibroids
Muscular-skeletal
Back, neck,shoulder, and knee pain, arthritis, fibromyalgia,
tendinitis, bursitis,sprains and strains
Neurological
Headache, migraine,sciatica, peripheral neuropathy, post-stroke
Psychospiritual
Spiritual awakening and growth, heightening of energy and
awareness, life transitions
Respiratory
Emphysema, sinusitis, asthma, allergies, bronchitis
Urological
Incontinence, urinary tract infections, sexual dysfunction,
prostatitis
Other
Fatigue, hypertension, chemical addictions, support for
chronic and debilitating conditions
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Will My Health
Insurance pay for Acupuncture?
Some Insurance companies will cover acupuncture treatments.
Ask your employer or insurance company to find out if your
policy covers acupuncture. We will be happy to provide you
with a statement of services so that you can be reimbursed
by your insurance company. You can always consider switching
plans to one that provides this coverage.
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