Alternative Therapies: Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that has been used for several thousand years. Acupressure is a form of acupuncture that uses pressure applied to acupuncture sites instead of needles.
Traditional Chinese medicine is not based on the Western scientific model. Western medicine can verify that acupuncture works, but can’t explain how it works. According to the Traditional Chinese model, qi, or vital energy, flows along yin and yang meridians in the body. Disease and pain result from the flow of qi being blocked. Acupuncture stimulates specific points along the meridians and allows the qi to flow freely.
Acupuncture is a natural treatment that is complementary to other forms of alternative medicine. Some practitioners, especially of Chinese medicine, use acupuncture to treat a wide range of illnesses, from colds to cancer. Acupuncture may be used with other treatments, such as Chinese herbs.
Acupuncture has been gaining acceptance among traditional medical doctors in recent years. Traditional physicians use acupuncture to treat pain syndromes, the nausea caused by chemotherapy, fibromyalgia, low back pain, menstrual cramps and other conditions.
Acupuncture is sometimes used to provide local anesthesia and has been helpful in easing the pain of natural childbirth.
The National Institute of Health has investigated the effectiveness of acupuncture, and has issued a statement about it. Essentially, they say that it does work in some instances, but they don’t know how it works.
Traditional Western medicine has not been very successful at treating many of the problems that acupuncture works well for, such as fibromyalgia. Acupuncture is an alternative treatment method that can be helpful when other treatments have failed.
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