More Complementary & Integrative Healthcare Articles
How and Why Acupuncture Works
Eastern medicine is a holistic and preventive medical system. It is holistic in that we heal your body as a whole rather than treating isolated symptoms, and preventative because our primary aim is always to support your body's natural ability for fighting off illness and injury.
Chinese medicine practitioners describe the human body as composed of five functional systems Xin (heart), Gan (liver), Fei (lung), Pi (spleen) and Shen (kidney). When a person is healthy all five systems are believed to be working in harmony. Blood and Qi (energy) flow smoothly through the body. It is believed that when there is an imbalance between the systems or when the flow is blocked, illness occurs.
Acupuncture and acupressure massage can relieve body pain through the stimulation of certain points. As the researchers at the Mayo Clinic explain, these acupoints are “places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue.” This stimulation appears to boost the activity of your body's natural painkillers and increase blood flow.”
But acupoints may more than relieve musculoskeletal pain. They are also believed to connect to the internal body systems
Xin (heart system) controls mental health, vitality and blood circulation
Gan (liver system) generates the volume of blood and is affected by the emotions
Fei (lung system) a combination of the respiratory and immune systems, Fei governs breathing and exchange with the world outside the body
Pi (spleen system) digests food, distributes nutrients to the body, regulates body fluids
Shen (kidney system) responsible for urinary and reproductive functions as well as growth and development
Stimulation at the correct acupoints based on the above five systems, used alone or with Chinese herbs, may correct imbalances and deficiencies in these systems. This may provide relief for chronic disorders such as body pain, stress, allergies, insomnia, infertility and weight problems. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs also may help relieve various other symptoms, such as those found in cancer and ADHD patients.
Though the exact mechanisms of Eastern medicine are still under study, there is a large and growing body of medical research indicating that it is highly effective. The National Institutes of Health conducted a review of the research on acupuncture, concluding that
“Promising results have emerged, showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult post-operative and chemo-therapy nausea, addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and asthma. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.”
