Article Medically Reviewed By:
Peter T. Dorsher, MS, MD
Consultant, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville Jacksonville, FL
Overview
What Is It?
Acupuncture is an important component of Traditional Chinese Medicine that involves the insertion of thin needles at specific bodily points and is used to treat and prevent a range of conditions and illnesses, even colds and flu.
Acupuncture is an important component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that involves the insertion of thin needles at specific bodily points (acupoints), most of which are grouped according to their clinical effects on lines called meridians. The TCM theory of acupuncture is based in part onthe premise that blood and energy termed Qi (pronounced chee) circulate in a cyclical fashion through these meridians. This energy flow is required for good health; blockages in Qi can lead to pain and/or ill health. (Many traditional Oriental medicine practices focus on improving the flow and balance of Qi.) Thus, TCM practitioners will needle specific acupuncture points along the meridians to restore (or maintain) a healthy flow and balance of Qi and blood in them.
TCM practitioners use acupuncture to treat and prevent a range of conditions and illnesses, even colds and flu. In the United States, one of its most common uses is to relieve pain, but it is also used for other conditions ranging from ear, nose and throat diseases to neurologic, respiratory, or even psychiatric problems such as depression. Acupuncture may be used alone, in conjunction with other TCM therapies such as herbs, or with more conventional therapies.
Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States. An estimated 8.2 million Americans have undergone acupuncture, and about 2.1 million undergo the treatment each year. People usually find the procedure to be relatively painless, although some points in some patients may be quite sensitive. Depending on your practitioner, the needles may be stimulated with manual manipulation, heat or electricity.
There are many state acupuncture organizations, and many states have acupuncture regulations and codes. Almost every state has a State Acupuncture Board, and there are approximately 50 accredited schools of acupuncture in the United States. There are also many physician-acupuncturists who practice acupuncture as part of their medical practices.
Widely practiced around the world, especially in Asia (the practice originated in China) and Europe, acupuncture didn't gain a notable following in the United States until the 1970s, when New York Times journalist James Reston piqued public interest by writing about how physicians in Beijing eased his postsurgery abdominal pain with acupuncture. Acupuncture has been gaining popularity in the United States ever since.
The 1997 National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference on Acupuncture gave a boost to acupuncture by concluding that acupuncture is safe and, for some conditions, proven e...
Click here to read more from Healthy Women
