Recently, with the addition of acupuncture to our clinic’s offerings, we have been getting a TON of questions from people about what exactly acupuncture can treat. I want to take some time to go over a small sampling of some of the more common things that people may experience that would see benefits from treatment in acupuncture.
Before we get there, I want to give a short overview of acupuncture in general. Acupuncture is a part of what many people refer to as Traditional Chinese Medicine. Other parts include T’ui-na (chiropractic adjustments), herbology, and Qi Gong which is a type of meditative exercise to bring the mind, body, and spirit together. I’ll include a link to a video that gives an overview of Qi gong and an example of the practice of Qi gong.
The Chinese started the practice of acupuncture between 4,000-10,000 years ago with the 9 types of acupuncture needles being invented around 4,000 BC. Many of the first acupuncture tools were made from Bian stone which was used until 475 BC to 24 AD when iron replaced the stone tools.
Acupuncture is the treatment of Qi (chi) throughout our bodies. Qi is thought of as the “healing energy of the body” and it comes in two forms: acquired energy from the world around us (what we eat, drink, the air we breathe) and Ancestral or Congenital energy which we get from our parents. That Qi flows through our bodies along pathways, called Meridians. There are twelve main meridians through our body and are named after organs that they can affect. The twelve meridians are lung, large intestine, stomach, spleen, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, pericardium, triple warmer, liver, and gall bladder. All the pathways either start or end in the hands or feet (6 in the hands and 6 in the feet).
And now to some of the common conditions we can treat with acupuncture. Keep in mind, this is a snapshot of the vast amount of things that can be treated with acupuncture.
Digestive
· Abdominal Pain
· Constipation
· Diarrhea
· Hyperacidity
· Indigestion
Emotional
· Anxiety
· Depression
· Insomnia
· Nervousness
· Neurosis
Eye, ear, nose, throat
· Cataracts
· Gingivitis
· Poor vision
· Tinnitus
· Toothache
Gynecological
· Infertility
· Menopausal symptoms
· Premenstrual syndrome
Miscellaneous
· Addiction control
· Athletic performance
· Blood pressure regulation
· Chronic fatigue
· Immune system tonification
· Stress reduction
· Cancer treatment symptoms
Musculoskeletal
· Arthritis
· Back pain
· Muscle cramping
· Muscle pain/weakness
· Neck pain
· Sciatica
Neurological
· Headaches
· Migraines
· Bladder dysfunction
· Parkinson’s disease
· Postoperative pain
· Stroke
Respiratory
· Asthma
· Bronchitis
· Common cold
· Sinusitis
· Smoking cessation
· Tonsillitis
Table from the World Health Organization United Nations. “Viewpoint on Acupuncture.” 19 19 (revised)