Acupuncture

• Relieving pain

• Improving function of local areas of the body

• Often utilized as an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs when appropriate

• Encouraging healing

• Improving energy levels

• Improving mood

 

Acupuncture is also statistically very safe, and according to many patients very effective. Acupuncture needles are usually made of stainless steel and are extremely fine, allowing them to slide smoothly through the skin and tissue of the body without causing damage. The practitioner may use specific techniques such as gently lifting or rotating the needles to stimulate the tissues.

 

Other related techniques include:

• Acupressure - Using the thumb or fingers to apply pressure on specific acupuncture points is also frequently effective in providing relief.

• Electro-acupuncture - A low or high frequency of electricity conducted via wires to the acupuncture needles enables the practitioner to provide relief from different types of symptoms.

• Moxibustion - Gently heating the needles to increase metabolic activity locally.

• Auricular Acupuncture - The ear is mapped out according to different points on the body as a ‘microsystem’, or micro-representation of the body. Thus using the needles to stimulate a specific location on the ear effects relief in the corresponding area of the body. This technique has been shown to be used by ancient cultures for the treatment of sciatic pain, for instance.