Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

Acupuncture has long been used in Chinese medicine to balance the emotional, physical and spiritual aspects of the human body, and more and more health care practitioners, both naturalistic and traditional, are discovering the importance of acupuncture to maintaining and regaining good health.

Acupuncture works under the assumption that the body contains many pathways of energy, which flow through the body along specific routes. Acupuncture practitioners spend many years learning these pathways and using them to restore balance to all parts of the body. For instance, allergies often manifest themselves with such symptoms as runny nose, swollen sinus cavities and itchy eyes. These symptoms would be treated with acupuncture points for the liver and the large intestine, as well as a custom designed herbal remedy. A common cold including symptoms like chills and fever, on the other hand, may be treated with acupuncture points for bladder, stomach and governing vessel.

An acupuncture point is actually a specific point along the pathway where the qi collects. The needles used in acupuncture are designed to either disperse the energy that has been blocked or to stimulate the places where energy has weakened. The result of this treatment is a breaking of the dam, and the releasing of this blocked energy. The river of energy is thus allowed to run freely again, restoring balance and health to the body.

This type of oriental medicine has been used throughout the continent of Asia for over 5,000 years, and traditional western medicine has now begun to examine the healing power of acupuncture and traditional herbal remedies.

Oriental medicine traditionally focuses on preventing disease by correcting the imbalances in the body. This type of traditional medicine has been used to treat a wide variety of ailments, including headaches, allergies, insomnia and pain from injuries. Acupuncture and other oriental forms of healing focus on maintaining the health of the body and redirecting stress and pent up energy to more positive directions.

Another thing that makes acupuncture and herbal medicine so effective is that each treatment is directed entirely at the patient to be treated. Instead of taking the one size fits all approach that many health care providers adopt, acupuncture treatments and the herbal remedies that accompany them are specifically tailored to each individual. This individualized approach allows the alternative medicine practitioner to make necessary adjustments as treatment progresses, and this often leads to positive outcomes and a return of balance and good health.

Article by Bonnie Conrad