Acupuncture is an ancient Asian medicine that functions to rebalance the body’s dysfunction by inserting thin needles into the body. Don’t worry, they’re not randomly stuck into your body. These acupuncture points are associated with energy meridians in the body. There are over 400 points on the body! And yes, I did have to memorize all of them for school! Each point has a specific location, function, and application. The points are chosen based on the primary pattern of disharmony in the body. This disharmony is something the Licensed Acupuncturist determines based on their assessment. There’s a lot of question-and-answer time on your first session to help the Acupuncturist figure this out.
The main mode of treatment for acupuncture is the needles. People often ask, “does it hurt?” The simple answer is “it depends.” It’s not a cop out, it’s the truth. There are several styles of acupuncture that treat patients with different methods: needle size, insertion depth, manipulation or not, electric stimulation or not, etc. Japanese acupuncture, the style that I do, is a powerful, yet subtle treatment experience. The needles are super thin, inserted superficially, and they’re not manipulated or electronically stimulated. Once they are in, they are left to do their work. The needles are about as thick as two strands of hair. Yes, they’re that thin!
In addition to the needles, an Acupuncturist might use other tools to help with healing. Moxibustion is an herb (mugwort) that promotes the movement of energy, reduces inflammation, boosts immunity, and detoxes your energy meridian. (Future blog coming on that topic.) Cupping (oh my favorite!) can be used to break up any stagnation and promote healing & relaxation: tight muscles, respiratory problems, cough, anxiety, stress, etc. Sometimes cupping can leave bruise-like marks on your body, but the energy release feels so good!
So what exactly do you get acupuncture for? Great question! Acupuncture is used to help many conditions. Most conditions that you would see a Medical Doctor for, acupuncture can help with: women’s health (fertility, menstrual cycles, pregnancy, menopause), headaches, pain management, arthritis, gastrointestinal issues (nausea, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal bloating, poor digestion), anxiety, stress management, allergies, and sleeping issues – just to name a few. It can be used as a tool to help your body simply relax and realign and it can be used to assist your body in the management of chronic conditions. Regardless of what you seek acupuncture for, you will leave a treatment feeling better than you went in.
We’d all love to be in balance every day, but daily life can sometimes mess with that. Physical and emotional stressors can throw our energies off balance. Injury can cause things to stagnate in our body. Eating foods that don’t agree with you can disrupt the flow of energy. Not getting enough quality sleep throws off our rhythms and affects all our body systems. An unhealthy lifestyle in general can cause your body to rebel. If not totally rebel, it would just not work properly or optimally. Acupuncture works to help systems in our body run smoothly. Who doesn’t want that?!
You can still get acupuncture if you are afraid of needles and it will still be effective. I promise! I also do a form of acupuncture that is non-insertive. The needles don’t go in your body. I use a teishin – a different tool that never penetrates the skin. I will use more moxa than usual (yippee!), but the treatment can be done totally without sticking one needle into your body.
If you’ve never had acupuncture, but are interested enough to try it out – send me an email, text, or call. I’d be happy to rebalance your body.