Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most used alternative medicine procedures in the world. Its origins go back to China, more than 2,000 years ago. It became known in the occidental world in 1971, when a New York Times reporter wrote about the use of needles in China to ease pain after surgery.
The acupuncture technique involves a group of procedures that imply the stimulation of certain anatomical points on the body through a variety of methods. The most studied method is the one that involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles, which can be manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.
The needles used in acupuncture are metallic, solid and very thin. Generally, people don’t experience pain when the needles are inserted and while some patients are energized by the treatments, others feel relaxed.
Traditional Chinese medicine, in which acupuncture is a key element, sees the body as a delicate balance of two coexisting forces: yin and yang. While yin is the cold, passive principle, yang is the hot, active one. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that health is the result of a balanced state of these two forces and, therefore, diseases are the result of a loss of such balance.
Acupuncture is supposed to regulate the nervous system and help the action of pain-killing biochemicals, like endorphins and immune system cells. In this way, and according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture restores the lost balance and helps recover health and wellbeing. |
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