What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is part of a medical system that began around five thousand years ago in China. Many of the historical documents were burnt during the cultural revolution that occurred in China during the 1950’s. There’s a lot more to this story…but we’re here to talk about what Acupuncture can do, what it can help and what a typical Acupuncture session might look like.
Think about your body as a system of waterways. When the body, mind, and spirit are flowing all together this is an ideal waterway. Since we’re not living in Ancient China and we don’t hang out in nature observing the way the clouds hover over the mountain tops….our waterways get blocked easily. Acupuncture can help unblock these waterways! There are over 365 points on the body and each one has something that helps the waterways flow once again. For example…say you wake up with a sore neck one morning from sleeping on it the “wrong way”. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) we call that “Fallen Pillow Syndrome”. There is a point on the hand called Luo Zhen or “Fell off the pillow”. A needle is placed into this point and for some reason…it helps the pain. I would usually have the patient move their neck back and forth while stimulating the needle and their neck pain is substantially lessened.
The needles
Acupuncture needles come in a lot of different sizes and lengths. Some can be 5 inches long or less than 1/2 an inch. The smaller needles are used for ear insertion and the longest needles can be used for muscle aches/pain in the back. The insertion of the needle is very important as there are certain organs (Like lungs!!!) that can be punctured. I tell people to not needle themselves or others unless they’re trained in TCM. The needles themselves are about as thin as a cat whisker, about 25 of them can fit into a “normal” needle that you would see when getting a vaccination.
What can Acupuncture help with?
It has been proven to help with pain, specifically back pain, knee pain, and issues with menstruation. There have been studies that have “proven” that Acupuncture can help with these things…however here is a list of just a few issues I have treated with the use of Acupuncture, herbs and body work….. Mental and Emotional Issues, common colds, pregnancy, nausea, headaches, migraines, drug and alcohol addiction, ankle pain, shoulder issues, sinus congestion, neck pain, earaches, vertigo, grief, smoking cessation.
What happens at an appointment?
There are a few things to expect when getting acupuncture….In TCM we use diagnostic tools to help us figure out what exactly is going on in the body. I will ask a patient to stick their tongue out and that gives me an idea about what is going on on the inside of the body. Certain areas of the tongue can tell me what is happening…for example, a red tip can mean that the patient had a rough night sleep or a cold is possibly coming.
In order to get a clearer diagnosis I then take the pulse of the patient. The pulse is taken on the radial side of each forearm near the crease of the wrist. This tells me the energetics of certain organs in the body. If the cun on the right side is racing…then my assumption of the incoming cold is correct. If the cun on the left arm is pounding then I would assume that the patient had a rough night sleep.
After talking with the patient and asking a lot of questions I would then come up with a diagnosis. Let’s say the patient has a cold coming and they want help with getting rid of it.
I would write a point prescription and then insert needles when the patient was ready and comfortable on a table. I let the patient rest and then insert a few more needles.
I then remove all the needles (I try really hard to count how many go in so that I know I have them all out) and place them all in a sharps container. Needles are only used once and are sterile when inserted! If needed I would prescribe Chinese herbs that would be helpful in getting rid of this incoming cold.
Acupuncture is best when used regularly. Some patients come in just when they’re having pain or weekly for upkeep on a particular issue.