Why Acupuncture Treatment is a Vital Part of Your Health Journey
Acupuncture—a practice that dates back over 3000 years—is a traditional East-Asian therapy. It has gained popularity worldwide due to its ability to maintain and improve health and reverse many disease processes without the use of drugs. The value of acupuncture therapy is immense and worth exploring.
With the rising interest in holistic health practices, acupuncture is gaining significant acceptance in modern healthcare. In fact, many Western medical practitioners now acknowledge its therapeutic benefits and recommend it as a complementary and/or a stand alone treatment for many issues. Esteemed health organizations globally, like the World Health Organization, have even identified a range of conditions that can be effectively managed through acupuncture and this is just the tip of the sword. The expanding acceptance of this ancient practice is a testament to its potential in promoting well-being and managing various health conditions, making it a critical part of contemporary healthcare.
The Power of Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a holistic approach that works with the body's innate healing abilities. It's a Qi based therapy - which can be loosely understood as energy that flows through and around our body along pathways called meridians. When disease patterns arise in the body, it’s reflected in the functionality or dysfunctionality of these channels and therefore, you can work with indicated points on specific channels to remedy malfunctioning physiology, and unpleasant emotional and psychological states.
The treatment involves inserting thin, sterile needles at particular points on the body. These points are strategic, researched over centuries, and have a complex, multilayered symbolism of understanding embedded within them - meaning, they are related to physiological mechanisms of action, psychological states of mind and emotional states of being. By engaging with these points, the patient and the patient’s body has greater access to these innate healing resources and can rectify the underlying pattern that caused the disease in the first place.
Acupuncture has been proven to help with a wide range of physical, emotional and psychological conditions, including but not limited to issues ranging from chronic pain, headaches, stress, anxiety, allergies, digestive issues to acute illness all the way to cancers of various kinds. It addresses the root cause of the problem instead of just masking symptoms.
How Acupuncture Works
In East-Asian medical traditions, acupuncture works by recognizing that our body is an ecosystem of living relationships. All parts of our body are communicating with each other in order to function optimally. The Liver has pathways and connections to the Spleen, Stomach, Lungs and Heart for example - which all have ties to cellular function in various parts of the body, emotions and certain cognitive forms of thinking. These connections and relationships are utilized to rectify disease. Physical, mental and emotional health is all connected, and any disruption in one aspect can lead to imbalances in the others.
From a scientific perspective acupuncture can stimulate the release of various endorphins, which are natural painkillers produced by our body. It can also be used to upregulate and down-regulate the immune system and aid in improving blood circulation, thereby reducing inflammation.
You can think of all the channels on the body like an intricate river system where qi flows and has implications for blood and lymph movement throughout the body as well as influences our psyche and emotions. It is a two way street. These channels and the points on the channels can be used for healing purposes and they also reflect what is going on within our body. A good practitioner can palpate, see, listen and sense what types of pathologies are present within someone’s body via the channel system and how it reflects the state of our body.
Each channel (meridian) on the body has a varying number of points. All of these points have names. Embedded within these names are a rich history of symbolism that explains the function, in detail, of each point. With regular sessions and becoming more aware and engaged with one’s own body, acupuncture can promote overall well-being and help prevent future health issues before they arise.
The Benefits of Acupuncture Therapy
Acupuncture treatment offers an array of health benefits. It is widely known for pain management, with evidence revealing that it can impact the central nervous system in a wide variety of ways - depending on what your body is needing at that point in time. It's also used for the following:
Pain Management: Acupuncture is highly effective in managing various types of pain, including, but not limited to, chronic pain, joint pain, and migraines.
Stress Reduction: By regulating the nervous system, acupuncture helps lower stress levels and over time, helping your system to develop the allostatic ability to adjust and adapt to varying levels of stress - making you more resilient and less affected by stress.
Regulates Immunity: Acupuncture can upregulate or downregulate the immune system, helping the body resist diseases and infections more effectively. As well as helping someone’s system to work through autoimmune issues.
Improves Digestive Health: Acupuncture treatments can help alleviate digestive issues by increasing peristalsis, decreasing inflammation and helping the intestinal lining to reintegrate its tight junctions - alleviating symptoms of conditions like gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and colitis (which often lead to other severe disease down stream).
Allergy Relief: Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of allergies, helping to reduce inflammation and strengthen the immune system's response.
Enhances Sleep Quality: Acupuncture therapy can prove beneficial for individuals suffering from insomnia, aiding in improved sleep quality and duration. This has many downstream effects on immune function, energy levels and psychological health.
Mental Health Support: Acupuncture can be used as part of a comprehensive treatment plan for conditions like depression and anxiety, helping to regulate mood and relieve stress.
Regulates Hormones: Through working the body via the meridians, acupuncture can help regulate hormonal imbalances, which can benefit conditions like PMS, PCOS, menopause, infertility, erectile dysfunction and many other male and female reproductive disorders.
Supports Respiratory Health: Acupuncture can be beneficial for individuals with respiratory conditions such as asthma, bronchitis, allergies, upper respiratory infections (URIs), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and much more!
Promotes overall well-being: Regular acupuncture sessions can promote overall wellness, enhancing energy levels, improving mood, increasing mental acuity and cognitive function as well as improving athletic performance.
Surgery Recovery: All types of surgery are quite invasive to the body and providing support the the system to dissipate the trauma that has happened to the nervous system, promote qi and blood flow, decrease inflammation and increase neurotransmitters that naturally promote well-being such as dopamine and serotonin are ways in which acupuncture provides support post surgery.
Athletic Performance Enhancement: Capitalizing on the use of acupuncture is something martial artists, warriors and athletic performers of all kinds have for many ages. Our physiology is deeply intertwined with our psychology. Helping one to function more efficiently will inherently benefit the other. Acupuncture can be used to mentally be more acute and physically feel better during an athletic performance as well as for recovery purposes.
Case Study Example
Patient Name: Paul
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Medical History: Diagnosed with COVID-19 three months prior
Symptoms at Onset:
Paul's recovery from COVID-19 had been challenging, with lingering symptoms that resembled autoimmunity and fatigue, shortness of breath (SOB), chest pain, persistent cough, inability to exercise without sob and chest pain. He also reported feelings of anxiety, insomnia and overall weakness, which significantly affected his quality of life.
Diagnostic Assessment:
Using the diagnostic tools of East-Asian medicine, I conducted a comprehensive evaluation of Paul's condition. Pulse and tongue diagnosis, as well as a thorough patient interview and channel palpation, revealed an imbalance in his Shaoyang function (reflective of his Liver and Gallbladder function), which manifested as irritability, fatigue, SOB, headaches and chest tightness. Additionally, Paul's Lung and Kidney meridians showed signs of deficiency, contributing to his fatigue, cough and overall lethargy.
Treatment Plan:
To address Paul's condition, I developed a treatment plan focused on harmonizing his Shaoyang function and supporting his Lung and Kidney meridians. This plan consisted of regular acupuncture sessions and personalized herbal formulas.
Acupuncture Treatment:
Paul received acupuncture treatments twice a week for 16 weeks. These sessions primarily targeted acupoints associated with the Shaoyang meridians to help his body fully expel any lingering viral pathogens. Acupoints related to the Lung and Kidney meridians were also utilized to strengthen these organ systems and improve cardiac and respiratory function.
Herbal Formula:
In addition to acupuncture, Paul was prescribed multiple custom herbal formulas over the course of treatment. The formulas included herbs known for their ability to calm down an overactive immune system while also supporting the Kidney batteries and Lung function, promoting blood and lymph circulation, discarding cellular debris and expelling pathogens. He followed the prescribed herbal regimen consistently throughout the treatment period.
Results:
Over the course of 16 weeks, Paul made a full recovery:
Symptom Improvement: Paul reported a gradual reduction in symptoms. His cough became less frequent, and his breathing improved. He experienced a significant decrease in fatigue, and his headaches gradually diminished.
Stable Emotional Health: With the harmonization of his Shaoyang function and the overall improvement in his health, Paul's irritability and anxiety lessened. He felt more emotionally stable and was able to sleep through the night without waking up every few hours.
Enhanced Quality of Life: As Paul's symptoms improved, he regained his energy and was able to resume his daily activities. His overall quality of life notably enhanced.
Resolving Imbalances: Follow-up diagnostic assessments showed a balancing of his Shaoyang function and marked improvement in the function of his Lungs and Kidneys.
Paul's recovery from long haul COVID symptoms over 16 weeks of regular acupuncture and herbal treatments helped to get him back on track in his life. He is now able to exercise regularly, work a normal work week and has extra energy to play with his kids.
Conclusion
Acupuncture therapy is a time-tested, natural approach to health and wellness. It's not just about relieving symptoms, but about facilitating the body's intrinsic healing capabilities on all levels. Acupuncture and East-Asian healing systems can be used in just about any manner - from disease resolution and surgery recovery to increasing cognitive function and athletic performance. It is virtually pain free and an integrated way to awaken to the consciousness of your body.