Acupuncture is one of the main aspects of Chinese Medicine. Chinese medicine includes different modalities, such as Tui-Na medical massage, cupping, Gua-sha scraping technique and the prescribing of custom and classic blends of herbal formula. Today’s column is an introduction to acupuncture. Future columns will cover how acupuncture can help you with particular ailments, such as insomnia, pain or digestive problems.

Acupuncture is a 3,000-year-old Asian system of healing that gently inserts fine, hair-like needles into the body to stimulate its natural energy flow and engage its ability to heal itself.

Depending on the reason for treatment, a practitioner locates needles at different points on the body, sometimes away from the site of the problem. For back pain, for instance, the practitioner may insert needles in the affected muscles of the back, or in the hands, feet and ears.

Needles stay in for 20 minutes to half an hour. Most people feel a deep sense of relaxation during treatments and for hours after, and some people actually fall asleep during treatment.

Acupuncture is very effective at treating everything from insomnia to back pain, digestive problems to sports injuries. Acupuncturists may also use massage techniques and prescribe herbal formulas to help speed the healing process. The needles are sterile, disposable and used only once. A course of treatment ranges from six to 10 sessions.

There are many different styles of acupuncture: traditional Chinese style, Japanese acupuncture with super-thin needles, Korean style, which uses a lot of hand points, the balance method, which never puts a needle at the site of pain, and sports acupuncture, which incorporates modern Western knowledge into the work.

And just like Western doctors, acupuncturists have specialties. Some specialize in infertility, others in complex cases for which Western doctors cannot find remedies; still others specialize in the treatment of pain and orthopedic conditions. Of course, there are also general practitioners.

Just as there are a lot of styles of practice, there are a lot of styles of business too. Because of the nature of the insurance world, many acupuncturists choose to only accept cash and forgo an office manager. Others are preferred providers in insurance plans, take credit cards, work with personal injury cases such as car accidents and also treat work injuries.

One of the most unique things about Chinese medicine and acupuncture is the way the acupuncturist sees the client. The system of diagnosis was created many years before there were blood tests, CAT scans or MRIs. Instead, acupuncturists observe patients’ patterns, as if they are landscape paintings, with peaks and valleys. Acupuncturists look for disharmonies in the body. In the language of the ancient healers, they sought to find where the “fire” was burning out of control and/or where the “water” was overflowing. Diagnosing these patterns today is done, as it was then, by looking at the body, feeling the pulse, examining the tongue and asking questions of the patient. If pain is part of the problem, modern practitioners also perform manual muscle and/or orthopedic tests to determine its origin. Once the diagnosis is determined, the acupuncturist chooses acupuncture points to correct imbalance and restore the client to a state of equilibrium and harmony. The body receives the information from the needles like a computer receives a change in software, and via a proper combination of points, the body changes its relationship to itself.

Some call this the body’s own ability to heal itself and say acupuncture awakens its natural healing powers. I have seen first hand amazing healing within my patients. Some people who thought they would have to live with pain for the rest of their lives are now free from its burden.

Acupuncture truly is ancient medicine for a modern world..