A Little Commentary on Acupuncture in Chinese Medicine
A lot of people have heard about acupuncture and its amazing effects on pain reduction, but Chinese medicine is actually really effective in a wide range of health issues, chronic and acute, external and internal, primarily because it prioritizes treating the person over the disease label.
Other than being a very old medicine (at least 2500 years old), acupuncture can be practiced at all levels, it is practiced worldwide in many countries, in quite a few different styles, and still continues to attract new patients and new students every day because of its holistic nature and effectiveness.
In the language of western medicine, researchers believe that acupuncture stimulates the central nervous system as well as the peripheral nervous system, which release chemicals to the brain, spinal cord, and the affected tissues. There are numerous research studies produced in the US, Europe, China, Japan, Korea – worldwide, demonstrating the efficacy of acupuncture. For instance, in a well-known clinical study presented by the National Institute of Health (NIH) acupuncture was shown to be an effective treatment for nausea caused by surgical anesthesia and cancer chemotherapy, as well as for dental pain after surgery. In addition, the NIH has also found that acupuncture is useful by itself or in conjunction with conventional therapies to treat addiction, headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, asthma, and to assist in stroke rehabilitation, just to name a few health issues.
For those who practice and receive acupuncture, our experience tells us that acupuncture not only alters the cognition of pain, but also stimulates the body’s natural healing abilities and promotes physical and emotional well-being. In other words, sort out the chaos and guide it toward a more harmonious pattern. Harmony is “the quality of forming a pleasing and consistent whole,” which implies that it is relational, and abides by the law of nature. Chinese medicine always seeks to restore balance and harmony in its subject, and there are two aspects of it. There is the environment inside an individual, and there is that external to an individual. Just like a plant flourishing in a properly drained and sufficiently irrigated field, our well-being depends on the smooth flow of energy inside, and having the appropriate exchange of energy with the environment. In practice, restoring a state of natural, effortless and fair exchange is the aim of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. And if we happen to reduce pain along the way, that is certainly a bonus, but not by any means the only goal.
Chinese medicine is not just a philosophy, but an applied philosophy borne from thousands of years of application with a wealth of accumulated experiences and results.
If you have specific questions about how Chinese medicine can support and improve your well-being, please don’t hesitate to reach out directly.
Pathfinder Healing Practices • 240 N Court Ave, Tucson, AZ 85701 • (520) 333-2628