Acupuncture

Traditional Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a system of medicine which is described in ancient texts dating back thousands of years.  Many people thought acupuncture came from China, but it has now been discovered that Persia, Egypt, and India had acupuncture before China.  Today Acupuncture is still used to prevent most of the ills of human society.  It is used extensively in Eastern countries like China, Japan, and Korea making up 50%  of their treatments.  Acupuncture has also  gained widespread popularity in the United States and Europe in the last few decades.  A 2007 N. I. H. study showed that 3.1 million Americans used acupuncture in 2007.
The reason acupuncture has stood the test of time is that it works.  It works on so many conditions because it treats the person rather than the illness.  Acupuncture facilitates the patient healing their own body-mind-spirit of whatever is bothering then.  Because acupuncture is only helping the patient to release their own healing potential it is extremely safe.  There are no side effects.  There are no chemicals injected into the patient through the  needles.  The needles are very thin, solid and sterile and direct the flow of energy in the body when placed into the acupoints.
What is CAM?
Complementary Medicine is used in combination with Conventional Medicine.
Alternative Medicine is used in place of Conventional Medicine and Integrative Medicine combines Conventional  and Complementary Alternative Medicine Treatments. 
Acupuncture works with the natural life force energies of the body to promote the free flow of energy.  In the Tao Te Ching a Chinese text from 500 BC, the author, Laozi describes the "life force energy" as a mighty river that flows through us.  While the river is flowing freely we remain strong and healthy; however if blockages or deficiencies develop in the flow the person begins to weaken and develop illness.
Acupuncture works by freeing up blockages and strengthening deficiencies in the flow of a persons energy.  On the first visit the practitioner listens to you tell your story of your symptoms and what has lead you to seek acupuncture treatment.  Your medical history, your life stressors, past and present, your diet, exercise, and your feelings.  All of these characteristics of who you are are taken into account as the practitioner diagnoses the pattern of imbalance that you have which has given rise to the particular problems you are having.

With the acupuncture treatment the practitioner sends the signals to the body to balance your pattern of disharmony.  These treatments clear up blockages and increase deficiencies that you may have had.  Repeated on a weekly basis for a few weeks, these positive patterns begin to take root, and your body relearns how to remain in a healthy balanced state.  After you start feeling stronger and healthier, the treatments are spaced out to occur less frequently until you only need an occasional tune up to maintain your healthy balance.
On average we recommend  a course of 10 treatments to help return you to your natural state of balanced good health.  we do often see significant improvements within the first few treatments.  During the course of treatment patients usually experience a gradual lessoning of symptoms, and an increased feeling of good health.  In many cases additional improvements occur that are outside of what the original concern was for seeking treatment.  For instance, often a patient comes in for back pain, but during the course of treatment they may also feel that they have more energy, a better mood in general, better digestion and they may also find they sleep better.  Their whole being seems to improve at once because acupuncture treats the energy field which affects the total person, so healing occurs on all levels at once all over the body.  In other words, it balances your body-mind-and-spirit so you can begin to heal.