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An ancient tradition of the Chinese made its debut in American in the 1970s and that tradition was acupuncture. It is estimated that the Chinese have used acupuncture since 2700 B.C. However, Western medical experts and researchers that operate and staff any pain center have yet to confirm officially the validity of acupuncture.
But Americans being anxious to find relief from the chronic pain and other issues has not waited for medical science to find their answers and give their blessings. Since the 70s, there have been growing numbers of Americans seeking the services of acupuncturists for their chronic health matters and chronic pains when all their efforts of conventional medicine haven't provided them good health or a solution. In fact, as of 2002, a national survey found that over 8 million adults in America currently use or have used acupuncture. This is an increase of over 6 million from the year before.
Who Uses Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is used as an alternative or a helper to other treatment for an on-going list of disorders and pains. Among those disorders and pains are:
Addiction
Asthma
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Dental Pain
Fibromyalgia
Headache
Infertility
Low Back Pain
Menstrual Cramps
Osteoarthritis
Pregnancy Problems
Stroke
Tennis Elbow
The list of applications that more and more people in America are turning to acupuncture is endless. One of the biggest reasons people are turning to this Ancient Chinese treatment is to treat their chronic pain from cancer treatment side effects and sports injuries. Many people have sought help with acupuncture from pain center for their emotional well-being as well.
What Is Acupuncture?
In TCM (traditional Chinese medicine) system, the body is perceived as having two forces that are inseparable and opposing: Yang and Yin. The Yang force represents the active, excited, or hot principle while the Yin force represents the cold, passive, or slow principle. The Chinese believed that there is a need to find a delicate balance of these two forces and have used Acupuncture to do just that.
How is Acupuncture Performed?
It is assumed that TCM health is accomplished by maintaining the human body in a balanced state as we mentioned above. They believe that disease is an internal imbalance of Yang and Yin and that imbalance leads to the obstruction of vital energy flowing (the Qi) along the bodys pathways which are known as meridians.
It is believed that there are 12 main meridians and 8 secondary meridians and that there are more than 2000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them. Classic texts define up to 356 mapped points that are located on those meridians and channel the flow of energy on the bodys surface. An acupuncturist that may be found in a pain center will insert fine needles that are 32 gauges up to 36 gauges into acupoints along the body.
Depending on where the pain is located and what is causing the pain will make the determination as to how, when and where the acupuncturist will apply the pens. No two patients are treated the same because no two patients pains and symptoms are the same. And in the rare chance that there are two patients with identical pains and symptoms, how they respond to treatment may vary.
Acupuncture In Conjunction With Other Treatments
Some patients find that the acupuncture therapy is not enough and will continue with one or more of the other therapies. They may have acupuncture along with chiropractic therapy or they may still need medications that ease their pain for a while after starting therapy. It is important for a patient to be honest with all doctors they are seeing for their pain and keep each of them up-to-date with the treatment they are receiving especially medications.
