Acupuncture is an ancient form of medicine developed in China thousands of years ago. Acupuncture actually falls under the realm of Oriental medicine, which not only includes acupuncture, but also, diets, lifestyle, and herbal medicine. Oriental medicine works with the qi of the body. Qi can be equated with vital energy. This vital energy allows the heart to pump blood, for the lungs to breathe, for proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients. In other words, qi enables the body to perform all of the necessary functions to sustain life.
Qi travels through the body in pathways called meridians. At times qi can get “stuck” while traveling throughout the body. This usually results in pain, although, other manifestations could exist. In the instance of pain, once the free flow of qi is restored, the pain will dissipate.
Ancient Chinese culture is intertwined with nature. It is not surprising to learn that some of the laws of nature are incorporated in Oriental Medicine. Just as one summer could be hotter than normal, so too could be a persons interior terrain. Other climatic factors could be detected in the body such as cold, wind, dry and damp. Climatic factors could be caused due to endogenous or exogenous factors.
Among the concepts used in Oriental Medicine, Yin and Yang are the most famous. Yin and Yang are two opposing forces in nature that can be observed anywhere in the world. Fire and water, day and night hot and cold are examples of the Yin and Yang model Yin the cooling, moistening energy of the night while Yang is the warming, functional energy of the day. Yin, Yang, climatic factors “stagnant qi” and organ system functions are all taken into account when determining diagnosis.
Through its long history, acupuncture has been able to identify a large group of points on the body that are related to the functioning of specific organ systems. As part of the diagnosis the physician will choose points to be stimulated during the treatment. At this time the needles can be inserted. After the needles are inserted , the patient relaxes with the while the needles as in place for 10-30 minutes.
Acupuncture needles are fine, flexible needles. They are sterile, disposable needles. Many acupuncture needles together would be equal in size to a hypodermic needle. Insertion of the needles is usually painless and the treatment is quite relaxing; some patients may become so relaxed that they fall asleep.
The World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health have deemed acupuncture a safe and effective treatment for a variety of health conditions. These conditions are, but not limited to allergies and asthma, anxiety and depression, arthritis and joint problems, back/neck/shoulder/knee pain (pain anywhere in the body), bladder/kidney problems, childhood illnesses an infections, constipation/diarrhea, colds and flu (and helping to prevent colds and flu), cough/bronchitis, fatigue, gynecological disorders, headaches/migraines, high blood pressure, immune system deficiencies, infertility, numbness/poor circulation, pre-menstrual syndrome, sciatica, sexual dysfunction/impotence, skin problems/shingles, stress/tension/tendonitis, TMJ/jaw pain, weight loss and smoking cessation.
Cancer patients have noted that they can go through chemo-therapy with less side effects if when they had included acupuncture as part of their protocol. Infertility patients have had great success by using both methods of medicine together. For in vitro-fertilization, success rate can be increased by 20-40% by including an acupuncture treatment before and after the procedure. There are documented instances where Eastern and Western medicine have been used together to help a patient get increased benefits from both forms of medicine. I am sure that there are many other instances where this is true, but have not been documented.
Even in this era of high tech medicine, there is still a place for this time-tested art.
Acupuncture is an ancient form of medicine developed in China thousands of years ago. Acupuncture actually falls under the realm of Oriental medicine, which not only includes acupuncture, but also, diets, lifestyle, and herbal medicine. Oriental medicine works with the qi of the body. Qi can be equated with vital energy. This vital energy allows the heart to pump blood, for the lungs to breathe, for proper digestion and assimilation of nutrients. In other words, qi enables the body to perform all of the necessary functions to sustain life. 
