The Benefits Of Acupuncture & Associated Therapies

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What Are The Benefits Of Acupuncture?

You name it and acupuncture can likely help. As most of you are aware, acupuncturists use needles to stimulate specific points on the body to promote healing and restore balance. The most common statement we hear after a person’s first treatment is: “I feel relaxed.” We could all use a little more of that these days.

Well, acupuncture is incredibly helpful for regulating the nervous system, and this is where healing begins primarily with the parasympathetic nervous system. That is the sense of calm or relaxation. Commonly described as the “rest and digest” response, this part of our nervous system is what allows us to repair, restore, and heal in Western medicine. This is the Yin aspect of Chinese medicine. Your body will not focus on healing when running from the proverbial bear. Instead, it typically activates the sympathetic nervous system response when survival is more important. This is the Yang aspect.

Now that we laid a piece of the foundation for healing, acupuncture is great for physical pain. This may include musculoskeletal, nerve, and even joint pain. The acupuncturist’s diagnosis leads to needling points throughout the body, but local needling is helpful depending on the location of the pain. The needles help increase Qi and blood flow to these areas, so the organs and tissues get the nutrients necessary to recover. The needles also stimulate local nerves to influence the muscles and pain pathways. 

In sticking with this foundation of nervous system regulation, acupuncture is beneficial for anxiety, depression, fatigue, high blood pressure, insomnia, and migraines. For example, research shows decreased migraine severity and frequency with increased temperature in the hands and feet. The only way we can increase this temperature is by turning down the volume of that pesky sympathetic nervous system often triggered by daily stressors. Acupuncture helps turn down that dial as well.

Acupuncture is incredibly helpful for digestive complaints such as constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and even more complicated diseases such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s. Acupuncture also provides support for many genitourinary concerns. This includes irregular or painful menstruation, infertility, PMS, menopause, hot flashes, low libido, erectile dysfunction, urinary frequency, and incontinence.

While this is not an exhaustive list, it is a great start to illustrate the benefits of acupuncture. There is also more to the “how” of acupuncture, but we will leave that for another post. It is always part of the discussion during your first visit as well.

Cupping And The Strange, Circular Bruises On Athletes

This technique involves the placement of glass jars over different areas of the body for 10-15 minutes. In most cases, the practitioner creates suction by briefly placing a flame in the jar before putting it on the body. The vacuum helps release restrictions in the tissue (i.e. skin, fascia) to allow for the free flow of Qi and blood. This improves local healing, disperses cold, and can help reduce swelling and pain. Placement of cups over acupuncture points or channels have more specific effects based on the diagnosis and treatment goals of the acupuncturist.

The main side effect of cupping is localized redness and bruising because of the vacuum on blood vessels. While not a new therapy, it gained notoriety a few years ago when Michael Phelps broke many Olympic records while showing off his cupping marks. This is likely a result of stationary cupping where the cup stays in one location. In running cupping, practitioners use oil to allow for free movement of the cups over multiple areas of the body. Think of it as more of a massage.

Chinese Herbs

Herbs are a great complementary treatment with acupuncture. Just as in Western medicine, there is a nutrient component that plays a role in the prescription. However, in Chinese medicine, each herb affects specific organs in this medical system. This in turn affects different forms of Qi in the body. In addition, characteristics of taste (i.e. sour, sweet) and temperature are assessed as well. Therefore, the acupuncture diagnosis made by the practitioner is key. There are numerous formulations developed thousands of years ago still used today. Once the diagnosis is made, it narrows down the herb formulas that would be helpful for the patient’s chief complaint if the practitioner is not creating formulations on their own.

There are different preparations from bulk herbs to powders and pills. We often dispense in capsule form or very small teapills. The products are purchased from a few reputable companies that assist with sourcing, safety, and quality control.

Other Beneficial Therapies Of Chinese Medicine

In Chinese, Tui Na means “to push” and “to grab or squeeze.” It is a form of Chinese massage with many similarities to a general massage treatment. However, there might be slight variations in how the practitioner uses their hands with techniques such as pulling, tapping, and friction. As far as general indications, yes, you guessed it: relaxation, pain relief, and restoring the free flow of Qi and blood. Oils used are typically more traditional to Chinese medicine.

Gua Sha means “scraping” and “sandy diseases.” This therapy supports the healing of heat-related acute illness and skin diseases. Think flu, migraines, gastritis, sunstroke, and other forms of skin rashes. It helps open the orifices (i.e. channels, pores), clear acute conditions, and detoxify extreme heat. The practitioner uses oil and a small spoon or tool to scrape indicated areas on the body. As with cupping, this therapy often leaves redness and bruising that can last 2-4 days. The color of the blood under the skin helps with diagnosis. Lighter colors suggest deficiency or acute illness. Dark red and purple indicate more heat and long-term stagnation or chronic disease.

Moxa is a warming therapy most commonly using the herb Ai Ye. For the herbalists out there, this is Artemisia vulgaris (Mugwort) here in the U.S. Burning moxa creates heat that draws Qi to that area, and moxa helps to warm the channels, expel cold, and build Yang Qi. This improves the free flow of Qi and blood which aids in the healing process. Cold is considered a pathogen in Chinese medicine, so moxa might be used for specific issues such as diarrhea due to “cold” in the digestive tract.

Moxa placed directly on the skin is removed before it can burn. Prepared cones, sticks, needles, and concurrent use with other herbs are common preparations utilized in treatment. Unfortunately, we do not use moxa at Snyder Oriental Medicine due to the resulting smoke with treatment.

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Kim, H.B. “Handbook of Oriental Medicine.” 5th Edition. Acupuncture Media. 2015.

Deadman, Peter,  Mazin Al-Khafaji, and Kevin Baker. “A Manual of Acupuncture.” 2nd Edition. East Sussex, England. Journal of Chinese Medicine Publications. 2001.

Tseng, Angela. “TCM Techniques 1.” 2016. Bastyr University, Kenmore, WA. Lecture.

Khazan, Inna Z. “The Clinical Handbook of Biofeedback.” John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 2013

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