Although it is kind of scary by look, acupuncture offers a great number of health benefits.
The truth is our eyes might be deceiving us when they make us judge this treatment as a painful one: many patients report the treatment to be relaxing and stimulating during the practice.
If you’re looking for information to help you decide wheter you should start receiving acupuncture and face your needle phobia, keep up with this article. We’ll help you do not give way to fear by showing you the top 7 benefits of acupuncture and answer some of the most recurrent questions over this matter.
Learn about acupuncture right below.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine-based approach that inserts very thin needles through the patients’ skin. These needles aim to trigger strategic points that will boost energy, increase wound healing, treat pain, and bring many other benefits you’ll learn along with this article.
Just to make it clear, these needles will hurt your body minimally. It’s by causing small injuries that the treatment activates some specific body functions, which is enough to say it’s an invasive method, even though it’s minimally done.
Acupuncture has been practice clinically for hundreds of years, and formal research has proved that this method works, especially for noninflammatory forms of pain.
What can you expect from it? Does it hurt?
Most patients report feeling minimal discomfort as the needles are inserted, but it disappears as the treatment is going on. Besides, many people report feeling energized and relaxed, especially after it, but many claim to feel great even during the process. It varies from body to body.
Acupuncturists have different styles, exploring some Eastern and Western approaches. Some experient specialists will decide the best techniques by making some questions for you and analyzing your body condition.
Needles may be heated or apply mild electric currents. In some forms of acupuncture – “variants” – needles aren’t even used. Talk to your doctor in your first consultation and help him discover what treatment best suits you.
Let’s talk about numbers?
An evaluation may take up from 10 to 30 minutes – in rare cases, a bit longer;
Subsequent consultations will take about half an hour.
Once a week is a common frequency to visit a specialist, but depending on your condition it can more frequent.
How many sessions will depend on the results, but at least 5 appointments are necessary to say you’ve been under a full acupuncture experience.
Top 7 Benefits of Acupuncture
Reduced Stress
According to Chinese Medicine, energy flows through our body through a “highway system” called “Meridian Pathways”.
As both the stress (tension) and stressors act creating a real traffic jam in our body by blocking our energy flow, acupuncture aims to set people free from these obstacles by relaxing our muscles and helping the energy flows better.
Those who think stress is only a mental condition are very wrong as it lets many physical symptoms like poor blood circulation, heart palpitation, and even digestive issues. Of course, by reducing stress, indirectly, acupuncture will produce results on treatment for these conditions as well.
Relief from Headaches and Migraines
By applying pressure to the correct points of your body, acupuncture can relieve several conditions, including headaches and migraines.
By inserting the correct needles in the right spots of your neck, the acupuncturist will stimulate hormones and the circulation system around the area, reducing drastically headaches and migraines.
Boost your Immune System
More and more research has revealed that acupuncture can regulate immunity by enhancing anticancer and antistress immune functions and exerting anti-inflammation effects.
Besides, it’s also scientific consensus that mental conditions, such as stress, have damaging effects on our immune system. By causing relation and relieving emotional symptoms, acupuncture restores our body and mental balance.
Relief from Digestive Disorders
Bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, and cramping… These symptoms indicate something is not doing fine in the digestive tract. Stress and poor eating and sleep habits are common causes of all these symptoms. Actually, the digestive system is very sensitive to mental conditions.
Acupuncture helps reduce pain and inflammation in the whole body, reduces stress, and balances the gut-brain axis.
That means it’s probably the best alternative medicine treatment to treat digestive disorders.
Reduced Back Pain, Neck Tension, and other common Joint Pains (even Arthritis Symptoms)
Lumbar muscle strains and sprains are the most common causes of low back pain; stress and poor posture lead to neck tension/pain; injuries and overuse of joints are common causes for joint pains. The causes may be a bit different for each condition, but they have something in common:
Our bodies have many points that can be triggered by acupuncture that, if performed correctly, will drastically reduce the pain. However, it hasn’t been proved that acupuncture will cure arthritis on its own, so if that’s your case, also look for a specialized doctor to treat it properly. Use acupuncture as a complementary treatment.
Reduced Depression Symptoms
Depression is a mental illness that causes a constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest or pleasure. Not treating it can lead to more severe symptoms, so it should never be neglected or underestimated.
It’s still under academic research, but several studies support that acupuncture is a very effective treatment for depression.
You can check some of them below:
Acupuncture for Treating Anxiety and Depression in Women
Nonpharmacologic Versus Pharmacologic Treatment of Adult Patients With Major Depressive Disorder
Acupuncture for Depression: A Review of Clinical Applications
Alternative options tested for depression in pregnancy
Allergy Relief
Research indicates acupuncture help relieve allergy and eczema symptoms, actually better than medication.
Studies proved acupuncture can treat allergic rhinitis, hay fever, and eczema (atopic dermatitis), although the topic is still under academic research.
Benefits of Acupuncture: Where To Consult?
In our wellness center in New York, you can receive high-quality wellness treatments, acupuncture included, by our licensed doctors.
Book an appointment at BCWNYC and have your body condition evaluated to receive the best treatment option available.
