Acupuncture: How It Works, Benefits, and Results for Pain

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Acupuncture includes the insertion of very thin needles thru your skin at strategic factors in your frame. A key aspect of conventional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is maximum generally used to deal with ache. Increasingly, it’s miles getting used for universal well being, including stress management.

Traditional Chinese medication explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the waft of electricity or life pressure — known as chi or qi (chee) — believed to glide through pathways (meridians) to your frame. By placing needles into unique points alongside those meridians, acupuncture practitioners consider that your energy float will re-balance.

In assessment, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture factors as locations to stimulate nerves, muscle groups and connective tissue. Some consider that this stimulation boosts your frame’s herbal painkillers.

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Book: Mayo Clinic Guide to Pain Relief

Why it’s done

Acupuncture is used specially to alleviate discomfort associated with a diffusion of illnesses and situations, such as:

Chemotherapy-prompted and postoperative nausea and vomiting

Dental pain

Fibromyalgia

Headaches, which include tension complications and migraines

Labor ache

Lower lower back pain

Neck pain

Osteoarthritis

Menstrual cramps

Respiratory problems, together with allergic rhinitis

Tennis elbow

Risks

The risks of acupuncture are low if you have a in a position, licensed acupuncture practitioner using sterile needles. Common aspect consequences encompass pain and minor bleeding or bruising where the needles were inserted. Single-use, disposable needles at the moment are the practice widespread, so the hazard of contamination is minimum. Not anybody is a good candidate for acupuncture.

Before having acupuncture remedy, be sure to tell the practitioner in case you:

Have a bleeding disease. Your possibilities of bleeding or bruising from the needles can be increased when you have a bleeding sickness or in case you’re taking blood thinners.

Have a pacemaker. Acupuncture benefits that involves making use of mild electric pulses to the needles may probably interfere with a pacemaker’s operation.

Are pregnant. Some acupuncture factors are concept to stimulate labor, that could bring about a untimely shipping.

How you put together

No unique preparation is required earlier than acupuncture remedy.