User Forum

1. Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine and a key component of traditional Chinese medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body. Acupuncture is a pseudoscience because the theories and practices are not based on scientific knowledge, and it has been characterized as quackery. It is most often used to attempt pain relief, though acupuncturists say that it can also be used for a wide range of other conditions. Acupuncture is generally used only in combination with other forms of treatment.
2. Originally acupuncture needles were not made of stainless steel but of stone, bamboo and bone. Today's needles are extremely fine in diameter (about the thickness of two human hair) and are sterile and disposable.
3. Ancient Chinese theory believes that the world and the body are made up of five elements; wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The theory states that all of these elements are connected, and each element has a relationship to the other. For example, earth generates metal and water influences fire. The five elements theory may be a basis for many acupuncture treatments. For instance, the kidney is related to water and the heart with fire. If there is a kidney problem, then there may also be a problem with the heart so an acupuncture treatment may be made to target both areas.
4. Acupuncturists feel your pulse and look at your tongue to gain information about your state of health and plan a course of treatment. Acupuncture is highly individualized; for example, if 50 people with the common cold received acupuncture, all 50 people could have different acupuncture points chosen as part of their treatment.
5. The World Health Organization released a report, Acupuncture:Review of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials, which endorses the use of acupuncture for over 200 symptoms and diseases and the US National Institutes of Health issued a consensus statement proposing acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention for complementary medicine.
6. Acupuncture is just one part of a broad system of Traditional Chinese Medicine that also includes Chinese Herbal Medicine, Tui Na (massage), Tai Chi/Qi Gong (movement) and Chinese Dietary Therapy. There are many styles and substyles within the practice of acupuncture. This may seem odd but Chinese Medicine has evolved over thousands of years and over vast geographical area which has subjected acupuncture to many different cultural, political and scientific influences.