Acupuncture was a system designed to address the imbalances observed within the body, by using techniques to remove obstructions, promoting the flow of Qi, and supplement Qi insufficiency. Acupuncture regulates and enhances the body’s innate healing abilities to promote and restore its own natural state of harmony and balance. Acupuncture works by utilizing acupuncture points or pressure points along pathways called meridians. In TCM, meridians represent an internal communication system throughout the body, and can be associated with the neural and hormonal communications that occur between tissues, organs, and cells.

Acupuncture can be used to treat an array of conditions ranging from chronic to acute problems as well as providing preventative medical care. According to the World Health Organization, and authors of the Acupuncture Evidence Project, their study found “evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture for 117 conditions, with stronger evidence for acupuncture’s effectiveness for some conditions than others. Acupuncture is considered safe in the hands of a well-trained practitioner and has been found to be cost-effective for some conditions. The quality and quantity of research into acupuncture’s effectiveness is increasing.”

If a patient is not comfortable with having needles used during their treatment, we can use acupressure to achieve similar results. Acupressure is a stimulation of acupuncture points using our hands, or specialized tools that do not puncture the skin. Because we are not puncturing the skin, acupressure treatments may take longer to achieve the desired results.