What Is Acupuncture And What Conditions Does It Treat?
What is acupuncture?
To many, Acupuncture seems mysterious and even eccentric. However, it is a time-tested therapy that is rooted in common sense and delivers consistent results. Its efficacy is apparent in it's popularity and longevity: contemporary Chinese Medicine is the primary health care system for one-third of the global population, and has a history that spans several thousand years.
More than anything else, an acupuncturist employs his or her senses - sight, sound, touch, and even smell - during diagnosis and treatment. This is done when taking the Chinese pulse, palpating the body, asking questions about a patient's symptoms and listening deeply - not only to the response but also to the sound and strength of a patient's voice, and the emotion behind it.
This information alone provides a great deal of understanding of a person's primary strengths and weakness, and how to best approach her or his treatment.
As a Five Element Acupuncturist, I often see that signs and symptoms correlate based on an elemental pattern. For example, a person with an imbalance in the metal element may have a feeble voice, complain of frequent colds and infections, have a history of smoking, and be suffering from unresolved grief.
Another patient with an imbalance in the earth element may suffer from poor digestion, have a slightly yellow complexion, tend to over-think and worry frequently, and to be constantly involved of taking care of others at their own expense. He or she may be challenged in setting appropriate boundaries with time and energy, and suffer from chronic fatigue.
Acupuncture points would then be chosen to harmonize the Metal or Earth element. Their efficacy is implicit in the patient's response. Has the quality of the pulse improved, and the volume more even? (There are twelve pulses in Chinese Medicine, each representing a meridian, or pathway of energy.) Is the complexion now even? What shifts did the patient feel in his or her body? Many patients also have an emotional response that is calming. It is also quite common to have a healing response, where symptoms are aggravated briefly before they improve.
Acupuncture is clinically proven to strengthen the immune system and provoke the body's healing response. With regular treatments, many people find they are sick less often, and recover more quickly when symptoms do flare up.
What kinds of symptoms can acupuncture effectively treat? The World Health Organization includes, to name a few, stress, headaches, allergies, PMS, stress, infertility, obesity, body pain, depression, and sciatica. The link between acupuncture and depression has been well-established as well.
With weekly treatment over a course of several months, most, patients have an embodied experience of what constitutes a balanced state - and often do a better job of maintaining their own health as a result. The need for any intervention from an Acupuncturist diminishes, and seasonal treatments - "scheduled maintenance" are all that is needed to sustain a healthy working balance.
About the Author
Mary Fatimah Weening is licensed and nationally board-certified Acupuncturist. She grew up in OverbrookFarms in Philadelphia and Narberth, Pennsylvania. She is the owner of The Present Sage Acupuncture on theMain Line.
For more information on her practice, visit: http://www.thepresentsage.com/
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