Oriental Medicine is a complete medical system which aids in strengthening the immune system, relieves pain, and helps prevent disease by returning the body to balance. Over three thousand years ago, the use of Bellingham acupuncture is widespread throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States.
Patients are diagnosed according to their symptoms, disease pattern, and their individual constitution. Through this method, treatments include the body-mind type of the individual during treatment to move the body into balance and health.
Research about how acupuncture works is ongoing in both the western medical community and in Asia. While the mechanisms are not clear, acupuncture causes the body to release endorphins which make it particularly effective in treating pain. Acupuncture affects sugar metabolism, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels in the blood, and has a regulating effect on the endocrine system.
Acupuncture works to release blockages in the body which deplete the body’s vital energy, called Qi (pronounced chee). Qi can be used as a qualitative description of all the biological and cellular processes in the body, sort of a gestalt of the body. As the proper energy flow is restored and balanced, the body is able to heal more quickly and more completely.
Acupuncture is a complementary therapy that was developed by the Chinese almost 5,000 years ago. It loosely means the insertion of needles into the skin at specific points. Acupuncture is defined as the insertion of dry needles into the skin at specific locations called acupuncture points. Acupuncture is performed by certified practitioners and physicians to treat certain medical disorders. Depending on the training and experience of the practitioner and the problem being treated, acupuncture techniques may include electrical current through the needles (electro acupuncture) or heat (moxibustion) and pressure (acupressure).
Acupuncture began in China more than 2000 years ago. It is now practiced throughout the world, particularly in China, Korea and Japan. In the United States, acupuncture started gaining popularity in the early 1970s.
The goal of acupuncture is to correct imbalances of flow and restore health through stimulation, generally by inserting needles through the skin at points along the meridians of the body. Current acupuncture information lists up to 400 different acupuncture points for various health problems. Scientists have attempted to explain the actual physical effects of acupuncture on the human body. Some researchers suggest that pain relief happens when acupuncture needles stimulate nerves. Another well accepted theory is that acupuncture releases pain-relieving chemicals, such as endorphins and serotonin.