Acupuncture Fun Facts
- Posted on: Jul 3 2020
Personalized medicine refined over thousands of years.
By Dr. Andrew Godenick ND L.Ac
More and more people are searching for ways to combat illness, relieve pain and heal themselves without drugs or medications. It’s quite fascinating how acupuncture has become widely recognized for treating a multitude of physical as well as mental ailments. The following 10 interesting facts will help get you more acquainted with this ancient healing art:
- Acupuncture is a highly personalized, patient-centered medicine. For example, if 5 people with a headache received acupuncture, all 5 people could have entirely different acupuncture points chosen as part of their treatment plan.
- Acupuncture addresses how root imbalances affect the whole system. When an area of the body is out of balance, it can affect you in multiple ways, and acupuncture excels at relieving multiple symptoms all in one treatment, while also correcting the root cause.
- Acupuncture is preventative medicine. You don’t have to be in pain or have anything wrong with you to get an acupuncture treatment. One of acupuncture’s great strengths is its ability to prevent things from going wrong. As a preventative medicine, acupuncture strengthens your immune system, promotes healthy circulation, aids in organ and cell detoxification, alleviates pain and inflammation, and helps your body respond to stress in a healthy way.
- There are over 300 acupuncture points on the body. The points are located from the top of the head to the tips of the toes making up the acupuncture meridian system. Every point has its own special function and many exert an effect on both a physical and mental-emotional level.
- Acupuncturists look at your tongue and feel your pulses. These are diagnostic tools that are used to gain information about your health and determine the best course of treatment.
- Today’s acupuncture needles are thin as a cat’s whisker. They are sterile, single-use, and made of medical grade stainless steel, unlike the original acupuncture “needles” dating back thousands of years, which were made of sharpened stones, bamboo, or bone!
- Licensed Acupuncturists earn a masters level degree in training. We attend a rigorous 3-4 year graduate program and complete over 2,000+ clinical internship and continuing education hours. Our training includes a strong foundation in western medicine, ethics, and safety.
- Acupuncture is acknowledge by the greater medical community. In 2003, the World Health Organization endorsed the use of acupuncture for over 200 symptoms and diseases including low back pain, headache, nausea/vomiting, allergic rhinitis, depression and anxiety.
- Acupuncture is just one part of a broad system of Chinese Medicine. Other healing modalities include Chinese herbal medicine, cupping, tui na (massage), tai chi/qi gong (fluid movement), and Chinese dietary therapy.
- Acupuncture is often covered by health insurance. As of 2004, nearly 50% of Americans who were enrolled in employer health insurance plans, were covered for acupuncture treatment. You may be covered for acupuncture treatments too and if you provide us with a copy of your insurance card, we are happy to inquire about your eligibility for acupuncture benefits.
Posted in: Acupuncture
