When we have health ailments, our nervous system sends signals, but those signals are off balance. The neural network is made up of nerve signals, chemical interactions and energy that sparks through our bodies all starting from the brain and nerves (our neural network).
One of the common complementary and alternative medicine techniques (CAM), called acupuncture, is based in part of the understanding that energy circulates within our body based upon our brain and nerve connections network.
In the traditional teaching of acupuncture, this energy travels in our bodies along pathways or meridians. Further, one of the treatment goals of acupuncture is that energy must be balanced for us to be and feel healthy. This energy circulation is also known as “chi.”
More simply put, acupuncture is one of the many successful CAM methods that can encourage the body to promote natural healing from within and improve function and reduce disability, particularly for those with neurological problems.
Evidence shows that an increasing number of women are requesting integrative and non-pharmacologic approaches to managing their symptoms. Neurological symptoms such as headaches, back pain, nerve pain and fatigue often spark the search for complementary and alternative medicine treatment plans. It’s ok to have open communication with your medical providers about your interest in medical evidence and outcomes of complementary medicine techniques to “stabilize your nervous system.”
Medical acupuncture refers to acupuncture that has been successfully incorporated in medical or allied health practice. Doctors have used acupuncture pain relieving properties to spark the nerves that produce endogenous opioids which are natural peptide systems and influence the body’s pain regulatory system as they change the processing and perceptions of pain or noxious information through the various “pain” centers in the central nervous system.
Acupuncture can be used as the initiating therapy for many common medical problems. Acupuncture can also be used with other techniques to treat conditions such as:arthritis, back pain, migraine, and even help to change behaviors such as smoking or overeating.
The acupuncture procedure involves the insertion of sterile, disposable stainless-steel needles through the skin into the underlying tissues at specific points on the surface of the body. The nature of the problem determines where the acupuncturist places the needles and how deep the needles are placed.
Electroacupuncture involves running a low electrical current through one or more needles to help increase the energy reaction and health response of the body. Finally, auricular acupuncture refers to the procedure in which semi-permanent needles are inserted into specific points on the surface of the ears. Just as neuroscientists learned that there is a map of our body’s sensory and motor function in specific areas of the brain, traditional acupuncture relies on the premise that all organs (health drives) are represented in different places on our ears.
References: Helms, MD “Essentials of Complementary and Alternative Medicine, May 1998, Vol 4, No.3) ACUPUNCUTURE ENERGETICS