Acupuncture belongs to the oldest healing practices in the world. It is a family of procedures that originated in traditional Chinese medicine. By inserting and manipulating needles into various points on the body, pain can be relieved. At the same time, it is also used for therapeutic purposes.

As part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is one example of the health care system of China that can be traced back at least 2,500 years.

The earliest written record of acupuncture is the Chinese text “Records of the Grand Historian” with further explanation of its history in the second century BCE medical text “Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon”.The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patterns of energy flow (Qi) through the body that are essential for good health. However, when the flow is disrupted, people will become sick. It is intended to remove blockages in the flow to maintain health. Acupuncture may correct imbalances of energy flow at identifiable points close to the skin.

At first, the acupuncture needles were only made from Bian stones. With the development of acupuncture, needles of stone and pottery were used. Later on, metal needles began to appear and these took the form of the classical “nine needles”: the arrowhead needle for superficial pricking,

the round needle for massaging, the blunt needle for knocking or pressing, the three edged needle for puncturing a vein, the sword-like needle for draining abscesses, the sharp round needle for rapid pricking, the fill form needle, the long needle for thick muscles and the large needle for puncturing painful joints. The “nine needles” were initially made of bronze, gold or silver. They were supposedly first used about 2,000 years ago. Today, the most commonly used needle is the fill form needle.

What are acupuncture points?

Acupuncture points are locations on the body that are the focus of the acupuncture treatment. It is considered that several hundred acupuncture points are located along meridians. There are also many "extra points" associated with a particular meridian.

Acupuncture points may or may not be in the same area of the body as the targeted symptom. The traditional Chinese medicine theory for selecting particular points and their effect is that they work by stimulating the meridian system to bring about relief by rebalancing Yin, Yang and Qi. It is a common

belief of ancient China that most of the main acupuncture points exist on the twelve main and two of eight extra meridians. Local pain is treated by needling the tender "ashi" points where Qi or Blood is believed to have stagnated.Acupuncture points are divided into following categories: Five Transporting Points system, Jing-well points, Ying-spring points, Shu-stream points, Jing-river points, He-sea points, Five Phase Points, Xi-cleft points, Yuan-source points, Luo-connecting points, Back-shu points, Front-mu points and Hui-meeting points.

How does the acupuncture work?

According to different energy imbalances, the acupuncturist will select the right acupuncture points to stimulate. When the needles are inserted, you may feel a little pain, tingling or numbness. Then, the needles will be left in place for up to 30 or 45 minutes. Recently, many studies have demonstrated that acupuncture can cause multiple biological responses.

These responses can occur at or close to the site of application, or at a distance, mediated mainly by sensory neurons to many structures within the central nervous system. This can lead to activation of pathways affecting various physiological systems in the brain as well as in the periphery.

Acupuncture is effective in treating some kinds of pain and nausea. Stimulation by acupuncture may also activate the hypothalamus and the pituitary gland, resulting in a broad spectrum of systemic effects.

Some of the biological effects of acupuncture have also been observed when "sham" acupuncture points are stimulated, highlighting the importance of having definite control groups when viewing biological changes from the effect of acupuncture.

Is there any other use of acupuncture?
Nowadays, more and more people start to lose weight through acupuncture. Different from the Western medicine, the traditional Chinese medicine doesn’t espouse the theory that there is a one-size-fits-all solution. The Westerners often insist dieters consume cold salads and fresh, uncooked vegetables when they want to keep a good figure. In Chinese medicine, this practice would only be suggested for people who whose body metabolism is

active, maintains its warmth and has high energy. A person who feels cold and fatigued all the time needs foods warmed in order to assist in digestion.Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners claim that acupuncture can help you to lose fat by making you feel full and so eat less. This curbs excess calorie consumption in the patient treated with acupuncture and is a great help in the patient’s acupuncture weight loss program.

Acupuncture has become more and more accepted throughout the world. What fascinates people is the fact that fine needles and the gentle strength can make you healthy instead of taking lots of pills. Now acupuncture has become the major representative of Chinese medicine in the west.