Acupuncture is a form of therapy that promotes natural healing of the body. The science and art of acupuncture involves insertion of needles into specific points along the meridians of the body. Acupuncture forms a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which originated in China over 5000 years ago. Currently, acupuncture is a safe and effective natural therapy and an increasingly popular form of healthcare that is used by people from a wide range of cultural and social backgrounds.
The major benefits of Acupuncture are:

• Drug-free pain relief
• Prevention against disease
• Treating of the cause as well as the symptoms
• Holistic approach bringing about balanced state in the body
• Assisting the body to heal itself

Acupuncture demystified
It has been proven by numerous scientific studies that acupuncture has many health benefits, provided it is given a fair chance by the patient.

Acupuncture promotes blood flow.

• This is significant because everything the body needs to heal is in the blood, including oxygen, nutrients we absorb from food, immune substances, hormones, analgesics (painkillers) and anti-inflammatories. Restoring proper blood flow is vital to promoting and maintaining health. For example if blood flow is diminished by as little as 3% in the breast area cancer may develop. Blood flow decreases as we age and can be impacted by trauma, injuries and certain diseases. Acupuncture has been shown to increase blood flow and vasodilation in several regions of the body.

Acupuncture stimulates the body’s built-in healing mechanisms.

• Acupuncture “focuses body’s attention” to the injured area and in turn it stimulates the body’s ability to spontaneously heal injuries. As the body focuses on the the micro traumas induced by acupuncture, it also heals any surrounding tissue damage left over from old injuries.

Acupuncture releases natural painkillers.

• Inserting a needle sends a signal through the nervous system to the brain, where chemicals such as endorphins, norepinephrine and enkephalin are released. Some of these substances are 10-200 times more potent than morphine!

Acupuncture reduces both the intensity and perception of chronic pain.

• It does this through a process called “descending control normalization”, which involves the serotonergic nervous system. 

Acupuncture relaxes shortened muscles.

• This in turn releases pressure on joint structures and nerves, and promotes blood flow.

Acupuncture reduces stress.

• This is perhaps the most important systemic effect of acupuncture.
• Recent research suggests that acupuncture stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone and signaling substance that regulates the parasympathetic nervous system. You’ve probably heard of the “fight-or-flight” response that is governed by the sympathetic nervous system. The parasympathetic nervous system has been called the “rest-and-digest” or “calm-and-connect” system, and in many ways is the opposite of the sympathetic system. Recent research has implicated impaired parasympathetic function in a wide range of autoimmune diseases, including arthritis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease.