What is acupuncture and how does it Work?
Acupuncture is the insertion of very fine sterile needles at specific points on the body. The ultimate goal being to re-establish the free flow of Qi and trigger the body’s natural healing response.
The term Qi (pronounced Ch-eee) can also be translated loosely as ‘vital energy’ in the West or ‘Prana’ in Ayurveda or Indian medicine. Qi can become blocked for a number of reasons including illness, physical injury and emotional stress, or by emotions in general.
How Acupuncture Works
In Traditional Chinese Medicine Qi flows through 12 channels or meridians. These channels were discovered over 2000 years ago in China and are mapped throughout the body, functioning as a network (in a similar way to the road and motorway networks). Specific points along these channels have been found to benefit and treat certain imbalances restoring health and wellbeing.
As yet there is no universal explanation in Western medicine for the existence of these channels or meridians, as they lack structure and cannot “be seen”. This is why the concept of Qi is not widely recognised or accepted scientifically. Albeit, there is now a growing recognition in the research world that the fascia within the human body could play a fundamental role with this concept and may also offer an explanation as to why the channels have no distinct structure (fascia is everywhere!).
Fascia is a type of connective tissue made from collagen which surrounds and wraps every organ, muscle, bone, blood vessel and nerve, therefore is abundant in the body. Fascia is extremely strong (think the role tendons and ligaments play in connecting muscles and bones together), but more importantly it also has the ability to act as both a piezoelectric and semiconductor of electricity. This demonstrates the ability of the fascia to act as a conduit for the flow of Qi.
Benefits of Acupuncture
A growing body of evidence has shown that acupuncture is helpful for the following conditions:
Musculoskeletal and chronic pain including lower back pain
Womens health including PCOS, endometriosis, painful periods, and menopause
Anxiety and depression
Fertility - male and female
Digestive issues, including IBS, and Crohn’s disease
Migranes and headaches
Visit the British Acupuncture Council website below for full details on all conditions
https://www.acupuncture.org.uk/a-to-z-of-conditions/a-to-z-of-conditions.html
or get in touch if you would like any further information.