Topsham, EXETER 01392 879144
What Is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a system of healing that has been practised in the eastern countries for thousands of years, used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. It focuses on treating individuals overall health and well being rather than specific isolated problems.
Acupuncturists see ill-health as an imbalance of Qi or energy. The more out of balance the energy, the greater the disease or the more apparent signs and symptoms become. Acupuncture works by understanding the root of these imbalances through a complex holistic approach. Fine needles are carefully inserted into specific points on the body. This is done to manipulate the energy (Qi) in the energetic pathways of the body (known as meridians) ensuring a harmonious flow, thus preventing imbalance and disease.
The flow of Qi can be disturbed by a number of factors. These include emotional states such as anxiety, stress, grief anger or fear, poor nutrition, weather conditions, hereditary factors, infections, poisons and trauma.
In Traditional Acupuncture theory each person is considered as unique, and therefore the number of treatments required depends on the individual. Some change is usually felt after five treatments. Normally you are recommended to visit your acupuncturist once a week at first and then longer time intervals depending on the individuals situation. Yamaguchi N, Takahashi T, Sakuma M, Sugita T, Uchikawa K, Sakaihara S, Kanda T, Arai M, Kawakita K.
How many treatments will I need?
Sometimes the effects of a treatment are dramatic, and only one or two treatments are required. With other patients, the effects are more subtle and they may need treatment over several months. Some patients also favour having four seasonal treatments to maintain an optimum immune system and good health throughout the year, as traditionally practiced in the far East.
Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2007 Dec;4(4):447-453.
Acupuncture Regulates Leukocyte Subpopulations in Human Peripheral Blood.
The use of acupuncture was examined both quantitatively and qualitatively by measuring CD-positive cell counts and cytokine expression levels in the blood, to determine the activity of T cells, B cells, macrophages and natural killer (NK) cells. Fifteen milliliters of peripheral blood obtained from 17 healthy volunteers aged 21-51 years, were analyzed using flow cytometry before and after acupuncture treatment. There was a statistically significant increase in the number of CD2(+), CD4(+), CD8(+), CD11b(+), CD16(+), CD19(+), CD56(+) cells as well as IL-4, IL-1beta and IFN-gamma levels in the cells after acupuncture stimulation of meridian points. These observations indicate that acupuncture may regulate the immune system and promote the activities of humoral and cellular immunity as well as NK cell activity. In this article, we discussed how acupuncture regulated leukocyte numbers and functions since they are considered to be potential indicators for evaluating complementary and alternative medicine.
Some people turn to acupuncture for help with a specific symptom or condition. Others choose to have treatment to help maintain good health, as a preventive measure, or simply to improve their general sense of wellbeing. Because traditional acupuncture aims to treat the whole person rather than specific symptoms in isolation, it can be effective for a range of conditions.
Acupuncturists treat the person, not just the condition which they have, so each patient’s treatment plan will be different. However, you can always ask about other patients’ experiences, to give you an idea of what to expect. Many people return to acupuncture again and again because they find it so beneficial and relaxing.
In 2009 the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence recommended that acupuncture should be made available on the NHS, as a cost-effective short-term treatment for the management of early, persistent non-specific lower back pain.