Acupuncture, Cupping, & Gua Sha

Acupuncture is one of the oldest systems of healing that originated in China at least 2,500 years ago. It caught America’s attention after President Richard Nixon, along with his own physician, made a trip to China in 1972 and witnessed several surgeries utilizing acupuncture for analgesia.

The classical Chinese explanation for how acupuncture works derives from channels of energy, called meridians, that run in regular patterns throughout our body to move Qi (energy) which nourishes our body and is essential for health and well-being. It is believed that an obstruction or disruption of this movement of energy then leads to imbalances or illnesses. By inserting thin needles into specific acupuncture points, the obstructions are thereby unblocked.

The modern scientific explanation is that needling specific acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release chemicals in the brain, spinal cord, and muscles that will then produce a change in the body leading to a change in pain or leading to other chemicals that will influence the body’s own natural healing abilities.

Medical acupuncture is a combination or hybrid of these worlds. There are a variety of approaches to diagnosis and treatment, derived from both Asian and European sources. Thus, the physician acupuncturist can creatively intervene using needles in various combinations and patterns to improve energy and biochemical balance in order to stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities. While acupuncture was often associated with pain control, medical acupuncture has much broader applications that can influence promotion of health and well-being, prevention of illness, and treatment of various medical conditions.