What Can Acupuncture Treat?
When asking the question "What Can Acupuncture Treat?" it is necessary to also explain how acupuncture works.
When our bodies are facing stress, our imbalances and weaknesses start to show. When using Traditional Chinese Medicine to diagnose and treat, we look at the symptoms to discern how these imbalances are showing up and make a constitutional assessment. When the diagnosis is made, the patient is treated not only for the symptoms but also in a holistic way. Acupuncture gently guides our bodies back into balance, this is why it typically takes multiple treatments to obtain lasting results. For example: it often takes repeated exposure to what you are studying to clearly remember the information or think about how it takes practice to do yoga or dance movements with ease. Although our bodies can be set in their ways, we can create change to get relief.
Multiple responses are happening at once when a person is getting acupuncture. Different points have connections to different organs and different functions but they all produce a calming effect on the nervous system and cardiovascular system. Needling into any point creates a micro-trauma that causes an immune system response that promotes healing activity. Acupuncture has been approved by the World Health Organization to treat an enormous list of conditions but if you think about it in the way it is explained above, most everyone can benefit in some way from acupuncture. We cannot cure cancer, but we can reduce pain or ease symtoms caused by chemo. Acupuncture cannot cure an autoimmune disease but it can reduce symptoms and improve quality of life.
The most common conditions I treat in clinical practice are: insomnia, joint pain, dry eyes, back pain (disk degeneration), digestion, IBS, stress, anxiety, migraines, knee pain, carpal tunnel, arthritis, autoimmune disease, hot flashes, fertility and lyme. Also, worth mentioning is that acupuncture is awesome at preparing the body for labor, it can help spark change when the due date has passed.
I often get asked "what if there's nothing wrong with me but I want to try acupuncture?" My answer is that acupuncture is going to help balance and calm you. It helps people to cope with everyday stress a lot better. Most of my patients report experiencing improved energy levels, more motivation and a better attitude. Many of my patients reported that they appear to get sick less frequently than the people around them.
It is important to remember that everyone responds differently to acupuncture but it has the potential to help everyone in some way.