Disease usually starts with subtle signs and vague symptoms.  Oriental Medicine, practiced at Healing Point Wellness, excels at recognizing and alleviating these signs and symptoms before true illness sets in.  Let us partner with you to facilitate your return to health and wellness.

What problems can be treated by acupuncture?
Acupuncture has been used for centuries in China to treat a host of problems including, insomnia, stress, skin problems, pain, infertility, PMS and most gynecological complaints, and much more. The Western world is finally starting to recognize the extent of conditions which can be treated by acupuncture.

In an official report, Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials, the World Health Organization (WHO) has listed the following symptoms, diseases and conditions that have been shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture:

• Ear, Nose & Throat Disorders – Toothaches, earaches, sinusitis, rhinitis, laryngitis
• Respiratory Disorders – Colds & flus, bronchitis, asthma, allergies, emphysema
• Gastrointestinal Disorders – Food allergies, nausea, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, ulcers, colitis
• Circulatory Disorders – Hypertension, high cholesterol, arteriosclerosis, angina pectoris
• Urogenital Disorders – Cystitis, stress incontinence, neurogenic bladder, prostatitis, prostatic hypertrophy
• Gynecological Disorders – Menstrual irregularity, endometriosis, PMS, infertility, menopausal syndrome
• Musculoskelatal Disorders – Tennis elbow, frozen shoulder, TMJ, sciatica, low back pain, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia
• Psychoemotional & Neurological Disorders – Depression, anxiety, insomnia, headache, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, intercostal neuralgia, post-stroke paralysis, dizziness, tinnitus

In addition, the WHO has reported there are 68 other conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown, though more trials are necessary to establish the proof scientifically.  Even if you do not see your diagnosis or concern above, there is a great chance that you can benefit form acupuncture!

How does acupuncture work?
We can look at this question from two points of view, but when people ask this question, they usually want to know the how acupuncture works from a Western medicine perspective. The short answer is, "Doctors and scientists don't exactly know." They can document the effects of acupuncture, but not the mechanism by which those effects occur. It is proposed that acupuncture produces its effects through regulating the nervous system, thus aiding the activity of pain-killing biochemicals such as endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites in the body. In addition, studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones and, thus, affecting the parts of the central nervous system related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes that regulate a person's blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature.

But while scientists have not been able to fully explain how acupuncture works within the framework of Western medicine that is commonly practiced in the United States, Oriental medicine fully understands how it works. It sees all phenomena as manifestations of the life force (qi, energy). Einstein proved that all form and substance in the universe is the materialization of energy (E=mc²). But long before Einstein, people studied and observed the rhythmic movement of this energy in nature and recognized the Laws of Nature. Of all the manifestations of energy in the universe, only man has a choice to follow or defy these laws. When we deviate from the laws (for example, those governing eating habits, sleep, work, and exercise patterns), disease occurs. The qi ("chee") in our bodies, which normally circulates in pathways called meridians, can become blocked.

Many people have difficulty visualizing this. Imagine a system of water courses--lakes, rivers, streams, brooks, and creeks. If a stream is blocked, it will flood above the blockage and dry up below the blockage. By removing the blockage, the natural course is restored. If one can create a small hole in the blockage, the force of the water (energy) that penetrates the hole will continuously widen it until the normal course is restored. So it is with a blockage of qi in a meridian; the condition of the body will become disordered (disease) like the flooding and dryness. If one removes the blockage (with acupuncture), natural flow (health) will be restored. However, if a person continues to engage in the lifestyle that led to the blockage in the first place, disease will return. This is an oversimplification of a complex system, but it gets across the point that acupuncture regulates the circulation of qi within the meridians.

According to Leon Hammer, MD, "...Western science has been unable to entertain within its conceptual framework the existence of forces which are not available for measurement by our chemical and electronic technology," except for some work in theoretical physics and psychology.

Does it hurt?
Many people think acupuncture will hurt because they are thinking of the hypodermic needles used in Western medicine—needles which are hollow because they are either taking something out of the body or putting something into it. Acupuncture needles are different; they are very thin (usually about the thickness of a course hair), flexible, and not hollow. You could fit several acupuncture needles into the hole of a hypodermic needle.

Most people report different sensations when needled, ranging from a slight pinch “like a bug bite” to soreness, numbness, distending, warmth, mild radiating “electricity”, and pressure. Once the needles are in place, most people don’t feel them and cannot tell where they are unless they look. They may have an energetic sensation or awareness that differs from pain. People often comment that the feeling is unfamiliar but pleasant and relaxing.

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