How does Acupuncture work?

When stress or disease occurs internally, it also manifests itself
externally in skin and muscle tissue. As a result, specific body points or
regions can become painful, tense, sensitive, puffy or indented.
Acupuncture is a system of therapy which uses these points not only for
diagnosis, but also for treatment. Acupuncture affects the body's
internal condition by manipulating the peripheral or external tissues.

There are several modern theories about this phenomena, including:

1) Electrical Conduction: It has been noted that acupuncture points
have different electrical potentials than other areas of the body. It is not
known exactly why these different electrical potentials exist but
research suggests that acupuncture, on one level, works by affecting
electrical conduction in the body.

2) Autonomic Nervous System: The autonomic nervous system is
responsible for coordinating and conducting all of the body's involuntary
functions. Acupuncture invokes the conserving, healing function of the
autonomic nervous system.

3) Trigger Point Theory: Through clinical research, western
physicians have discovered specific points of tension in the body that,
when released, are particularly effective in the alleviation of
muscular-skeletal pain. The locations of these points correlate with the
acupuncture points of oriental medicine.

4) Biochemical Defense Mechanism: The acupuncture needle
creates an injury at the cellular level. The body's response is to release
chemicals vital to cellular repair. This helps to reduce local inflammation
and relieve pain.

5) Endorphins: Acupuncture stimulates the body to produce
pain-relieving chemicals called "endorphins".

Traditionally, acupuncture is a medicine that focuses on an energetic
model of the body rather than the biochemical model of western
medicine. Ancient oriental physicians recognized that vital energy,
called Ki in Japanese or Qi in Chinese, circulates along channels or
meridians throughout the body and links all of the body's parts and
functions. Ki maintains and nurtures our physical body as well as our
mind. It keeps the blood circulating, warms the body and fights disease.
When a person is healthy, Ki flows smoothly through the channels but if,
for some reason, the flow is blocked, weak, or excessive, then symptoms
and/or illness occurs.

In treatment, the aim of the therapist is to correct the flow of Ki by
inserting needles or applying pressure to specific points along the
channels. In so doing, a change in part or function of the body is
achieved. Changes in Ki precede physical change, so acupuncture can
act as a preventive medicine, correcting energy flow before a serious
illness occurs. If physical change has occurred, it too can be affected by
adjusting the flow of Ki.