Questions & Answers About Acupuncture

|  What is Acupuncture?

|  What can Acupuncture treat?

|  How does acupuncture work? What are its benefits?

|  Is acupuncture safe? What about side effects?

|  What are Acupuncture "points" and "channels?" 

|  What does Acupuncture feel like?

|  What is an acupuncture treatment like?

|  How many treatments are necessary?

|  What does modern research say about acupuncture efficacy?

|  Is belief necessary for acupuncture to work?

|  What is the role of acupuncture in modern healthcare?

|  How is Acupuncture regulated?

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a complete and scientific system of medical diagnosis and treatment developed in China beginning over 3,000 years ago.  Acupuncture stimulates locations in the body with fine needles to evoke healing. Because of its history of safety and effectiveness, acupuncture is now practiced worldwide, and has become the subject of modern scientific investigation.  Scientific research is confirming acupuncture's physiologic basis and clinical efficacy^[1].

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What can Acupuncture treat?

Although acupuncture is known in the West primarily for pain control, acupuncture has been used for thousands of years in East Asia to treat almost all injuries and diseases.  Based on reviews of clinical studies, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH, 1997) concluded:  "The data in support of acupuncture are as strong as those for many accepted Western medical therapies." Click here to See Full List of what acupuncture can treat.

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How does Acupuncture work?  What are the benefits?

Acupuncture initiates neural, vascular, immune, and endocrine responses that together result in:

• Pain control and muscle relaxation

• Reduction of inflammation and swelling

• Normalization of blood flow and lymphatic drainage

• Tissue and wound healing

• Enhanced or normalized immune response

• Increased joint range-of-motion

• Normalization of organ activity

• Stress reduction and mood enhancement

The net effect of these processes restores both local and systemic "homeostasis:" the body's normal state of dynamic, balanced function.

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What are Acupuncture "points" and "channels?"

Ancient Chinese studies identified over 600 sensitive sites on the surface of the body that reflect disease, and can be stimulated for pain relief and other benefits.  Ancient Chinese physicians discovered how to regulate the flow of "qi" (often translated as "vital air" or "energy") and blood throughout the body by using fine needles to stimulate the body's own self-healing potential.

Modern science has found that acupuncture "points" or "nodes") have special properties including higher electrical conductance and inter-cellular communication, and a greater density of fine neural, vascular, and lymphatic structures.

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What does Acupuncture feel like?

Acupuncture needles are much smaller, flexible, and less painful that the hypodermic needles used for injections or blood sampling.  First-time patients are often surprised by how little they feel the insertion of acupuncture needles.

To obtain a therapeutic response, needles are manipulated until the patient feels a light distending, cramping, warmth, or tingling around the insertion site.  Sometimes these sensations are felt to travel along pathways in the body.  The sensation typically subsides within minutes, but may be re-enforced through manual or electrical stimulation of needles.

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Is Acupuncture safe? What about side effects?

With Clean Needle Technique and sterile, single-use, disposable needles, the risk of infectious disease transmission through acupuncture is reduced to negligible levels..  Adverse effects are uncommon and are generally limited to temporary, mild dizziness, faintness, or bruising or irritation around needle sites.  The NIH report states:  "one of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions."

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What is a treatment like?

Acupuncture diagnosis and treatment begins with an interview regarding medical history, symptoms and goals for treatment.  The acupuncturist performs a physical examination including vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, etc.), and inspection and palpation of the disease or injury site, and associated acupuncture vessels.  Special tests may be conducted to further define the nature and cause of the condition.  The practitioner may also inspect the patient’s tongue and feel the qualities of the radial pulse, which give important clues to the patient’s overall health status.   

Information gathered from the interview and examination is used to reach a diagnosis and determine appropriate treatment. 

Acupuncture is usually performed with a patient lying comfortably on a treatment table.  The acupuncturist inserts the needles at a combination of related nodes at locations that may include the limbs, torso, and head.  After the needles are manipulated for a few seconds to produce a therapeutic stimulus, they are left in place while the patient lies quietly for 15-30 minutes.  Supplementary techniques performed to enhance or complement needling may include:

• Electrical stimulation (barely perceptible milli- or micro-amps)

• Chinese medical massage (tui na and “acupressure”), suction cups, or friction (gua sha) to mobilize and relax muscle and connective tissue;

• Warming needling sites with an infrared lamp, hot packs, ultrasound, or a smoldering Chinese herb called moxa;

• Topical applications of analgesic and anti-inflammatory herbal plasters or liniments to the skin;

An acupuncturist may also recommend traditional Chinese nutritional supplements and dietary remedies, as well as therapeutic exercises and stretches (taiji, qi gong, dao yin).

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How many treatments are necessary?

Based on a patient’s diagnosis, an acupuncturist may propose a treatment plan, including number of visits, expected benefits, costs, risks, and alternative treatments.  The number of treatments required may vary with each patient and their condition(s). 

Symptomatic relief is often felt during the first treatment. Significant and lasting improvement may be evident by the 3rd or 4th treatment.  Chronic or complex conditions may require 1-3 treatments per week for several months.  More recent conditions are commonly resolved after 6-12 treatments.

Like any medical treatment, acupuncture has its limitations.  If after a trial course of treatment, a patient or their practitioner finds that acupuncture is not effective for the patient’s condition, the practitioner should refer the patient to another physician for further evaluation and treatment.

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Is belief necessary for Acupuncture to work?

 No.  Beneficial effects of acupuncture have been demonstrated on animals and children, as well as on adults who have never received acupuncture before.  Acupuncture effects are not dependent on psychosocial variables^[2].  As with any medical modality, a positive and open attitude towards the therapy support s healing outcomes.

Acupuncture can be used as a stand-alone treatment, or may be safely combined with other treatments.  Patients are advised not to quit their current treatments without discussion with the physician who prescribed that care.

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How is Acupuncture regulated?

Acupuncture in California is regulated by the California Acupuncture Board.  Information including standards of practice, practitioner license status, finding a qualified practitioner, and filing consumer complaints may be obtained at: http://www.acupuncture.ca.gov/

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[1] An explanation of how acupuncture works based on peer-reviewed scientific research may be found in The Dao of Chinese Medicine, Donald Kendall, PhD, Oxford University Press, 2002, available on the world-wide web.

[2] "Are psychosocial factors related to response to acupuncture among patients with knee osteoarthritis?"  Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 1999; 5(4):72-76.