What is Acupuncture? Benefits, Risk, and How it work for diet or healthy ?

Acupuncture Point

All about Acupuncture, Its Benefits and Risks for Healthy  - Have you ever heard of acupuncture before? Acupuncture is an alternative form of medicine and key part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Thin needles are inserted into the body’s acupuncture points. Commonly used for pain relief and a variety of other conditions.

Acupuncture originates from China and has been practiced there for thousands of years. Although there are records of acupuncture being used hundreds of years ago in Europe, it was during the second half of the twentieth century it began to spread rapidly in Western Europe, the United States and Canada.

Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through the patient's skin at specific points on the body - the needles are inserted to various depths. The medical community is not in conclusive agreement about how acupuncture works scientifically. However, we do know that it does have some therapeutic benefits, including pain relief and alleviation from nausea caused by chemotherapy. 

According to traditional Chinese medical theory, acupuncture points are located on meridians through which gi vital energy runs. There is no histological, anatomical or scientific proof that these meridians or acupuncture points exist. Acupuncture remains controversial among Western medical doctors and scientists. 

People experience acupuncture differently, and rarely do they describe it as 'painful'. Unlike needles used for injections, the tip of an acupuncture needle comes smoothly to a point, instead of by way of a sharp edge. Acupuncture needles are also extremely thin—about 20 times thinner than a typical hypodermic needle used for injections. The acupuncture needles are solid and do not remove tissue as would occur with a hypodermic needle, making them safer. Some practitioners also use moxibustion and burn this on the needles during insertion. This is an herb compound that is often used.

Acupuncture also has a cupping component to it, whereby cups are heated and applied to the skin to create suction and bring blood close to the surface.

There are areas on the body that are considered a micro system and some acupuncturists may treat only those micro systems, such as treating only the ear (auriculotherapy), only the face, only the hand, only the foot, etc.

In the US, only sterile, one-time use needles (that are sealed prior to use) are allowed. After use, the acupuncture needles must be disposed in a proper hazardous waste receptacle.

During the course of the acupuncture procedure, specific chemicals release into the body, supposedly affecting back pain and neck pain physically and psychologically.

What is WHO Said?

According to WHO (World Health Organization) acupuncture is effective for treating 28 conditions, while evidence indicates it may have an effective therapeutic value for many more. People with tension headaches and/or migraines may find acupuncture to be very effective in alleviating their symptoms, according to a study carried out at the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Another study at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center found that twice weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia - severe dry mouth - among patients treated with radiation for head and neck cancer.

How does acupuncture work?

Traditional Chinese medicine explains that health is the result of a harmonious balance of the complementary extremes of yin and yang of the life force known as gi or chi. Qi is said to flow through meridians (pathways) in the human body. Through 350 acupuncture points in the body, these meridians and energy flows may be accessed. Illness is said to be the consequence of an imbalance of the forces. If needles are inserted into these points with appropriate combinations it is said that the energy flow can be brought back into proper balance.

In Western societies and several other parts of the world, acupuncture is explained including concepts of neuroscience. Acupuncture points are seen by Western practitioners as places where nerves, muscles and connective tissue can be stimulated. Acupuncture practitioners say that the stimulation increases blood flow while at the same time triggering the activity of our own body's natural painkillers. 

What are the health benefits and risks of acupuncture?

Every therapies have benefits and risks.

The possible benefits of acupuncture are:

• When performed correctly it is safe
• There are very few side effects
• It is a very effective combination treatment
• It is effective in controlling some types of pain
• It may be considered for patients who do not respond to pain medications
• It is a useful alternative for patients who do not want to take pain medications.

The possible risks of acupuncture are:

• It is dangerous if the patient has a bleeding disorder
• It the dangerous if the patient is taking blood thinners
• There may be bleeding, bruising and soreness at the insertion sites
• The needle may break and damage an internal organ (very rare)
• Unsterilized needles may infect the patient
• When inserted deeply into the chest or upper back there is a risk of collapsed lung (very rare).

The following is F.A.Q about acupuncture

What is good about acupuncture?
Hundreds of clinical studies on the benefits of acupuncture show that it successfully treats conditions ranging from musculoskeletal problems (back pain, neck pain, and others) to nausea, migraine headache, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and infertility.

What does acupuncture do for you?
Through 350 acupuncture points in the body, these meridians and energy flows may be accessed. Illness is said to be the consequence of an imbalance of the forces. If needles are inserted into these points with appropriate combinations it is said that the energy flow can be brought back into proper balance

Is Acupuncture good for lower back pain?
Back pain is one of the top reasons people seek medical treatment. The good news is chronic low back pain is one of the conditions that research suggests acupuncture may be an effective tool for treating. One recent review of 22 acupuncture studies showed that it provided short-term relief from chronic back pain.

What are the points of acupuncture?
Shiatsu is a Japanese form of acupressure. Traditional Chinese medical theory describes special acupoints, or acupressure points, that lie along meridians, or channels, in your body. These are the same energy meridians and acupoints as those targeted with acupuncture.

How old is acupuncture?
It marks the early development of acupuncture, and there have been further milestones since then. I don't mean to gloss over 2,000 years of rich medical history, but my point is that acupuncture is not 4,000-5,000 years old. But it is technically 2,000 years old

Acupuncture is thought to operate by:

Release of opioid peptides. Opioids are naturally occurring chemicals in the brain that have an analgesic effect. The release of these opioids plays a significant role in the reduction of pain. There has been considerable evidence to support that acupuncture stimulates the central nervous system, releasing these chemicals.

Alteration in the secretion of neurotransmitters and neurohormones. Acupuncture is said to activate the hypothalamus and pituitary gland and thereby alter secretion of these chemicals. These particular chemicals play a direct role in the sensation of pain as well as the activity of an organ or organs. Evidence has shown that acupuncture alters this secretion in a manner that reduces pain. Documentation has also shown that acupuncture positively affects immune functions in the body.


Stimulation of electromagnetic points on the body. The 2,000 points of the body that acupuncture focuses on are theorized to be strategic conductors of electromagnetic signals. Stimulation of these areas is believed to start the flow of endorphins—the body's natural painkillers.