Ok, we all know how it looks, painful! But, it could actually reduce the amount of pain you have to endure in daily life!
A popular alternative treatment used for thousands of years throughout the China, acupuncture is now widely used across the world and is designed to interact with the body's natural energy pathways.
Although it is not without controversy within the medical community, acupuncture has spread like wildfire from the far east all the way to western Europe and the United States. Acupuncture is now being used in combination with other treatments and on several different conditions and, oddly enough, is even being used and researched for veterinary applications. It is not uncommon to find an acupuncture practitioner in chiropractic offices and spas. The World Health Organization has claimed that acupuncture is an effective treatment for over two dozen health conditions and the U.S. army began teaching battlefield acupuncture in 2009 to field medics for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. So, while there are many staunch advocates for acupuncture, the controversy with this treatment is born of placebo trials which are also hard to conduct. Despite studies that suggest placebo can yield similar results, several alternative and mainstream health experts and institutions tout multiple health benefits related to this ancient Chinese practice.
While Chinese medicine has focused on the energy pathways in the body while using acupuncture, several authorities on health and nutrition have claimed that the benefits are purely scientific and don't rely on ancient philosophies. The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Treatment Center has concluded that semi-weekly acupuncture sessions helped relieve extreme dry mouth, or xerostomia, in patients who underwent radiation treatment for cancers of the head and neck. A peer reviewed British Medical Journal also claims the benefits of acupuncture to be rooted in science.
The University Medical Center in Berlin, Germany found that acupuncture helps with osteoarthritis while the Mayo Clinic claims this treatment to be effective for people suffering fibromyalgia. Acupuncture has shown great promise for treating migraines and pain after a dental procedure. Lower back pain is also believed to be treatable using this ancient method. Acupuncture is also believed to be an effective treatment for nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy, adding to the value of this treatment for cancer patients. Patients who would like to avoid heavy pharmaceutical pain relievers that carry many side effects can turn to acupuncture. Acupuncture is also useful for women's health issues. The practice of acupuncture is safe and growing in popularity outside of China and even has electro and laser versions that are thought to be just as effective and less invasive.
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