Do you suffer from insomnia, fatigue, hot flashes, PMS, aches and pains? Acupuncture has been used for centuries to treat hormonal issues, and really pretty much any condition. Even better, it can be used preventatively to maintain health.
When my patient Allison came to see me for her many perimenopausal symptoms, she found that acupuncture helped calm her irritability and moodiness, improve her sleep and reduce her night sweats.
Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine that involves sticking very thin needles through the skin into specific points in the body to stimulate the flow of chi. Chi is life force energy that flows along pathways or meridians in the body. When strategic points are stimulated, chi can flow unencumbered and balanced throughout the body.
Although acupuncture is considered invasive, the needles are often so thin that it is painless. The sensation and experience can range from patient to patient, often if there is discomfort upon placement of a needle it quickly subsides. These needles, made from stainless steel, are single use and are disposed of after contact with the body. The duration and number of sessions of acupuncture each person can utilize is dependent on the individual’s needs and the condition being treated.
While the uses of acupuncture are endless, some common reasons a patient may need acupuncture are:
1. Hormonal Health. Acupuncture is often used to treat symptoms associated with hormonal imbalances such as PMS, perimenopausal/menopausal symptoms, menstrual cramps. Acupuncture treatments help with treating infertility and inducing labor in late stage pregnancy. It is great for almost all hormonal issues.
2. Pain relief from an acute or chronic injury. Acupuncture can decrease the healing time of injuries and also help patients to find relief from pain associated with the injury.
3. Psychological and emotional distress. Used during acute, situational distress and also long term symptoms of anxiety and depression, acupuncture can help regulate and stimulate neurotransmitters and help release emotions stored in the body.
This form of Chinese medicine is highly reliant on the intuition and body of knowledge of the acupuncturist. Licensed acupuncturists can use many different cues from the body to decide which points to stimulate to encourage healing. Both pulses and tongue analysis are used by most acupuncturists to help determine point placement.
The first written record of acupuncture is dated back to 90 BCE while acupuncture as a therapy in medicine is thought to have originated over 3,000 years ago. This predates modern medicine, or allopathic medicine, by over 2,500 years. Comparatively, this ancient treatment has over 22 more centuries of case study than all of allopathic medicine combined.
If you live in the Roaring Fork Valley and are interested in trying acupuncture, give us a call at 970-963-6500. You do not need to be suffering with a chronic illness or chronic pain to benefit from acupuncture; this multifaceted treatment can be used as preventative medicine as well.