Acupuncture is a an ancient healing art, and a cornerstone of traditional Chinese medicine. Most people have a basic concept of acupuncture, and know that it involves inserting thin needles into the body. But there is so much more to explore. Let’s take a deeper look at this intriguing practice, which has anecdotally helped so many with pain relief, allergies, nausea, insomnia, and a wide range of other ailments.
It is an alternative method for caring for your body and improving your health which might look exotic and intimidating on the surface. Our objective here is to demystify it, and as you learn more about what acupressure is and how it works, you can decide if it is right for you.
An “acupuncture point” is a specific spot on the body located along one of the meridians (connected points across the anatomy which affect a specific organ,) which is focused on in acupuncture therapy. Acupuncture points tend to be located at the exact spot where a nerve enters a muscle, at the exact midpoint of a muscle, or at the enthesis where muscle joins with bone. There are hundreds of these points, all over the human body, each of them located and named over the course of centuries.
There are, in fact, are 400 of them, not counting bilateral points twice. And these points aren’t only treated with needles: acupuncture therapy can involve the application of pressure, heat, or even lasers. The purpose of stimulating these points, in traditional Chinese medicine, is to bring the patient relief from their symptoms by rebalancing the human body’s complex energies. This is a theory based on the holistic paradigm of Chinese health practices, and has no analogue in Western medicine.
Like with yoga and other forms of traditional health practices, there has been an increasing interest in acupuncture as more and more people in the Western world become inclined to seek out alternative, holistic methods of treating various conditions, without recourse to pharmaceutical or other mainstream medical treatment. Also, acupuncture is often used as an adjunct to other forms of treatment. For instance, it is commonly used in addition to physical therapy in rehabilitating injuries, or along with deep-tissue massage for stress relief.
Looking at the historical context for the use of acupuncture, we see that it has long been used to treat expectant mothers, with the intent of ensuring babies are born strong, happy, healthy, with strong immune systems and resistance to germs, and with minimal transmission of toxins from mother to child. Modern practitioners of acupuncture often recommend monthly treatments during pregnancy to support optimal health of the mother and developing baby. Along with prenatal massage, it can be a great help in preparation for labor.
At the Center for Neuromuscular Massage Therapy, we strive to offer a wide range of holistic treatment options, so that you have access to excellent, highly-trained practitioners in a variety of fields and can decide what style and combination of treatment works best for you.
Please call us at 303-777-1151 or contact us for more information.
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