“What can acupuncture do for me?” I get asked this by almost every prospective
patient. What patients really wants to
know is how does acupuncture work? What
is acupuncture going to change to make them feel better?
This is
where you might hear about Qi, and how acupuncture is the manipulation of a
body’s QI.
This answer is not wrong, but
it does not tell you much if you don’t know a lot about Chinese medicine.
To answer this question in terms that most
people can understand can be difficult.
The short answer is that western science does not know exactly how
acupuncture works, but that does not mean it cannot tell us anything.
Many
people think of acupuncture for pain relief or for injuries (either acute or
chronic).
The mechanisms or how
acupuncture can work for this are many.
Firstly, acupuncture can help increase blood flow locally.
Often times with an injury, blood flow in the
local area is congested which slows down or prevents healing altogether.
In Chinese medical terms we often refer to
pain as “Qi stagnation”, meaning the Qi is not flowing.
Pain from reduced blood flow is one symptom
of this.
Secondly,
acupuncture can help to reduce swelling.
This ties directly in to blood flow and Qi stagnation.
Inflammation impedes the flow of blood, lymph
and nerve impulses through an injured area and will also negatively affect the
healing process.
By reducing inflammation
and swelling, we are able to let the body do its job better and quicker.
However,
there are many other ways to get to the same goal
.
You can use ice or you can take ibuprofen,
both can be used for pain.
There are
problems with each of these though, that can impede long term healing and can
turn an acute injury into a chronic one.
Ice, for example, does reduce inflammation and bring down swelling, but
it also congeals the blood and slows down its flow.
So while you might not have as much pain, you
are actually making the healing process much harder on your body.
Chinese medicine does not have this problem;
we can bring down swelling while at the same time promoting blood flow. This allows the body to heal quicker and
better. Then you have ibuprofen. This stuff is great for pain relief, as a
NSAID it will definitely bring down swelling and it isn’t so cold as ice to
impede blood flow. It is not without its
issues though. NSAIDs such as ibuprofen
shut down the body’s natural healing response.
When there is no inflammation, the body does not realize that there is
an injury to fix; it thinks its job is done.
This is not the case. NSAIDs
cover up the pain, but don’t fix it, and can even cause an acute injury to
become chronic.
Chinese
medicine can also help to strengthen muscles and tendons in the body.
This is a side effect bringing more blood to
an effected area.
Many chronic injuries
can be due to a muscle weakness.
With
acupuncture we can help strengthen muscles and help them do their job better by
bringing the body’s attention to the weakened area.
So far we have just been talking
about pain relief; Chinese medicine treats a whole lot more than just pain.
Firstly, it is important to note that
inflammation and reduced blood flow are not issues specific to pain, but can
also be the cause of a lot of other health concerns.
Many chronic issues that seem to have no
cause can often be from chronic inflammation throughout the body.
Chinese medicine not only helps increase
blood flow and reduce inflammation locally (at the site of the injury), but can
also do so globally (throughout the whole body).
One way it does this is by speaking
directly to the brain to regulate our body’s chemistry (hormones, enzymes,
etc.).
Whether it is an emotional issue
such as depression or anxiety, or something more physical, such as menstrual
issues or digestive upset, Chinese medicine helps to direct the body’s response
to these or many other issues.
Each
acupoint has unique and disease specific reaction in the body.
This does not mean there is a specific
acupoint for every specific symptom.
What this means is that each acupoint used will affect the body
differently, but in the way the body needs.
Acupuncture does not treat or fix symptoms; rather it brings your body’s
attention to a problem and helps to give it the tools necessary to make things
better at a deeper level.
These
are just a few of the ways acupuncture works to make you feel better.
It is important to note that all of these
mechanisms (increasing blood flow, reducing inflammation, and hormone
regulation) can help with a variety of issues.
They are not specific to pain or to digestive issues or any set of
symptoms.
Acupuncture works with your
body, no matter the problem, to help you feel better.
In my first blog I went over a few of
the mechanisms by which acupuncture can help promote health; if you have not
read it, you can do so here. Having
explained how acupuncture works, I wanted to continue on and delve into what it
can help with. Over the course of three
blogs, I am going to talk about some of the specific issues and symptoms
acupuncture can help with as they relate to the five main Chinese Organs. The five main Organs are the Heart, Lungs,
Spleen, Liver and Kidneys. 
