Acupuncture is a therapeutic method used to encourage natural healing, reduce or relieve pain and improve function of affected areas of the body. Acupuncture is safe and effective and is often successfully used as an alternative to medications, drugs or even surgery. Acupuncture involves the insertion of very fine needles through the skin and tissues at specific points on the body. There is no injection of any substances and the treatment itself causes minimal discomfort. Classical acupuncture was developed in China as a system of diagnosing and treating pain and disease. It defines acupuncture as one component of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which aims to balance energy and blood in the body on order to keep it functional and healthy. Although proven successful for thousands of years without the benefit of modern medical knowledge, it is only in recent years that the scientific and medical communities of Europe and North America have begun to study acupuncture to understand and explain its effectiveness. In addition to being a tremendously useful adjunct to chiropractic care in treating traditional musculo-skeletal disorders such as headaches (sinus, tension, migraine and weather related), low back pain and sciatica, arthritis, neuralgia, tennis elbow, shoulder problems including frozen shoulder and tendonitis. The World Health Organization has identified the benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of a wide range of medical problems including:
One of the most striking aspects of acupuncture is the almost complete absence of adverse effects and complications from its use. Most patients find that the treatments are relaxing and cause minimal discomfort. Only very high quality sterile disposable needles are used, preventing any risk of infection. In particular there is NO possibility of transmission of the AIDS or hepatitis viruses.
