Acupuncture

Acupuncture is an ancient form of alternative therapy from China. It involves the insertion of hair thin needles into specific body points. The needles are stimulated by several methods which include pressure of the practitioner’s hand, mild electric current, ultrasound, or wavelengths of light.

Acupuncture gained some credibility in 1997 when the National Health Intitute endorsed it as a valid way to treat nausea and postoperative dental pain. The NIH panel also agreed that acupuncture has value in treating conditions like headaches, lower-back pain, menstrual cramps, muscle pain, and some of the side effects caused by stroke.

Practitioners of acupuncture found that health requires a harmonious balance between the opposing forces of yin (spirit) and (blood) yang. Yin and yang are not fixed, which are constantly changing. Yin is the negative force and the yang, the positive, but these terms "bad" and "good" as they do in Western thought.

Qi (pronounced "chi") is the attraction between the two forces. It flows to all parts of the body through channels called meridians. Meridians are pathways that run along the surface of the body and branch into the body’s interior. The imbalance between these forces is believed to cause disease. When the needles are inserted into appropriate points along those meridians, balance is restored and health is regained.