The Truth on Acupuncture

THE TRUTH ON ACUPUNCTURE

The difference between the Complementary medicine and Alternative medicine is that Complementary medicine is used along with Conventional medicine, while Alternative medicine is used in place of Conventional medicine (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). One example of Complementary medicine is meditation, which is any activity that keeps the attention in the present moment (Meditation). When the mind is calm and focused in the present, it is neither reacting to memories from the past nor being medicine are Chiropractic and Reflexology, which is the practice of stimulating points on the feet and hands, in belief that it will have and effect on other parts of the body or will improve normal health (Reflexology). Some examples of Alternative medicine that you will be reading about in this essay is Acupuncture and Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating needles into acupuncture points on the body.

A Chinese medical technique, acupuncture is a medicine that is from the orient over two-thousand years ago (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). It was not only for pain relief, but also in curing disease and general health improvement (Sally). Oriental Medicine views as an imbalance of one's energy but with Acupuncture the energetic balance can be restored, thus helping the body to get rid of disease. Often illnesses can be diagnosed and treated at an early stage. Acupuncture consists of inserting hair thin needles through specific spots in the skin called acupuncture points. These specific spots of insertion are over neuroreceptors in underlying muscles (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). These needles are inserted along meridian points throughout the body; There are hundreds of these meridians, all serving different purposes. Needling, simulates nerves in the muscles which send messages to the brain to release endorphins (morphine- like peptides in the brain) (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). These natural chemicals then block the sending of painful messages from the brain. Acupuncture points are then stimulated by various forms of needle stimulation. Acupuncture is an incredibly effective form of medicine; This essay will explain some of the uses of acupuncture.

Acupuncture is the insertion of needles into the body through specific spots, over neurorecepters (“Acupuncture“ Gold). These needles are then stimulated by either rotation, heat, or by a weak electrical current (“Acupuncture“ Gold). Acupuncture is a medical technique used for a pain relief, but is known to cure disease, as well as improve general health. Acupuncture also blocks the transmission of pain impulses from parts of the body to the central nervous for endorphin acupuncture analgesia. This type of acupuncture blocks the sending of pain messages from the brain (“Acupuncture“ Gold). The pituitary gland is the first part of the brain that blocks messages, this gland, when stimulated by needles, releases endorphin (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). The second part of the brain is the periaquaductal gray neurons in the mid brain which release endorphins when stimulated (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). The third part of the brain is electrical stimulation to the spinal cord endorphin system (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM). The spinal cord releases endorphins to block the release of neurotransmitters, which carry the painful messages from the brain (“Acupuncture“ NCCAM).

Acupuncture has been used in Asia for over two-thousand years and was for pain relief but, acupuncture now has been proven to be ineffective in relieving pain by western observers that studied ordinarily painful surgical operations carried out on fully conscious patients. These patients were only locally anesthetized by acupuncture and experienced no signs of discomfort (Sally). The reason for acupuncture's success is not known, except for the belief that acupuncture needles stimulate the body's production of natural pain-killing chemical substances like endorphins