Q: What do you think acupuncture works BEST for and what might it be not as good at treating?
A: Acupuncture is just one tool within the Chinese medical system. When used in combination with Chinese herbs, diet and lifestyle habits, it can successfully treat a wide variety of conditions. While Chinese medicine is effective for SO many things, I believe acupuncture is the best therapy for pain conditions. Pain is the result of the stagnation of energy in blood and acupuncture is the best therapy to promote flow throughout the body. Also, pain conditions are often related to local inflammatory processes. Acupuncture is the only therapy that can be used to guide out inflammation by targeting it directly. This may cause some brief discomfort during the process but leads to great relief afterwards!
While great for pain conditions, acupuncture is less effective in treating tinnitus—or ringing in the ears. Tinnitus is described in the classic Chinese medical texts as a symptom of other patterns but has been more difficult to treat in modern practice. This is a condition for which many people look to acupuncture for relief, but the reality is that many practitioners avoid treating such cases knowing the limited benefits. The truth is that the world we live in today is quite different from the ancient times in which Chinese medicine was created. Our exposure to daily noise and electronic has a profound impact on our health in ways that acupuncture cannot correct.
Thanks for bringing to my attention that acupuncture is best for pain conditions. My brother has been having really bad back problems, and the pain tends to keep him up all night. I don’t think the lack of sleep is helping him to recover at all, so I want to find a solution for him. Acupuncture seems cool because it’s a non-invasive procedure. Since what he’s dealing with is mostly pain, it sounds like acupuncture could be pretty effective, so I’ll talk to him about it.