Acupuncture is the ancient chinese practice of prodding some specific points of the body, to reduce pain or to treat some physical conditions. It also helps in alleviating mental conditions.

Even though, for a long time, the treatment was considered shamanistic & thought to have no actual scientific base within the scientific communities, recently some studies have proven the practice to be useful.

What exactly is Acupuncture & how does it work?

“Yin” and “yang” were very important parts of ancient chinese philosophy. They believed the imbalances of yin and yang in the living force also known as “Qi” (pronounced ‘chi’), is the main source of various illnesses.

They also believed that this qi flows through the body via ‘meridians’ or pathways, that can be accessed via 350 acupuncture points spread throughout a human physique.

By putting thin needles through the skin into these points, one can control the flow of qi and bring back the balance needed in yin and yang, thus removing the pain or the illness.

Modern medicine has different interpretations of how it works. One of the hypothesis says- acupuncture is used to poke those specific points in the body that stimulate the nervous system & causes it to release various neural hormones such as β-endorphins.

These hormones increase the capacity to endure physical pain & reduces stress in parts of our body. Rather than working directly, acupuncture works via the biochemicals in our body.

Another hypothesis says that acupuncture works by controlling the markers or proteins involved in inflammation. Acupuncture works by penetrating the specific points in the body, that causes reduction in those pro-inflammatory markers.

Another view is that, by putting needles in various parts of the body, acupuncture signals the brain to release more nerve growth factors. Nerve growth factors help us recover from various nerve damage events, such as chemotherapy.

How acupuncture can affect your city life

As city life becomes monotonous with long work hours,citizens are increasingly looking for therapeutic treatments after a long day’s work.

Acupuncture is increasingly becoming a popular mode of therapeutic treatment. It not only works as a mode of relaxing, but also helps release the work related stress.

Conditions where acupuncture can be useful

As stated above, acupuncture reacts with biochemicals to produce a reaction to decrease physical discomfort & cure conditions.

A study published in 2012, showed acupuncture to be more effective than even actual painkillers in case of chronic pains…
 
Continue reading the article and learn more about acupuncture on Daisy Linden’s blog.