Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE

What is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?

Traditional Chinese Medicine has been practiced in China for over 2,500 years.  According to TCM, illnesses arise when there is an imbalance in the opposing forces of Yin and Yang in the body.  This leads to disruption of the body’s flow of vital energy (qi) and obstruction of blood and fluid circulation.  TCM utilizes modalities such as acupuncture, acupressure, moxibustion, cuping, coining, herbal medicine, tai chi, qi gong and tuina massage to restore harmony and homeostasis.

What conditions does acupuncture treat?

The World Heatlh Organization and National Institutes of Health recognize the efficacy of acupuncture in treating multiple conditions.  Acupuncture is becoming more widely accepted in the U.S to treat many conditions including:

• Musculoskeletal and joint pain:  back pain, sciatica, arthritis, carpal tunnel, tendinitis, frozen shoulder
• Fatigue, anxiety, stress, insomnia, depression
• Digestive disorders:  nausea, vomiting, irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, constipation
• Women’s health:  menopausal symptoms, menstrual cramps
• Headaches, migraines
• High blood pressure
• Cold and flu symptoms
• Asthma
• Fibromyalgia

Is acupuncture safe?

In the hands of an experienced practitioner acupuncture is extremely safe.   The National Institute of Health acknowledges “one of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions.” At AcuProlo Institute we use clean needle techniques and one-time use, disposable needles.

How many treatments do I need?

At AcuProlo Institute we focus on treating the person as a whole and not just the disease.  The number of treatments vary depending on the person’s medical conditions, his/her ability to heal, the duration of the illness and the response to the treatment.

Links to more information on TCM:

http://consensus.nih.gov/1997/1997Acupuncture107html.htm

http://www.acupuncture.ca.gov/