The Benefits of Acupuncture

Acupuncture balances the body's energy systems improving health and quality of life.  Our lives can become out of balance due to thought patterns, diet, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, and excesses. Acupuncture helps balance the energy systems by directing energy to the areas of body that are deficient.
This also reduces stress and helps you relax.  Acupuncture can bring the body back into emotional balance. It has been helpful in treating depression and anxiety. Acupuncture points have a physical and emotional aspect to their function. There are many reasons for insomnia, acupuncture can treat the causes of insomnia or be used to directly treat sleep disorders. Balancing your body's energy systems strengths your immune system. Acupuncture increases circulation, reduces inflammation and scaring and helps the patient recover faster from injury, illness or surgery. Chronic and acute pain reduction is one of the most common reasons patients seek acupuncture. Acupuncture relieves migraine and arthritis, carpal tunnel, back pain, etc. Respiratory health including allergies and asthma are positively impacted by the use of acupuncture. A powerful benefit of acupuncture is the reduction of the side effects of chemo and radiation therapies.

The effects of acupuncture are not limited to one area of the body or one symptom. Acupuncture treats the whole person.

The Effects of Acupunture on Stress.

We have accepted stress as a normal part of our lives and spend countless dollars and hours on books, tapes, DVD's and workshop to help us overcome stress. Stress weakens our immune systems making our bodies more susceptible to illnesses and diseases. It is estimated that 80% of all illnesses are brought on by stress. Acupuncture has been shown to induce a relaxation response and strengthens the immune system by reducing the negative effects of stress on our body.

Stress activates our survival system, increases the heart rate and lung function and reduces movement of our large intestine and increases blood pressure. This puts our bodies into a constant state of flight-or-fight. When stress persists over an extended period of time, our sympathetic nervous system remains constantly stimulated and becomes depleted. The constant state of stress produces an unbalanced nervous system which can produce a variety of health issues such as diabetes, heart disease, depression, high cholesterol, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcerated colitis. Our risk of infections, colds and flu increases. Stress increases the production of cortisol which suppresses our immune system. Cortisol acts as an immunosuppressant by reducing the number of white blood cells which produce antibodies and destroy viruses, bacteria and tumor cells.

Acupuncture works to reverse the effects of stress by suppressing the sympathetic nervous system and activating the parasympathetic nervous system.  The sympathetic nervous system controls our body when we are stressed and the parasympathetic nervous system controls our body when we are relaxed and calm. Acupuncture changes the messages being sent from our nervous system to our endocrine system and immune system.

Simply put: the metal acupuncture needle is a conductor of energy. Acupuncture points are surrounded by a greater concentration of nerve endings than in other areas of the body. The nervous system uses energy to send messages. Acupuncture conducts and adjusts the flow of energy.