What is Acupuncture and Should I Try It?
What if we told you there is a way to improve your health and feel better naturally. Acupuncture is a great treatment option that allows your body to rebalance.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese practice that has been used for centuries for healing purposes. It is used to treat various health conditions and, over recent years has become a very common practice today, especially amongst athletes and celebrities.
In this blog, the Unplug Wellness Hour team (that’s us!) will take a deep dive into the world of acupuncture and answer your most burning questions about this life-changing practice that has helped hundreds of our own patients get healthier and happier, drug-free.
Whether you want to understand how acupuncture works, what you should expect in an acupuncture session, or how it is different from traditional massages, we’ve got you covered.
Ready to learn more about acupuncture and what the buzz is all about? Let’s get started.
What is acupuncture?
First of all, let’s define the key term: acupuncture.
Acupuncture is an ancient eastern medicine practice of removing blockages in the body’s energy system by inserting tiny needles into specific pressure points.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the human body consists of distinct channels through which Qi (energy) and Xue (blood) flow. Qi and blood depend on one another in order to fully implement their roles within the body to support and promote life activities.
Qi flows in physical, emotional, and spiritual levels and is constantly changing and evolving, helping the universe and our bodies to heal. Qi spins electrons, planets and is responsible for all chemical reactions that take place.
Acupuncture points have been shown to have different physiology and electric charge patterns compared to other parts of the body.
Acupuncture is one of the oldest and most commonly used medical treatment options in the world. It originated in China approximately 2,500 years ago.
Research shows that acupuncture has the power to affect our nervous system in a profound way.
Our bodies have the ability to heal themselves when put in the right environment. Through acupuncture treatments, our body is given the gentle nudge it needs to find its balance again and regain its self-healing mechanism, defending us against illnesses, injuries, and pain (physical and mental).
As a result, your body is empowered to heal itself naturally, without the side effects commonly caused by western medication.
Acupuncture addresses the root of the issue
Traditional Chinese Medicine is holistic in nature in which a combination of physical, mental, and social pieces come together when diagnosing a patient's condition to find the root of the problem.
This holistic approach enables the practitioner to relieve symptoms and get rid of a health problem for a long period without harmful side effects.
While western medicine deals with the symptoms of an illness, acupuncture addresses the root cause of the illness.
When doing acupuncture, you might find that the experience relieves emotional and mental stresses that you might not have realized you had. These emotional stresses are actually what has been causing harm to your body, creating blockages in your Qi and blood flow.
And that’s what acupuncture focuses on fixing.
Because of this, it is not unlikely that you go into an acupuncture clinic thinking you had one particular health problem and leave realizing that the issue was way more complex or completely different.
With acupuncture, you heal your body, mind, and spirit - all parts of you in balance to promote your self-healing.
How long does acupuncture take to work?
This is a hard question to answer as it differs for everyone, depending on their symptoms and how long they have experienced the problem.
You may notice a difference after your first session with symptoms returning after a couple of days. If this is a chronic case that has been rooted for years then it may take multiple sessions but will provide better results in comparison to the band-aid approach.
What’s important to remember is that acupuncture is a process. By investing time into your healing, you will reap the benefits, exponentially. So, continue to trust the process, and enjoy the journey.
What should I expect in an acupuncture session?
So you can easily grasp what will happen during a session, we will share a little bit about how we do them at Unplug Hour Wellness.
The very first thing that you can expect in an acupuncture session is a discussion with one of our acupuncturists about your symptoms and medical history.
You can also expect a medical exam like the ones you get during a visit to your doctor. The acupuncturist may take a look at your tongue and check your pulse to find out if there are any imbalances in your body.
Based on your medical exam, one of our acupuncturists will create a tailored acupuncture roadmap for you. This is how we decide what acupuncture points to focus on and how many sessions you will most likely need to have before to start seeing big results.
Next, you will lie down and the acupuncturist will start putting needles in various points on your body. These points are called meridians and are energy channels of your body.
These complex systems of meridians have been compiled by Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years. The acupuncturist inserts needles in these meridians to drive your body back to wellness, or homeostasis.
Typically, one session of acupuncture goes for 20-30 minutes depending on the treatment.
Other than the needles and medical exam, you can also expect a very relaxing environment with dimmed lights and quiet music. The environment is usually so calm and relaxing that some people even fall asleep during the sessions.
We ensure our patients feel relaxed and comfortable prior to allowing them to snooze off.
What does acupuncture feel like?
Short answer: bliss! But let’s explore it a little bit more, together.
Acupuncture can be a different experience for everyone but none of these experiences result in pain or discomfort. Some people come to us with misconceptions like acupuncture needs to hurt to be effective but that is not true at all!
Instead, you will experience an energy of sensations that can either be dense or dull and both of them are positive responses. This indicates that your body is responding positively to the treatment.
Once the tiny needles are inserted into your body you will experience a tingling sensation which indicates that your body has activated itself to the treatment. Some patients may also feel a water- like or heavy sensation which is also a good sign and can result in warmth.
What follows is usually a feeling of relief, release, and happiness. How you experience this release is very personal. Cry, smile, or laugh until your belly hurts - this is your time.
Do the acupuncture needles hurt?
Contrary to what you might think, acupuncture needles do not hurt!
Acupuncture needles are generally only .12 - .18 of a millimeter, while traditional hypodermic or syringe needles range anywhere from 0.50 - 3 mm, which means around 30 acupuncture needles can fit into the diameter of a single hypodermic needle.
Even those with severe fear of needles end up telling us it was not so bad after their treatment. You might feel a slight sting although this should not last too long.
If you experience more significant pain during an acupuncture treatment, make sure to let your acupuncturist know.
What to expect after an acupuncture session?
Again, this is deeply personal. But, generally, after an acupuncture session, people tend to feel more relaxed.
The days following the treatment bring even better digestion, sleep, and an overall sense of well-being. However, some people also report more intense and deeper effects as acupuncture can bring up some underlying conditions. This is your body starting to identify that are the real issues and helping you heal them.
You may also experience intense fatigue, increased expression of emotions, and intensified symptoms following treatment or days after it.
Due to the intensity of these reactions, some people feel skeptical about continuing the sessions or treatment. However, we can assure you that these effects are an important part of the treatment and indicate that the treatment is working for you.
Acupuncture vs IMS
Intramuscular Stimulation – also known as “Dry Needling” – is a treatment using a long thin filiform needle to stimulate underlying myofascial trigger points, muscular, and connective tissue.
The dry needle used is also super thin, and if inserted by a well-trained physical therapist should not cause any pain.
While IMS is focused on myofascial pain using the Western scientific model, acupuncture heals a wide range of symptoms as it utilizes Traditional Chinese Medicine, looking at the entire body as a whole.
Acupuncture vs Massage
Is acupuncture just another version of a massage? Not quite.
A massage is the art of manipulating the soft tissues of your body, such as the ligament, tendons, muscles, and skin to help lessen pain, reduce stress, and increase relaxation.
Indeed, massages and acupuncture are both great natural alternatives to pain medications as they help increase the blood flow within the body.
One benefit of acupuncture is that if the pain in an area is too strong then the Balance Method can be used to help treat the pain non-locally. See our blog on pain management for more information.
Acupuncture is designed to treat almost any condition
The World Health Organization has highlighted some of the diseases and disorders that can be treated with acupuncture.
These include:
Low back pain
Malposition of fetus
Morning sickness
Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain
Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative pain
Renal colic
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Sprain
Stroke
Tennis elbow
Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Biliary colic Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhoea, primary
Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
Headache
Hypertension, essential
Hypotension, primary
Induction of labour
Knee pain
Leukopenia
Diseases, Symptoms, or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown
Neuralgia, post-herpetic
Neurodermatitis
Obesity
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Osteoarthritis
Pain due to endoscopic examination
Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein–Leventhal syndrome)
Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence
Premenstrual syndrome
Prostatitis, chronic
Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, primary
Recurrent lower urinary tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Retention of urine, traumatic
Schizophrenia
Sialism, drug-induced
Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Spine pain
Acute Stiff neck
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Tietze syndrome
Tobacco dependence
Tourette syndrome
Ulcerative colitis, chronic
Urolithiasis
Vascular dementia
Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Acne vulgaris
Alcohol dependence and detoxification
Bell’s palsy
Bronchial asthma
Cancer pain
Cardiac neurosis
Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
Craniocerebral injury, closed
Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
Earache
Epidemic hemorrhagic fever
Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Female infertility
Facial spasm
Female urethral syndrome
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Gouty arthritis
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Insomnia
Labour pain
Lactation, deficiency
Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
Ménière disease
Now, it’s your turn!
Acupunture is a beautiful process of empowering your body to heal itself. It helps you reconnect your mind, body and spirit, and balance your energies so you are functioning at your optimal health and happiness.
We hope that after reading today’s blog, you will feel more confident, excited, and informed about your decision to try acupuncture for your wellness.
Do not hesitate to connect with us on Instagram where we host lives with our acupuncturists and talk all things holistic wellness! Or send us a message if you have any questions about acupuncture and TCM.