What is Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine?

Photo Credit: Maritere Rice

Photo Credit: Maritere Rice

What is Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine?

Acupuncture is an ancient healing modality dating back over 2500 years in Chinese medical history.  Acupuncture is part of a greater system of Chinese Medicine, in which small, sterile needles are inserted into specific points of the body to evoke a physiological response.  Contrary to popular Western belief, acupuncture has been used for thousands of years, not only to help alleviate pain, but also to prevent and correct physical, mental, and emotional conditions. 

The popularity of acupuncture has been surging in the West, as more and more people are turning to its proven healing prowess to not only address pain, especially in the midst of the current opioid crisis, but also to use it to help aid in boosting female and male fertility, combatting allergies and food sensitivities, and alleviating autoimmune flares.  Acupuncture can even help alleviate common mental and emotional conditions, such as depression, anxiety, and ADHD.

 Although acupuncture can be used as a complimentary healing tool in conjunction with other practices, including Western medicine and pharmacology, acupuncture is and can be a stand-along modality for many ailments.  Many westerners tend to dismiss the healing benefits of acupuncture, making the assumption that acupuncture is a type of energy healing, which works only with the energy systems and pathways of the body; however, what most contrarians don’t take into account is the vast difference between Western and Eastern philosophies and civilizations, including language.  After all, just comparing the Chinese written language to that of the languages of the western world, such as English, there is no doubt that there are considerable differences in style and understanding; however, these should not negate the efficacy of the healing properties of acupuncture or other Chinese Medicine tools, such as herbology, gua sha, cupping, and more. The Chinese Medical texts were written centuries ago, yet many concepts are just now being proven accurate by the western late comers. 

Chinese Medicine – and acupuncture, specifically – have much to offer the Western world in terms of treatment modalities.  Chinese Medicine, arguably the most ancient form of functional medicine, takes a truly holistic approach geared at treating the root cause of a condition versus Western Medicine, which tends to focus on one diseased organ at a time, often times ignoring the root cause to focus on symptoms with pharmacological band-aid approaches. 

 In a perfect world, medical leaders from the East and the West would come together to lend each other a hand, with their respective knowledge and understanding of the human body and physiology.  It is true that acupuncture is now being offered in Emergency room settings to help combat pain in lieu of potentially harmful prescription pills.  Acupuncture is now a common modality being used in the top cancer centers in the USA, including MD Anderson in Houston, in which cancer patients can opt in for regular acupuncture treatments to help combat the side effects of their cancer therapies, and more and more acupuncture clinics are popping up throughout the United States, not just in California and New York, but all along the southern states and the Midwest.  As more and more people choose acupuncture as a therapy for healing, the need for acupuncture in various settings will continue to rise, hopefully leading to a surge of more holistic, risk-free healing for various ailments and conditions. 

 Phoenix Rising Integrative Medicine is an acupuncture and functional medicine clinic in central Houston, offering modern acupuncture therapy for various conditions, including chronic pain, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, autoimmune, allergies and food sensitivities, depression, anxiety, migraines, headaches, hormonal imbalances, infertility and more. 

Dr. Lori Earley is a Licensed Acupuncturist, certified NAET practitioner, and herbalist who specializes in chronic health conditions, such as autoimmune and thyroid conditions.  Dr. Monica Dayanand is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist and herbalist who supports couples through their fertility journey and into pregnancy, postpartum and pediatrics.  

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