Acupuncture: 5 Reasons Why It’s Right for You

A dear friend of mine recently suffered through a bout of shingles, and for months afterward, she suffered from debilitating headaches and eye pain. Skeptical of alternative medicine, she first tried everything Western medicine had to offer. Soon all of those avenues were exhausted. Desperate and still in a great deal of pain, she finally agreed to try acupuncture.

She walked into her first session with the attitude that it likely wouldn’t do anything, but, other than a copy, what did she have to lose? She walked out painfree for the first time in months. She is no longer a skeptic, and she used acupuncture as a key part of her pain management until she was fully recovered.

My friend is not alone. Most patients only consider acupuncture once all other methods have failed. If you are one of those patients or if you are simply wondering what this type of therapy has to offer, here are some reasons why you should try acupuncture:

• Treatments are Tailored to Your Needs. Each acupuncture treatment is different depending on a patient’s symptoms and needs. A practitioner cares about you as a whole person. They see the body as interconnected systems and care about both mental and physical health. An examination will help them find what is missing or stuck and they will continually monitor and make adjustments to assist the body as it works to heal itself.
• It’s Not Scary. Some shy away from acupuncture simply because it involves needles. What they don’t realize is that these needles are super thin (think strand of hair) and completely sterile, and a mild pinch is more than a fair trade for chronic pain relief.
• You’ll Get More than You Bargained For. Acupuncture will help decrease your pain, but what you don’t realize is that it will also make you feel less stressed out, sleep better, and feel happier overall.
• It’s About More than Symptoms. Your acupuncturist will not only look to help to manage pain but will seek the underlying cause of your symptoms and use treatments to promote healing, not just to give temporary relief.
• A History of Success. Acupuncture has been used successfully since before recorded history and in a number of Eastern disciplines. One has to wonder, if it doesn’t work, then why has it been used so consistently for so long?

Attempts to understand its effectiveness point to the positive effect that acupuncture has on the connective tissue between muscles as well as the way it stimulates the limbic and nervous system.

There have been attempts to disprove the effectiveness of acupuncture, but time and time again practitioners and patients speak to their own successful experiences.

So if you have been hesitant to make that appointment or to seek out a community acupuncture, don’t wait another day. You too can feel the relief and the healing that this ancient practice has to offer.