Acupuncture Needles

How does acupuncture treat people?

The ancient Chinese medical practice of acupuncture treats people by sticking needles into them. This is not done to give injections. The needles are lightly inserted into the skin at selected places on the body, and twirled or vibrated for a certain period of time. While it may not always effect a cure, it appears that acupuncture does relieve pain.

The reason that acupuncture works seems to be that the insertion and movement of the needles affect the nervous system and brain, stimulating the release of natural pain- killing substances and so preventing pain. The needles must be placed at the right points ( which may be anywhere on the body ) to treat a particular condition.

Two developments of traditional acupuncture employ modern technology - electro - acupuncture and laser therapy. In electro-acupuncture, electric currents are fed to the needles to stimulates them. Laser therapy uses low-power laser beams instead of needles at the acupuncture points.