ACU

What is Acupuncture?

How it Works!

Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are based on a concept of vital energy, or Qi (pronounced "chee"). This Qi flows along channels or meridians throughout the body and links all of the body's parts and functions. Qi nurtures and maintains our physical body as well as our mind. It keeps the blood circulating, warms the body, and fights disease. When a person is healthy, Qi flows smoothly through the channels. If the flow of Qi is blocked, weak, or excessive, then symptoms and illness can occur. When this happens, the corresponding organs and muscles do not get their necessary flow of energy and nutrients (such as Blood), and therefore have trouble performing their physiological functions. External factors - such as trauma or exposure to a pathogen, as well as Internal factors - such as feelings of anxiety, stress, grief, anger, worry, depression, or sadness can all lead to a disharmony of Qi flow.  During an acupuncture treatment, the flow of Qi is corrected by inserting needles to specific points along the channels. where Qi communicates with the body. This redirects the Qi to flow correctly and restores balance to the entire system.  Acupuncture may also be used preventively by correcting energy flow even before symptoms or disease appears! 

Japanese Acupuncture techniques are gentler, subtler, and less painful than the techniques used in China. Japanese Acupuncturists are trained to find the exact active location of the acupuncture points in the individual patient, which allows the treatments to be extremely effective without using deep needle insertions or strong stimulation.

The needles used are extremely thin, solid stainless steel.  Being no larger than 0.20 millimeters in diameter, they are approximately the width of a human hair - much smaller than the hollow-pointed hypodermic needles used by western physicians when giving injections. They are individually packaged single-use disposable needles, and are carefully discarded after use.

Treatments may involve the use of additional techniques used in Oriental medicine that support the affects of acupuncture.  These techniques involve the use of moxabustion – a traditional Eastern medicine technique that involves the burning of the herb mugwort to facilitate healing, and Cupping – a technique used to release tension and “stagnation” in the body.  The use of magnets may also be incorporated into a treatment.