You Might Just Feel A Bit of a Prick...
...but that sensation won't last too long!
People are surprised to find that acupuncture is relatively
painless. Whilst the needle is penetrating the skin, there could
be in a slight sensation of pain, but this is not usual.
Sometimes, but not often, there could be an electric, "shooting"
sensation if a nerve is hit. Sometimes, a sharp sensation if the
needle is in the vicinity of a vein, or artery. If this happens
there is the possibility of a small bruise in the adjacent area,
but this is really of little consequence, compared with the many
attributes and advantages of acupuncture.
One of the reasons for lack of pain, is because our needles are
very fine, only about twice the thickness of a human hair.
Totally unlike the hypodermic needles used in conventional
medicine to inject liquids or take samples of blood. These are
hollow and of course have a wider bore than acupuncture needles.
Ours are solid, flexible and much, much thinner. Patients are
often very surprised at how flexible the acupuncture needle is
and wonder that it can penetrate the skin and underlying flesh
in a straight line. Because of the tiny diameter of the needles
and the skill of the acupuncturist, this is not difficult. It is
possible to penetrate much harder material, than the human skin,
with one of these needles, without bending it.
Acupuncture is a very safe and mostly comfortable, form of
effective, alternative medicine. Any discomfort that may occur
on an occasional basis is more than made up for by its
therapeutic activity.
The word 'acupuncture' comes from two Latin words: 'acus',
meaning 'needle' and 'punctura', meaning 'to penetrate'. Thus,
the word 'acupuncture' means 'to penetrate with a needle'.
Acupuncture, is a potent and efficacious, alternative to many
of the treatments of western medicine, Acupuncture hails from
China. Its origin goes back several thousand years.It is based
on the premise, that there are energy patterns, or energy flows,
throughout the body and these are necessary to maintain health
and well-being of the organism. He is when these energy flows
are disturbed that people become sick. Acupuncture often
restores the body's balance of these meridians and corrects the
energy flow.
A treatment of acupuncture normally lasts from 30 to 40 minutes
and is very relaxing. A number of very fine needles, usually 1
to to 10, are inserted in specific spots on the skin. These are
called acupuncture points.
There are a often matched with organs of the body. Almost all
acupuncture points lie along acupuncture meridians although
there are several off meridian points which are utilised by the
experienced acupuncturist. And each acupuncture point can treat
many diseases, as it influences many organs of the body.
Acupuncture has also been used in animals to great effect. If
you own a beloved animal, try acupuncture. Seek out the
veterinarian who uses alternative medicine and who may also use
such other natural aids, as homeopathy, herbalism and
aromatherapy, etc, on animals. You might be surprised by the
beneficial results, on your precious four legged friends. Using
alternative medicine in animals is even more convincing, as
there cannot be any suspicion of the 'placebo' effect, which is
sometimes found in humans, who are taking medicaments.