Acupuncture is a non-invasive, drug-free medicinal treatment and is widely used for the treatment of back pain, headache, migraine, and sports injuries. However, acupuncture provides more than pain relief. It is helpful in treating digestive problems, menstrual problems, anxiety, insomnia, weight control, infertility and much more.
Acupuncture has been increasingly used in conjunction with modern medical treatments. For example, acupuncture has been widely used for patients who undergo in-vitro fertilization procedure (IVF). It has also been shown to be effective in controlling postoperative nausea and vomiting, and it has been used to decrease anxiety before surgery. In addition, the US Dept of Defense has been incorporating a specific acupuncture style, called Battlefield Acupuncture, to help reduce soldiers’ pain due to their injuries.
Acupuncture’s therapeutic effects can lead to relaxation, pain reduction, reduced recovery time, improved mood and concentration, restful sleep, decreased IBS related symptoms such as bloating and constipation, and shortened duration of cold or flu. Acupuncture has been shown to lighten depression and anxiety in those who suffer from premenstrual syndrome (PMS); it can also ease overactive bladder symptoms. Studies have also shown that acupuncture can be effective in correcting breech presentation and can help induce labor.
Although acupuncture has become widely accepted and available in North America in the last 40 years, it had already been endorsed a century earlier by the renowned Canadian physician, Sir William Osler , widely referred to as the “Father of Modern Medicine”:
“For lumbago [low back pain], acupuncture is the most efficient treatment”
—— Sir William Osler
