Introduction:
Acupuncture is a very famous Chinese method of healing by the help of needles that are inserted in the patient’s body. Traditionally it is a Chinese medical treatment involving the insertion of very fine sterile needles into the body at specific points according to a mapping of "energy pathways." Historically, acupuncture is one component of an overall program of Chinese medicine that includes theory, practice, diagnosis, physiology, and the use of herbal preparations. Acupuncture is used to control pain and to treat other conditions such as allergies or addiction withdrawal.
Background and History:
According to sources, the roots of acupuncture originated in China some 3,500 years ago with recorded instances dating back before the birth of Christ. Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used systems of healing in the world. Only in the last three decades has acupuncture become popular in the United States. Today, is believed that acupuncture really is able to help patients fight their problems and diseases.
Does it really help?
Within the context of Western medicine, the development of acupuncture points on the body demonstrates an interesting story of re-discovery. Over the last fifty years many Western physicians have discovered independently that pressing, stimulating or injecting various superficial body points can help to relieve pain. For instance, neck pain is frequently referred to the shoulder or arm and can present to the doctor as shoulder or arm pain. Injection, or stimulation of the painful points around the shoulder or arm, will often relieve the pain and free the movement of the neck.
These points have a variety of names, such as trigger points (for pain), or motor points. In 1977 Dr. Melzack, who has been awarded the Nobel prize for his work in the field of pain, correlated these trigger points with acupuncture points, and found that most of the trigger points were already well known as acupuncture points.
