According to the World Health Organization's report on the effectiveness of acupuncture, studies have shown that acupuncture is effective in inducing analgesia, protecting the body against infection, and regulating various physiological functions.
The principles:
Acupuncture is a practice of therapeutic medicine that fits very well into integrative medicine, outside the field of allopathic medicine, which is better known as traditional medicine. It consists of introducing very fine needles into specific points of tissues or organs.
Traditional acupuncture is a therapeutic practice derived from Traditional Chinese Medicine, which consists of stimulating certain specific points of the body, called meridians. These are known as channels which carry vital energy, with the aim of relieving, preventing or treating a disease or disorder.
On the other hand, meridians are not only related to medicine. Also associated with other theories such as that of the five elements (fire, earth, metal, water, wood) and that of Yin and Yang. They are also notably heavily used in other Chinese practices such as martial arts, in particular, Qi-gong, Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan etc…
The theory:
Traditional Chinese medicine is based on the theory that to avoid illness, it is necessary to maintain one's vital energy, one's Qi. Acupuncture is therefore a branch of this practice which makes it possible to correct and improve this vital force. In this way, the disease does not settle in the body. Acupuncture cannot therefore be substituted for medical treatment.
Its field of intervention: global
It is part of a comprehensive approach of prevention, support and treatment. Acupuncture is a very beneficial treatment for health. It can be an analgesic, a relaxant, harmonizing, a modulator, and a repairer of the organism. It can help to cure or control several diseases of the body and mind from which we may be suffering.
Due to the side effects of long-term drug treatments for pain and the risk of addiction, acupuncture appears to be the analgesia of choice for long-lasting joint pain, or the pain of arthritis. This includes cervical spondylitis or neck pain, periarthritis of the shoulder, fibromyalgia, fasciitis, epicondylitis (tennis elbow), lower back pain, sciatica, osteoarthritis with knee pain, etc.
Vital energy?
Who says that vital energy also implies a good functioning of the immune system? Each individual can embark on a campaign for their personal health, in order to maintain and or strengthen it, especially after this period of the pandemic, which forces us to question our lifestyle, health and behavioral practices. It’s also a possible way to escape the negative effects of the winter blues or even depression, because the drop in light can cause some of us to have an accumulation of melatonin, which in turn leads to great fatigue.
A little clarification…
Fatigue, is possibly brought about by that old enemy that many of us have; stress. So, before getting carried away with symptoms of depression, let's stop for a moment to do a checklist. Doing this can help you to stay well in your mind and well in your body, even throughout all the seasons!
Balanced diet or not? A little need for food supplements and or vitamins to stimulate our body?
- Adapted physical activity?
- Assess the quality of our sleep.
- State of our social relationships
- My means of relaxation, is it sufficient or non-existent?
- …and so forth.
If you feel a need for realignment, maybe acupuncture will pique your curiosity and satisfy your body, if it is in need of readjustment...
