Acupuncture
Traditional Chinese Acupuncture is the process of inserting and manipulating needles of varying gauges and lengths into the skin and its use dates back to over 4000 years ago.
The goal of acupuncture is to balance the body’s vital force, or what is called “Qi” in Chinese Medicine and this is based on the paradigm that the body has an energetic body, comprised of energetic meridians or channels. In modern medicine, acupuncture has been studied extensively to understand how needles inserted into acupoints can have such a wide range of physiological and neurological effects, capable of altering the physical and emotional state of a person. These acupoints, which are small areas where the needles are inserted, are often a location which has blood, lymph vessels with nerves of varying types and a higher skin electrical conductivity than neighboring tissue.
Acupuncture can send stimuli to the central and peripheral nervous system, which explains why acupuncture can treat conditions such as pain, headaches, migraines, chronic back pain, osteoarthritic pain, neuropathic pain, and fibromyalgia. It has also been found to be effective in psychological conditions including depression and anxiety. Its effect includes improving the function of the autonomic nervous system which explains why it can help treat nausea, vomiting, digestive issues and various gynecological issues. NDs (Naturopathic Doctors) are amongst the most qualified health professionals in providing acupuncture alongside Traditional Chinese Acupuncturists and Practitioners. Acupuncture can be used for both preventive health care, as well as chronic and acute health conditions.