What can acupuncture treat, really?
It’s a fair question. After all, though around for literally ages, acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine are still making strides where publicity is concerned.
You may have heard that both of the aforementioned practices are highly regarded for their healing properties, but do you know just how many ailments and health concerns are relieved every day using these methods?
From chronic health conditions like migraines and digestive upset to acne, allergies, and even infertility – there are almost no limits to what acupuncture can do for you.
Resilient Health can treat myriad health conditions for which research and evidence-based medicine uphold acupuncture to be effective. These include:
- Chronic and acute pain (osteoarthritis, sports injuries, etc.): Studies have shown acupuncture to be an effective pain treatment. It both reduces inflammation and promotes the release of the body’s natural painkillers, endorphins. It also stimulates the nervous system, which helps to block pain signals from reaching the brain while increasing blood flow and fostering healing.
- Migraines and chronic headaches: Just as acupuncture can help provide relief for chronic pain like osteoarthritis, recent research has shown that it can effectively reduce the frequency and severity of migraines and headaches, including tension headaches. Better yet, it does so without medication.
- Digestive issues: By activating the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, cupping therapy has been shown to assist digestive system functionality. This helps to move food through your stomach and fluid through your organs more efficiently, mitigating blockage, relieving indigestion, and much more.
- Depression and anxiety: In addition to releasing endorphins and increasing blood flow to the brain, acupuncture helps to boost the body’s levels of serotonin, a neurotransmitter also known as “the happy hormone”; reduce levels of cortisol, a hormone associated with stress; and regulate the autonomic nervous system, which fosters calm and relaxation.
- Allergies: By stimulating specific points on the body with needles, acupuncture helps to regulate the body’s immune system. This is ultimately a safe and effective way to treat allergies, which are an immune system’s overreaction to harmless substances – a la pollen or pet dander.
- Insomnia: By naturally boosting the body’s melatonin levels, acupuncture can be highly effective in improving sleep quality, reducing the time it takes to fall asleep, and increasing the amount of time spent in deep sleep. It has also been shown to be effective in treating the underlying causes of insomnia – depression and anxiety.
- Women’s health (fertility, PMS, etc.): For centuries, acupuncture has been used to treat hormonal imbalances, easing the symptoms of PMS and menopause, and even boosting fertility by balancing the endocrine system, increasing blood flow to reproductive organs, and reducing stress. Acupuncture is also a popular go-to treatment for women who want to facilitate labor. After the obstetrician has given the green light, distal acupuncture focused on the little toe has helped to channel energy and get the uterus – and the baby – moving along.
- Acne: Acupuncture reduces the inflammation and stress that contribute to acne while regulating hormones and reinforcing the immune system. Microneedling, too, can make scars caused by acne less obvious. By fostering a collagen-rich healing response, scar tissue is reduced, and damaged areas of the skin are smoothed.
- Weight Loss: We recently blogged about acupuncture’s effects on weight loss. [NO1] Resilient Health’s program, for instance, regularly helps individuals reduce cravings and digestive blockages that contribute to weight gain while complementing the efforts of the most popular weight loss programs.
So, what can acupuncture treat? What can’t it treat? At Resilient Health Acupuncture, our specialists can help you get relief from any number of ailments and chronic health concerns. Questions? Call us at 443-353-5990. Schedule your appointment and start healing today.