Acupuncture
Contact Alexis with any questions
or call: 503.520.8743
Acupuncture is the practice of inserting fine filiform needles into the body. While relatively new to the US (acupuncture became available in this country only as recently as 1972), acupuncture is the oldest continuously practiced medical system in the world. Acupuncture is part of a complete system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that originated in China between 2,000 and 5,000 years ago. Acupuncture has a long recorded history of efficiency and is used by nearly one third of the world’s population as a primary health care system and by countless others as an adjunctive treatment.
According to the World Health Organization, acupuncture is considered an effective treatment for headaches, musculoskeletal pain, digestive disorders and numerous other conditions.
The fundamental principles of acupuncture are to treat the person as an integrated whole in body, mind, and spirit – everything is connected! One of the strengths of TCM is its focus on pattern based medicine that treats the root cause of illness and disease, not just the symptoms.
From a biomedical perspective acupuncture works by using a simple sensory stimulus (the needle entering the skin) to effect a complicated and widespread physiological reaction. While not completely understood, it is proposed that acupuncture ultimately leads to the release of beta-endorphins (which decrease pain, increase relaxation and promote a feeling of well-being). Acupuncture also helps regulate the endocrine and autonomic nervous systems and thereby affects such things as circadian rhythm, body temperature, hormone release and organ function.
In either paradigm acupuncture has the ability to relieve pain and balance the physiological processes of the body, resulting in general well-being.