Chinese Medicine Can Help Where Other Treatments Fail
Many people seek acupuncture for conditions where going to the doctor hasn’t given them acceptable relief or answers to their concerns. This is particularly true when there isn't a known medical cause to a disease process or where there is no real disease process, but some level of chronic dysfunction. (These often get labeled with acronyms ending in "D" for disorder or "S" for syndrome. E.g., ADHD and chronic fatigue syndrome.)
The Western medical paradigm is limited to a view that ALL disorder is physiological in both origin and manifestation. This limitation of viewpoint drives treatment to physiologic answers - drugs and surgery primarily. Sometimes these are effective and appropriate, but fall short where the real root cause lies in deeper "energetic" (Qi) disturbances. That's why few, if any, drugs cure chronic health problems. Instead, drugs often simply suppress the symptoms. Side effects and drug resistance occur, in part, because of this suppressive aspect. It's sort of like putting tape over the warning light on your car's dashboard rather than fixing the engine. The failure to cure the root cause will only force the body to create new problems or possibly re-create the original problem with a vengeance.
What Does Acupuncture Treat?
Chinese medical treatment works on entirely different premises than Western conventional medicine. In Chinese medicine, we are correcting the root cause where possible. Because of this strategy and the nature of working at the level of Qi disturbances, the modalities of Chinese medicine are very effective for a large variety of health issues, especially:
Pain relief
Headaches (including migraines)
Injury repair
Colds, flu and other viral illness
Allergies
Depression and anxiety
Anger management
Fertility
Menstrual issues
PMS
Menopausal symptoms
Skin disorders
Sleep problems
Digestive and bowel dysfunction
Fatigue
Autoimmune disorders
Peripheral neuropathy
Addictions
Headaches (including migraines)
Injury repair
Colds, flu and other viral illness
Allergies
Depression and anxiety
Anger management
Fertility
Menstrual issues
PMS
Menopausal symptoms
Skin disorders
Sleep problems
Digestive and bowel dysfunction
Fatigue
Autoimmune disorders
Peripheral neuropathy
Addictions
With regular treatment, patients typically report that, not only do their conditions improve, but they just feel better overall. In particular, in addition to symptomatic relief, improvements can be expected in energy level, sleep patterns, body temperature regulation, mental attitude, and the ability to handle stress.
For an interesting and informative discussion of the benefits of acupuncture, watch the TOP Doctors interview with Kay.