ACCUPUNCTURE AND MASSAGE THERAPY

Is it truly effective?

How   can this joint therapy help me?

Is it really appropriate and helpful?

Both massage and acupuncture come from ancient China. They have been part of Eastern medicine for thousands of years, Message involves rubbing and pressing against parts of the body. Acupuncture involves puncturing the skin with needles to realign body energies. These techniques have similar benefits and uses.

Immunity – Both acupuncture and massage impact the immune system. Massage reduces the level of the stress hormone cortisol that damages and kills immune system cells. Additionally, American Acupuncture claims the immune system and the nervous system are linked. When the body feels pain, or when pain is taken away, the nervous system responds either positively or negatively by stimulating the release of other chemicals. When a person relaxes or pain is diverted through massage or acupuncture, stress hormones decrease while pleasure hormones increase, giving the immune system a boost.

Pain Relief – Acupuncture and massage may be useful for relieving pain in a large number of conditions ranging anywhere from a sprained ankle to headaches or asthma. Since the immune system and the nervous system are intertwined, when the immune system attacks invaders, the result is inflammation and pain. By boosting the immune system, massage and acupuncture reduce this inflammation and discomfort. The Mayo Clinic reports that professionals already use massage to relieve pain and stiffness with good clinical results. For this reason, some insurance companies now cover alternative therapies like acupuncture and massage, and more Western doctors are accepting these Eastern methods as viable medical techniques.

Hormonal Conditions – Both acupuncture and massage impact hormone levels in the body by reducing stress. Since hormones in the body are very intricately tied together, people may use massage and acupuncture to manage conditions impacted by hormones such as menstrual cramps, blood pressure, insomnia, infertility and digestive problems. Since hormones also control mood and behavior to a large degree, the Mayo Clinic postulates that massage and acupuncture may be effective treatments for disorders such as depression or anxiety.

Acupuncture is a Chinese medical practice that is thousands of years old. With acupuncture, very fine, solid needles are inserted into the body. The needles are placed according to traditional locations on the body. This treatment is often confused with acupressure that stimulates the same meridians via gentle touch. According to Chinese spiritualism, acupuncture needles are tapping into energy meridians that exist throughout the body, and through which life force, called chi, flows.

So how does it really work? Well, acupuncture is a fairly recent import to the West, making its entrance to America less than four decades ago. Current thinking is that the insertion of needles into the body causes a chemical response, which may involve the release of endorphins or other substances that are produced in response to injury or invasion by a foreign body.

To determine acupuncture points, a pulse and tongue diagnosis is required, along with observation and questioning of the patient. Actual insertion of the acupuncture needles involves a tap at the end. The needles themselves are extremely thin, looking barely more substantial than a hair-like piece of wire. For hygienic reasons, it is very important that the needles being used are disposables, removed from their packaging specifically for your treatment.

Insertion of the acupuncture needles causes minimal discomfort, but, contrary to what you may hear, there can be mild discomfort during the actual treatment (the period of time after all of the needles have been inserted and you’re waiting, motionless, while the treatment takes effect).

Acupuncture is used to treat multiple physical and psychological symptoms. There are patients that believe that an acupuncture facelift can revitalize the facial muscles and increase blood flow to create a more youthful appearance without invasive surgery. Some patients swear by acupuncture for back pain treatment and even turn to acupuncture infertility treatments as an alternative to drug therapy for conception in other circles, a course of acupuncture treatments are used to curb habits, and acupuncture to stop smoking has grown in popularity over the last few years.

Before booking an appointment with an acupuncturist, it’s a good idea to do some online research. Find out the name of the governing body for the profession in your district and ensure that the massage therapist you’ve selected is certified. Also, be leery of an acupuncturist who oversteps his/her bounds. An acupuncturist is not a physician. It’s a good idea to consult your physician before embarking on a course of acupuncture.

Acupuncture’s efficacy is fairly well-established. The positive effects of acupuncture have been documented. Scientific investigations have found that acupuncture can help the body maintain homeostasis, moderate inflammation responses, relieve pain and promote general health and well-being. Many insurance providers will also recognize this and cover acupuncture treatments for policy holders.

Acupuncture Massage.   It is the combination of two words.

Acupuncture is an ancient study. It is a technique that has been done for thousands of years as part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Acupuncture uses a method of inserting needles into specific points (acupuncture points) in the body. Acupuncture points are located throughout the body.

There are yin and yang points throughout the body including the hands and the feet.

Massage is the practice of applying structured pressure, tension, motion or vibration — manually or with mechanical or electrical aids — to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints and lymphatic vessels, to achieve a beneficial response.

A form of therapy, massage can be applied to parts of the body or successively to the whole body, to heal injury, relieve psychological stress, manage pain, and improve blood circulation. Where massage is used for its physical and psychological benefits, it may be termed “therapeutic massage therapy” or manipulative therapy.

To summarize, Acupuncture Massage is the practice of applying structured pressure, tension, motion or vibration — manually or with mechanical or electrical aids to specific points on the body.

The Advantages of Acupuncture Massage in short are:  You are not using needles. You are applying massage to precise points to achieve the most benefits in the shortest period of time.

The balance of Chi or Qi in some books (is a term used to describe vital energy in the body) is the very foundation of being alive and functioning in Traditional Chinese Medicine technologies.
If there are deficiencies of Chi, there can be pain and illness.  Pain is supposed to mean that there is a blockage or a poor flow of Chi.

If there is a problem with the systems or a disease is present, acupuncture tries to address this by attempting to modify the activity of one or several of the systems of function.
Each acupuncture point, one way or another, are connected to each organ in the body.

Addressing massage to specific acupuncture points, releases blocked Chi and helps your body’s immune system to finish the job. Some acupuncture points are very easy to identify. They are points of pain (back pain, neck pain and so forth).

Even though there are more than 1000 acupuncture points on the body, you don’t need to know more than 10-20 acupuncture points to help you or members of your family with some “everyday” problems without a deep knowledge of acupuncture science.

Relaxation is necessary for maximum therapeutic benefits to be achieved.

The procedure treats the body as a whole. It works to improve the function of several systems that are associated with several physical organs in the body. This is why acupuncture massage is so good for you.

You are archiving relaxation by massage and unblocking Chi by massaging acupuncture points. They help to restore the body through a method of yin and yang.    It is like killing two birds with one shot, so to speak.

There are many ways in which acupuncture massage can provide excellent results and without the harmful side effects of medications. In fact, in many cases, it can be safer to treat conditions with acupuncture massage than with medications.

 Kathy Kiefer