What is acupuncture anyway?

As soon as I tell people that I am an acupuncturist one of two things happens: either I hear all about their personal experience with acupuncture… (Which I love, so keep the stories coming!) …or I am immediately asked what acupuncture is and/or does it actually work? (To which I usually answer: “I hope it works, otherwise I picked the wrong career!”).  I find that, although there is a general curiosity about acupuncture, not many people know much about the medicine. But that’s ok, that’s what the River Points blog is all about!

Acupuncture is the act of inserting tiny sterile filiform (solid) needles into specific points around the body to promote healing.  The entire premise of acupuncture is based on the fact that everyone is equipped with the ability to heal themselves, acupuncture just nudges the body in the right direction.  When patients ask me how acupuncture works my favorite explanation is this: Your body is doing all of the work but by inserting the needles into specific points we can explain to the body what it needs to do to heal or where to place its healing emphasis.  We put our bodies under tremendous stress everyday between not eating the right foods and not getting enough rest to environmental changes and psychological stress.  This can throw our own delicate internal balance off making it harder for our bodies to fend for themselves.  If we lived in a perfectly balanced environment all of the time then we probably wouldn’t need to do much maintenance on our health besides eating right and maintaining an active lifestyle but unfortunately this isn’t the case.  Even weather changes can put stress on our inner ecosystem.  Acupuncture can help the body get back to, and maintain, the level of balance needed for you to stay healthy. Call today for your free assessment.