Do you suffer from pain and are looking for relief? See how acupuncture in Bremerton can help you!

How acupuncture works in Bremerton

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese practice of medicine that has gained popularity in Western culture and around the world. It involves the insertion of thin needles into the skin to stimulate nerves, muscles, and connective tissues throughout the body with the goal of alleviating pain, tension, and stress. More broadly, acupuncture is actually a family of different procedures. Conceptually, it is believed to stimulate the body's meridians, or energy-carrying channels, in an attempt to correct imbalances and to restore health. These benefits are thought to be derived from the proximity of acupoints with nerves through intracellular calcium ions. This lesson outlines a brief history of acupuncture and how it may be used to treat various types of physical and emotional pain and specific conditions, including overactive bladder and psoriasis. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to enhance endogenous opiates, such as dynorphin, endorphin, encephalin, and release corticosteroids, relieving pain, and enhancing the healing process.

Differentiation from western medicine

The philosophies and concepts of healing in traditional Chinese medicine are entirely different from conventional or Western medicine. Whereas Western medicine deals with causative agents of disease entities and specific treatments, Chinese medicine adopts a holistic approach, with the aim of maintaining health by restoring the balance of body functions. In Chinese medicine, human beings are viewed as part of the universe. The human body, being a small universe, interacts with the environment, the big universe. All that our body takes in (food, air, medication, or stimuli arousing the five senses) are inputs of the outer universe into the inner universe, the human body. According to classical medical texts from China, there are 12 meridians (or primary energy channels) in our body: six yang meridians on the back and six yin meridians on the front. In addition, we have eight extraordinary meridians. It is through these channels that the energy (qi) circulates to every part of the body. Distributed along these meridians are some 360 acupuncture points on the body, all located on the skin, in areas of low electrical resistance and in close proximity to nerve bundles. The principle of acupuncture is to use a needle to stimulate the acupoints in the body to promote the circulation of qi and restore the balance of yin and yang. The therapeutic effect of acupuncture appears at its best when patients have a feeling of special needle sensation (de qi). During “de qi” the underlying muscle appears to grab the needle and hold it firmly, and sometimes the muscle will jump up. There is the propagation of these sensations felt along one or more of the meridians. This theory of acupuncture is unique in Chinese medicine and, to date, there is no logical way to draw parallels with Western medicine.

For pain management, acupuncture aims to treat the pain from the root cause by balancing the whole body, rather than how western medicine approach.

Chinese herbal formula

In the U.S., Chinese herbal formulas are being listed as supplements, in China, it has involved into medical treatment for all kinds of disease, even during the treatment for Covid-19, doctors use Chinese herbal formulas to control and treat symptoms. It focuses more on treating internal and long-term systemic issues, for instance, digestive issues like IBS, constipation or diarrhea, insomnia due to emotional and hormone level changes. Fertility issues caused by structural problems underneath, like endometriosis, PCOS, etc.