Acupuncture is an alternative medicine technique, originally from China, which consists of introducing and manipulating needles in the human body, which will act as a benefit for the health and well-being of the patient. The procedure and the technique used are related to the vital energy present in the human body, something that traditional Chinese medicine calls q (or ch ).
Now let's see in more detail what it is and how acupuncture works.
Eastern acupuncture
In China, acupuncture is a traditional medicine technique inherited from generation to generation over a long time, and its benefits have never been questioned, but when acupuncture was introduced in the West became part of that set of techniques that fall within the name of alternative medicine. They are techniques that are considered to be insufficient scientific evidence about their effectiveness or their true clinical effects.
Traditional Chinese medicine explains how acupuncture works based precisely on the concept of vital energy called q, given that vital energy flows through the body and can be influenced and balanced. stimulating certain specific points of the body. These specific points are located along energy channels. called meridians, which connect all the vital organs of the body.
According to these Chinese medical theories, diseases are caused because the cyclic flow of vital energy through the meridians is blocked or unbalanced, and the Needles are the instruments used to stimulate key points.
Acupuncture in the West
When being transferred to the West, acupuncture was endowed with some prestige as an alternative medicine and at the same time it was tried to give explanations more according to the classical medicine and the scientific, although many consider It works simply because of the placebo effect.
In this way, acupuncture was defined as the technique that allows to stimulate certain specific points located near the surface of the skin, so that said stimulation alters certain processes and certain biochemical conditions. Mico and physiological in order to achieve a certain healthy effect for the patient.
The explanation used in the West for the functioning of acupuncture indicates that the points to be stimulated are areas of the body with a specific electrical sensitivity. By introducing needles into these areas, several sensory receptors are stimulated which, in turn, produce nerve stimuli and transmit impulses to the hypothalamic-pituitary system at the base of the brain.
The effects of acupuncture
The pituitary gland and the hypothalamus are responsible for the release of endorphins and neurotransmitters, natural hormones of the human body that function as analgesics. Therefore, the process that begins with the stimulation of a specific area of the body, concludes with the release of hormones that relieve pain. It is estimated that endorphins are 200 times more potent than morphine in terms of analgesic effect, and also play an essential role in the functioning of the endocrine system.
For these reasons, acupuncture gives good results, for example, in the treatment of back pain, premenstrual syndrome and infertility.
Another effect usually attributed to acupuncture is the regulation of serotonin in the brain, a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in mood and mood, so many times acupuncture is also used to treat depression.
Some of the most common physiological effects observed after an acupuncture session are pain relief, improved circulation, reduced inflammation, decreased muscle spasms and increased lymphocytes, which stimulates the immune system .
Source: http: //ciudadesplanetarios.com/acupuntura-la-milenaria-tecnica-de-medicina-tradicional-china/
