ACUPUNCTURE

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), one of the oldest forms of healing known, is a great treasure house of techniques accumulated over the millennia.  Today, more Western doctors and scientists agree that these kinds of treatments do work.  The World Health Organization (WHO) has formally proclaimed that acupuncture is an effective medical treatment based upon “the sheer weight of evidence demands that acupuncture must be taken seriously as a clinical procedure of considerable value.”  Acupuncture is the insertion of fine needles into the body at specific points known to be effective in the treatment of specific health problems.  These points have been mapped by the Chinese over a period of two thousand years.  Recently, electromagnetic research has confirmed their locations.  This office is proud to use one of these advanced electromagnetic techniques to locate and test the electrical conductivity of these points, which aids in diagnosis as well as treatment.  Acupuncture is considered painless.  In most cases you do not feel the needle enter the skin. The needles are the diameter of a hair; several of them would fit into the head of a hypodermic needle.  Acupuncture needles neither inject or withdrawal anything from the body, unlike traditional needles.  Once the needle is in the skin, it is manipulated until you feel either a very mild electrical sensation radiating from the needle, a warm sensation, a muscle cramping sensation, or a feeling of heaviness.  These sensations are not painful.  Only disposable needles are used in this clinic, meaning that the needles are used once then thrown away.

Traditional acupuncture is based on ancient Chinese theories of the flow of Qi (energy) and Xue (blood) through distinct pathways or channels (meridians) that cover the body, similar to how nerves and blood vessels do.  Acupuncture allows Qi to flow to areas where it is deficient, and away from areas where it is in excess; thus establishing a harmonious energetic balance of the body.  One can draw a simple analogy of how acupuncture works by comparing it to the electrical system of a house.  There are wires running through all the walls of your house, just as the meridians run all through your body.  The wires are connected to circuit breakers, switches, appliances, and outlets.  The meridians are connected to other meridians, organs, tissues, and the main circuit breaker, known as the brain.  Electricity runs through the wires at all times, allowing everything electrical in the house to function properly.  Qi and Xue run through the meridians at all times, allowing the body to function in a healthy manner.  If you have a short, loose wire, or bad connection somewhere along the wiring line, problems begin to appear in the house, such as lights flicker or do not work.  You may even lose power or an electrical fire may break out.  If the Qi and Xue stop flowing through the meridians in a harmonious, balanced manner, then problems begin to appear, such as pain, loss of bodily function, fatigue, and possibly death.  If you flick the circuit breaker in the house, or repair the damage along the path of the wire, normal electrical function in the house will be restored.  If you needle the correct acupuncture point on the meridians, which function as circuit breakers, normal body function will be restored, the pain will disappear, and health will return.  At Shields Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center we tailor our Acupuncture treatments to the needs of the individual.  Some people are treated for complete body energy balancing and others are treated on a case-by-case symptomatic approach for a particular complaint.

The following are some of the conditions that may benefit from acupuncture:

Musculo-Skeletal:

  Rheumatic Arthritis
  Osteo-Arthritis
  Tendinitis
  Bursitis
  Neck Pain
  Whiplash Syndrome
  Backache
  Disc Problems
  Shoulder Pain
  Tennis Elbow
  Sprains or Strains

Gastro-Intestinal:

  Abdominal Pain
  Hyperacidity
  Chronic Diarrhea
  Constipation
  Hiccups

Neurological:

  Headache
  Migraine
  Trigeminal Neuralgia
  Multiple Sclerosis
  Post-Operation Pain
  Phantom Limb Pain
  Peripheral Neuropathy
  Bell Palsy
  Cerebral Palsy
  Stroke Residuals

Psychiatric & Emotional:

  Anxiety
  Depression
  Neuroses
  Neurasthenia
  Insomnia
  Hysteria

Gynecological:

  Menstrual Problems
  Infertility
  Menopausal Syndrome
  Obstetrics
  Hypolactation