Acupuncture
By Dr. Liberty Santos
PUBLISHED: JANUARY 2009

Acupuncture is an ancient system of healing wherein which a skilled practitioner inserts very fine sterilized needles into specific points on the body to prevent or treat illness. Practiced for over 4000 years in China, acupuncture is part of the bigger and holistic system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which views health as a constant ebb and flow of energy, or qi (pronounced "chee").

The channels of energy or meridians consist of numerous acupuncture points that are stimulated through the fine needles.  Imbalances or blockages in this natural flow of energy, whether from a deficiency or excess, are thought to result in disease.
Acupuncture, therefore, aims to restore health by improving the flow of qi and thus stimulates the body's internal regulatory system and promote a natural healing response.

At present a large body of evidence is accumulating indicating that acupuncture leads to real physiologic changes in the body. Numerous studies have shown, for example, that inserting needles into the skin stimulates nerves in the underlying muscles.

This stimulation, researchers feel, sends impulses up the spinal cord to a relatively primitive part of the brain known as the limbic system, as well as to the midbrain and the pituitary gland. This leads to the release of endorphins and monoamines, chemicals that block pain signals in the spinal chord and brain.