Well there is no medicine, or even herbs in, or on an acupuncture needle.  In fact, the needles we use are so skinny it would be impossible to give an injection with them.  Modern acupuncture needles are super thin flexible, solid pieces of stainless steel with a small metal, or plastic handle that allows manipulation.  They bear no resemblance to a sewing needle and are a great deal thinner.

The medicine really come from within the patient.  Studies have shown that needling certain points cause the release of the bodies natural opiates.  Some within the field of Chinese Medicine feel that the energy referred to as “qi,” is electrical in nature, and that the highly conductive metal of the acupuncture needle helps this qi to circulate.

So what role does the doctor play in all this?  I like to think that the acupuncture needle serves as the meeting point between the energy of the healer, and that of the patient.  When this is in balance, who needs a drug substance?

If you have more questions on acupuncture, perhaps they can be answered here.

It is an amazing story.  I think many people, eager to quickly get out of pain, will decide to look up an acupuncturist after hearing one of these single-treatment miracle stories from a friend, or reading a testimonial.  But I want to prepare you for a possible let down.

Yes, these one treatment miracles do occur, but they are the exception rather then the rule.  Acupuncture can get extremely good results with many types of pain, but  major results usually come after a set or grouping of treatments, not a single stand-alone treatment.  In China a course of treatments is 10 fairly closely together spaced treatments.

Yet when many people say they “tried” acupuncture, they may mean they went in and tried it once.   Being a nation of instant gratification, many of people think that if they don’t feel any different after one visit then there is no point in continuing.  In many cases of chronic lower back pain,  I usually start seeing hearing patients report notable improvement after treatment five or six.

Now, if your spacing those treatments close together such as 2-3 times per-week, you can get this improvement in 2-3 weeks.  However if your coming in at a leisurely rate of once per week, your looking at well over a month!

If you’ve tried an acupuncture treatment on a cruise or in a spa setting, you’ve probably received a general introduction to acupuncture, and experienced the relaxation that accompanies a good session.  But, if you want to make some real progress on your health, you need to establish a relationship with an acupuncturist in your area, and invest the time to get the lasting results you are looking for.