The first recorded acupuncture treatments can be dated around 2700 B.C. Acupuncture Palm Harbor is part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and it uses very thin needles as treatment for many kinds of diseases. The needles act as stimulants to induce the body to heal itself. Even today, Western medical science is still bewildered on how acupuncture actually works. Nevertheless, acupuncture has been widely accepted by Western medical science because of its effectiveness in treating a host of health disorders. The foundation of TCM and acupuncture is in the belief of the existence of an energy flow in the body that is much like blood flow. The obstruction of this energy flow leads to an under nourishment of some organs and this in turn causes a disease. TCM practitioners have mapped out 20 energy flow channels called meridians 12 of which are main meridians and 8 are subsidiaries. There are thousands of points located all over the body in the skin called acupuncture points ones and these are connected to specific meridians which in turn connect to major organs in the body.
Diagnostic procedures of acupuncture consist in the visual appraisal of the patient, listening to the patient’s breath, querying the patient regarding his condition, evaluating the patient’s tongue and even smelling the breath and urine of the patient. These activities will lead the acupuncturist to formulate a diagnosis and which acupuncture points to be used to treat the organs affected by the disorder or treat the energy imbalance of the organs, which caused the disorder. Various acupuncture techniques such as acupressure-finger pressure, electro acupuncture, and moxibustion- acupuncture combined it with burning herbs in the acupuncture point can be utilized depending on the disease being treated. Numerous studies conducted over they years have concluded that acupuncture can be highly successful in treating hypertension.
Electro acupuncture has been shown to stimulate the release of beneficial chemicals such as acetylcholine. This chemical is responsible in starting a chain reaction in the brain, particularly at the hypothalamus, midbrain and medulla oblongata that somehow helps improve and normalize cardiac functions. Acupuncture also is observed to treated low blood supply in the myocardium. Low blood nourishment of the myocardium can lead to ischemic heart disease and cardiac arrhythmia. The release of opiods (endorphins and enkephalins), which acupuncture is known to do can normalize aberrant cardiac conditions. The enhancement of blood flow in the heart caused by acupuncture can stabilize and lower blood pressure as has been noted before. Acupuncture relaxes vascular tension (vasodilation) allowing blood flow to improve throughout the body. It is very beneficial in the treatment of Raynaud’s syndrome, which is brought about by the constriction of small blood arteries. Acupuncture also is useful in healing diabetic ulcers in the extremities caused by hypotension.