Based on latest research dealing with Chinese medicine and acupuncture, a staggering 8.1 million Americans had tried acupuncture therapy at least once in their lives! Within the past year, more than two million of that humungous number had tried it. In 1971, a writer named James Reston published an article in the New York Times introducing the idea of utilizing needles to alleviate pain. Since then the media has been all over Oriental medicine. It goes without saying there’s a lot more to Chinese medicine than just consulting with an acupuncture practitioner in a clinic. There is a whole world of herbal remedies and herbal medicines out there to be considered.
How acupuncture actually works is still a mystery to a lot of Western medical practitioners which therefore causes them to question its validity. Actually, there are some theories that strive to explain the reason Jacksonville Chinese medicine’s and acupuncture’s success at resolving certain health problems. One such theory is called the “Gate Control” theory that says pain signals moving slowly follow the internal highways of the body.
According to this theory, endorphins are produced and released into the bloodstream when an acupuncture needle is stuck into a specific acupuncture point. The endorphins move a lot quicker and shove the pain signals out of the way. The pain sensation, therefore, never actually reaches the brain, because the slow moving pain is obstructed in the shoving and pushing of signals.
The “Electrical” theory is another Chinese medicine theory that states that the body is constantly emitting weak magnetic waves and what Chinese acupuncture does is manipulate the electromagnetic fields of the body, in the process changing its chemical neurotransmitters. British physicians in 1999 discovered that collagen was actually a good electricity conductor. Researchers explain that collagen fibers have more or less the same electrical conductivity as water. These fibers match the so-called energy channels or meridians of acupuncture. So when one sticks a needle in your skin, you are given a local stimulation or electricity that then allows this positive electrical current to be conducted to certain distant areas of the body.
Each individual’s response to Chinese medicine and acupuncture is unique. There are people who experience no pain or minimal pain as the needles are inserted, some people may feel soreness. Some are calmed with Chinese acupuncture while others are invigorated. Over time, lots of patients come back for more than one treatment and discover that the treatment experience gets easier and easier.
If during a certain session, a patient starts to feel a little discomfort, then he knows that he pushed himself too hard during the past few days. If this occurs he just needs to slow down and take a moment to rest. This will help him be in much better shape – both physically and mentally.