What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a healing technique used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Very thin needles are used to stimulate specific points on the body. These points remain in energy paths called “meridians.” Acupuncture treatments are designed to improve the flow and balance of energy along these meridians.
Traditional Chinese Medicine exists for thousands of years. It is a preventive medicine, which intrinsically carries the philosophy of leading an orderly life, good nutrition and exercise. Following a macroscopic view of health and disease, the diagnosis according to the MTC is based on observing the person globally, in all its context, since it is considered that no phenomenon can be analyzed in isolation. Thus, it is possible to treat the person, and not the disease.
The human body is considered as a system of energy flows. When these flows are balanced, the body is healthy. When energy is unbalanced, acupuncture is used as a manipulation technique to return that balance to our body.
The diagnosis is made through the different resources used by Traditional Chinese Medicine. The disease is not defined by symptoms or by the name of a disease such as “Hypertension” or “Migraine.” Instead, a Chinese medicine practitioner will talk about energy imbalances. The language may seem very strange as “the deficiency of yin” or “the rise of heat in the liver.” The Chinese words “yin” and “yang” refer to complementary energies that must be in equilibrium, and “Qi” (pronounced as “chi”) can be more or less translated as energy or life force.
What is the "Qi"?
In Eastern tradition, the world is described in terms of energy. The Qi flows throughout the body as a system of rivers and canals. Life habits or certain situations can alter the smooth flow of Qi, causing blockages in some areas, and weaknesses or stagnation in others. These blockages or weaknesses in turn can lead to physiological symptoms, psychological or emotional disorders, or simply to the feeling that our vital state is not at all as we would like.
What are meridians?
The Qi moves throughout the body along specific paths. These pathways are known as Meridians. The energy, or Qi, can be blocked at certain points along the meridians, manifested as tension or fullness. The meridians are named after the physical organs of the body. However, the meridian is not only related to the physical organ, but to a whole set of meanings based on a particular function.
What ailments does it cover?
Acupuncture encompasses ailments of all kinds, both physical and psychic; Traumatology, internal organs, digestive, headaches, infertility, menopause, psoriasis, hypothyroidism, smoking, insomnia…
How do the needles feel?
Most patients feel nothing when the needles are inserted, only a slight sensation of pressure can be felt.
Are there any side effects?
No, acupuncture treatment consists in the rebalancing of energy in the body and restoring harmony in a natural way, and does not derive any side effects for your body.
Is Acupuncture complementary or alternative?
Acupuncture is complementary to western medicine, not an alternative. The treatment will be administered according to the Eastern diagnosis, although it is always important that the Western medical diagnosis is confirmed and considered as well. Each of them, Eastern and Western medicine, has an important role to play.
After an Acupuncture Session...
Sometimes after a session, you may experience fatigue, but this feeling is temporary. Normally the session will bring us a pleasant relaxation and well-being, as well as the increase of vital energy.
It is advisable to avoid strenuous or stressful activities.
The treatment is complemented with exercise recommendations and healthy nutrition tips.
Electroacupuncture
Electroacupuncture, as the name implies, is nothing more than a form of acupuncture in which a small electrical current is passed between the needles.
It is based on the same principles as traditional acupuncture, and is a fundamental complementary technique in the treatment of pain, blockages or paralysis, although it has many more fields of application.
Unlike acupuncture, electroacupuncture instead of performing manual stimulation, uses an apparatus that applies electromagnetic impulses in the form of an electric current to pairs of needles located at acupuncture points, meridians or other areas of the body. Contrary to what one might think at first, electroacupuncture is not painful, but the perceived sensation is more like a tickle, since the intensity of the stimulus can be adjusted and adapted to the patient’s tolerance.
