How Does Acupuncture Work? Part 1

We get this question all the time from our patients! We are proud to announce a multi-part answer to this question, released in sections over the coming weeks.

From a TCM perspective, acupuncture helps to open up blocked energy channels in the body to restore homeostasis and maintain healthy energy flow.  There is a saying in TCM which goes, “If there is blockage, pain will result.”  Pain and illness, therefore, result from blocked “Qi,” or energy flow, along specific channels – or meridians – in the body.  For many, however, this explanation does not clarify how acupuncture works from a physiological and biological perspective.  Since acupuncture’s inception in the West, the world’s largest health organizations have conducted clinical trials to discover the mechanisms behind this ancient medical practice. In fact, the World Health Organization has recognized acupuncture to be effective in treating over 100 conditions.