Acupuncture is an ancient form of health care, beginning approximately 5,000 years ago. There are different styles of acupuncture such as Japanese, Korean, 5 Element, etc.

Here at Integrative Healing Arts, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) style acupuncture is the main focus.

There are two ways to look at how acupuncture actually works:

Western perspective:

The modern scientific explanation is that needling the acupuncture points stimulates the nervous system to release natural chemicals in the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These either change the experience of pain or they trigger the release of other chemicals and hormones, which influence the bodies own internal regulating system.

The improved energy and biochemical balance produced by acupuncture results in stimulating the body's natural healing abilities, and in promoting physical and emotional well-being.

Eastern perspective:

The practice of acupuncture is based on the belief that our energy, or "Qi", should flow smoothly throughout our body
which enables us to live a healthy and balanced life. Sometimes this Qi may become slowed, stagnant or blocked, which in turn manifests as an imbalance and possibly a "disease" if not treated.

When the proper diagnosis is made after a thorough patient intake, the acupuncturist then inserts very thin, hair-like needles into certain acupuncture points in the body. These points are carefully selected according to the patient's complaints and condition. The goal is to bring the body back into a state of balance, to enable the Qi to flow smoothly and return the patient back to health.

TCM differs from conventional or western medicine in many ways. Unlike western medicine, TCM treats the entire body, not just a set of symptoms. Symptoms are the body's way of telling us that something is wrong or out of balance. If we only treat these "signs", the root cause of the problem is being ignored and will only become a more serious problem later.

Look at it this way: You are driving down the road in your car and the oil light comes on. That's a sign that something is wrong with your car, right? Now, you can take a piece of black tape and cover up that bothersome red light or have your oil changed. Either way, the light will go away, but which choice will address the root cause? Cover the light with the black tape and ignoring your engine will cause very serious problems. Get the oil changed and you save yourself a lot of trouble and money.

The oil light is a symptom. The need for an oil change is the root cause. Which one you decide to "treat" will make all the difference! That is what TCM focuses on; The root cause of the problem.

In many cases, a patient may come in and be treated for low back pain and after a series of successful treatments, they will also happily report that their digestion and sleep have improved as well. This is because the body was out of balance and after treating the entire body, many lesser complaints also have improved.

TCM goes a step further back than conventional medicine. There is a major focus on prevention, which is lacking in western medicine. For centuries, acupuncture has been used to not get sick rather than cure a sickness. This is the cornerstone of a long, healthy life.