04/05/2023
How does acupuncture work? This is the question that most often my client ask me when they come for acupuncture. It is hard to convince them with Chinese medicine theories, such as Qi-energy flow and blood circulation, Yin and Yang stuff, perhaps it will make it more complicated. So what I normally do is to clarify it as three key points for pain in common sense: the first, I name pain as a protecting signal, which tells the brain to work on it or to fix it, also it is a signal of something wrong there, in most of the time the pain will be eased by itself-means that brain has done something to the abnormality; however, if the pain can't be fixed by the above mechanism, then the body's protection mechanism will restrain it to limit the affection, then the pain remains; the second, acupuncture works as a reminding signal to the brain and tell the body that the problem is still there and call the body maintaining mechanism to stop the pain; the third, there is a theory in Chinese medicine that is saying: where there is a blockage there is a pain, so acupuncture is working for meridian blockage, meaning the Qi (energy flow) and blood are in congestion, that is why pain occurs, acupuncture works well for this condition. Studies have shown that acupuncture can make the body produce a chemical called endorphins, a morphine-like substance, that's how acupuncture works.
https://legendtcm.com.au/what-does-research-show-about-the-effectiveness-of-acupuncture-for-pain/
