Acupuncture gains traction as an effective and safe alternative treatment for various health concerns such as stress, insomnia, menstrual discomfort and lower back pain.

According to the Mayo Clinic, acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment used to balance the body’s qi, or life force, which moves through a number of energetic channels called meridians.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the balance of qi promotes overall wholeness in TCM’s conceptualization of health and disease, and any disruption to it may result in health issues. In accordance with ancient Chinese medical practices, the insertion of small stainless steel needles into specific points along energy pathways, called acupoints, may assist in correcting the flow of qi, leading to improved overall health.

Benefits of Acupuncture Therapy for Health

Alleviate Prolonged Pain

Low back and knee discomfort brought on by osteoarthritis brought on by wear and tear may be lessened by acupuncture (OA).

Nearly 18,000 patients with chronic pain were investigated in a meta-analysis published in May 2017 in Pain (including low back, neck, and shoulder pain; knee OA; and headache or migraine). It showed that acupuncture therapy’s pain-killing benefits remained for a full year. But a more thorough evaluation is still needed to see whether individuals noticed improvement after a year without receiving more acupuncture treatments.

Control Allergy Asthma

In particular, allergic asthma, which the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology defines as a kind of asthma that is induced by inhaling allergens such as pollen, dust, food, and mold, may benefit from acupuncture as an adjuvant treatment.

In one study of allergic asthmatics, for instance, those who received up to 15 acupuncture treatments over the course of three months saw greater improvements in their disease-specific and general health-related quality of life than those who only received routine care, according to research published in April 2017 in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.

Manage Vomiting and Nausea

The usual adverse effects of chemotherapy include nausea and vomiting. According to a study published in January 2020 in Medicine, drugs used to treat nausea and vomiting are frequently ineffective, and raising the dosage to increase their effectiveness may have additional side effects such as headaches, dizziness, and constipation.

Consider acupuncture as an alternate treatment. Researchers found that acupuncture is a secure and helpful supplementary therapy for cancer patients who struggle with chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting after reviewing 41 randomized, controlled trials, but they added that further research is needed to support this.

Enhance Sleep

For those who struggle with insomnia and have trouble falling or staying asleep, acupuncture may be an effective treatment.

Sedatives are frequently used to alleviate insomnia. Although sedatives may be helpful in the short term, a study involving 72 individuals that was published in September 2017 in Sleep Medicine warned that prolonged use of the drugs may result in adverse side effects such excessive sleepiness and drug dependence. Compared to those who got sham acupuncture, those with insomnia who received acupuncture three times per week for four weeks experienced significant improvements in their sleep quality and levels of anxiety (the control group, for whom no needle penetrated the skin and only the plastic tubing touched the skin).

Assist in Preventing and Lowering Headache and Migraine Intensity

According to research, acupuncture may not only assist to reduce some types of chronic pain but also unpleasant headaches or migraines.

Those with a diagnosis of migraine without aura who received acupuncture five days a week for four weeks saw a greater reduction in migraines than those who received sham acupuncture 16 weeks after the study began, according to the results of a study that was published in April 2017 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Final Thought

Acupuncture works by realigning the flow of energy in the body, known as qi, and restoring the body’s natural balance. It is a holistic approach to health that can provide long-term benefits without the use of drugs or surgery. If you’re looking for a natural and effective way to alleviate pain, consider trying acupuncture. It may be the solution you’ve been looking for.