ACUPUNCTURE...how does this mysterious treatment work so well?

I started having weekly acupuncture sessions 3 years ago for insomnia. It began to work very slowly, but now, after all this time, it is very easy to sleep 15 straight hours - with no sleeping medication. She uses needles not only for that, but for keeping my skin in good condition, weight maintenance, sprained ankles, sore muscles, even feeling "blue" at times...you name it - it works. I'm not complaining, but WHY does it work? No one has been able to really explain it to me.

To dismiss professional acupuncture as a placebo serves no other purpose than to show ones ignorance of the subject. Many professional medical studies have proven beyond doubt it's effectiveness in the relief of pain and stress. The only reason public doubts have arisen is due to what is termed as 'sham acupunctute', which have very little connection to the original practice developed in China.

Acupuncture is one of the oldest, most commonly used medical procedures in the world. Originating in China more than 2,000 years ago, acupuncture began to become better known in the United States in 1971, when New York Times reporter James Reston wrote about how doctors in China used needles to ease his pain after surgery.

The term acupuncture describes a family of procedures involving stimulation of anatomical points on the body by a variety of techniques. American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea, and other countries. The acupuncture technique that has been most studied scientifically involves penetrating the skin with thin, solid, metallic needles that are manipulated by the hands or by electrical stimulation.

The following is an excerpt from the NCCAM health website...

Acupuncture is one of the key components of the system of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). In the TCM system of medicine, the body is seen as a delicate balance of two opposing and inseparable forces: yin and yang. Yin represents the cold, slow, or passive principle, while yang represents the hot, excited, or active principle. Among the major assumptions in TCM are that health is achieved by maintaining the body in a "balanced state" and that disease is due to an internal imbalance of yin and yang. This imbalance leads to blockage in the flow of qi (vital energy) along pathways known as meridians. It is believed that there are 12 main meridians and 8 secondary meridians and that there are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that connect with them.

Preclinical studies have documented acupuncture's effects, but they have not been able to fully explain how acupuncture works within the framework of the Western system of medicine that is commonly practiced in the United States.9-14 It is proposed that acupuncture produces its effects through regulating the nervous system, thus aiding the activity of pain-killing biochemicals such as endorphins and immune system cells at specific sites in the body. In addition, studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones and, thus, affecting the parts of the central nervous system related to sensation and involuntary body functions, such as immune reactions and processes that regulate a person's blood pressure, blood flow, and body temperature.15,16

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/...

Research carried out in the field of acupuncture has proven that if the practice is carried out by a professional in the field of the original Chinese art of acupuncture then it's effectiveness is undeniable. Clearly your practitioner is well versed in this art as it's effects clearly show, and she should be commended for her professionalism.

More information can be found at these websites...
http://members.rediff.com/therapies/acpw...
http://www.lhj.com/lhj/story.jhtml?story...
http://www.rzuser.uni-heidelberg.de/~yzh...
http://www.biancastroll.com/faq.html

I'm glad to hear that acupuncture is working for you Libby, and I hope you continue with the treatment. In days where medication and quick-fixes are too often resorted to, it is refreshing to see that traditional art-forms such as acupuncture are still the best remedy available.

It works because you believe it works. Look up the word 'placebo'.