What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a Chinese therapy that has been used for centuries. It is based on the theory that there is energy, called chi or qi, flowing through your body. Chi is thought to flow along "energy pathways" called meridians. Acupuncturists believe a blocking or imbalance of the flow of chi at any point on a pathway may result in illness. Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners believe acupuncture unblocks and balances the flow of chi to restore health.

Acupuncture is often used to relieve pain. Western medicine practitioners who have studied acupuncture believe that it reduces pain through body chemicals that have calming effects (opioid peptides), or by affecting glands (such as the hypothalamus) that produce substances the body uses.

Traditional Chinese acupuncture usually is done by putting very thin needles into the skin at certain points on the body to produce energy flow along the body's meridians. In the United States, acupuncture needles are regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as therapeutic devices. Other types of acupuncture may use heat, pressure, or mild electrical current to stimulate energy flow along these meridians. 

What is acupuncture used for?

Acupuncture is used to relieve pain and treat certain health conditions. It may be used alone or as part of a treatment program. Promising results have been found for the use of acupuncture in treating nausea and vomiting related to chemotherapy and post surgery pain.1 Acupuncture also may be useful for:1 

• Stroke rehabilitation (relearning skills that were lost because of brain damage from a stroke).
• Headache.
• Menstrual cramps.
• Tennis elbow.
• Fibromyalgia (widespread muscle and soft tissue pain and tenderness).
• Myofascial pain (pain caused by spasm in the muscles).
• Osteoarthritis (breakdown of the tissue [cartilage] that protects and cushions joints).
• Low back pain.
• Carpal tunnel syndrome (pressure on a nerve in the wrist that results in tingling, numbness, weakness, or pain of the fingers and hand).
• Asthma (inflammation in the tubes that carry air to the lungs, resulting in periodic episodes of difficulty breathing, wheezing, chest tightness, and coughing).

A study on the treatment of cocaine addiction with acupuncture suggests that acupuncture, though beneficial as part of a larger treatment plan, is no more effective than other common treatment methods that include needle insertion, relaxation control, and counseling.2 

World Health Organization: Viewpoint on Acupuncture

Acupuncture therapy is appropriate for the conditions listed here.