Acupuncture is a healing method that can help people suffering from different types of clinical and medical conditions including different kinds of chronic pain. The Western world commonly considers acupuncture a new, ‘alternative medicine’ even though it has been used for thousands of years in the East and is truly an ancient medical art. The World Health Organization (WHO) references acupuncture as being an effective treatment for the management of many types of pain, both acute and chronic.

Acupuncture works by placing needles on these blocked sites and stimulate the nervous system to release chemicals to the reproductive organs. Once inserted, the needle activates the myelinated nervous system fibers which ultimately stop the pain message from getting to the T-cells in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord.

At acupuncture schools, students learn about Eastern medicine’s conceptions (and misconceptions), historical roots, and theories focused in Acupuncture. However, students attending acupuncture schools can anticipate a diverse curriculum that successfully educates and trains them to become natural healers in the field of Oriental and herbal medicine. Opening the eyes of a new generation of hopeful natural healers, acupuncture schools not only offer superb training to prospective acupuncture doctors, but also to students who aspire to work in Oriental bodywork, herbology, and other natural therapies. Some acupuncture schools, teach future practitioners the five-element Oriental Medicine approach to acupuncture, which is often used in conjunction with traditional Western medical practices

The theories and language of traditional Chinese medicine may not always be accepted by Western doctors, but there is little doubt that acupuncture works and practitioners are relatively easy to find. TCM physicians claim that acupuncture can help you to lose body fat by making you feel full and so will eat less. An increase in obesity in China led to the practice of acupuncture for weight loss because Chinese medicinal theory says that overweight people have imbalanced digestive systems. Acupuncture has also proven to be an effective treatment for tension headache and also promises quick relief from chronic smoking habits.

An Australian study showed that women who received acupuncture treatments regularly before their 14th week of pregnancy had less nausea and shorter bouts of morning sickness than women who did not receive the treatment.

Whilst the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine continues to be debated, studies continue to find benefits in using acupuncture for treatments.