ACUPUNCTURE AND HERBS


ACUPUNCTURE TREATMENT FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Acupuncture may help people recover from drugs, alcohol, smoking, and weight loss problems. It is used in clinics throughout the United States. Acupuncture can decrease cravings for drugs and alcohol, reduces withdrawal symptoms, relieves tension, and helps people relax. Acupuncture treatments, taken enough times, clear the mind, build energy, and give a sense of well being.

According to Chinese tradition, placing acupuncture needles in specific points along the Chinese meridian affect specific organs and their systemic functions. Western science has confirmed that acupuncture treatments change levels of chemicals in the body and act on the nervous system. Acupuncture itself is not a substitute for therapy, but is used in addition to seeking medical attention, counseling, and self-help programs.

Acupuncture involves stimulating specific anatomical points in the body for therapeutic purposes. It is believed that acupuncture works by correcting the balance of the qi in the body. Qi flows through 12 major energy pathways called meridians, each linked to specific internal organs or organ systems, and 365-2000 acupoints.

Acupuncture has been demonstrated to alleviate low back pain, headache, pain from osteoarthritis, neck pain, musculoskeletal pain and myofacial pain, organic pain, and pain before and after surgery. Acupuncture has also been used for postoperative and chemotherapy-induced nausea, neurologic dysfunction, gynecologic conditions, asthma, and substance abuse.

Once the needles have been inserted, you may feel a tingle or distending feeling, or you may comfortably feel warm. You may not notice anything at first. For some, the therapy is very subtle and gradual. These are normal responses. Some people say they feel very relaxed when they are having a treatment, others don't feel much at all. Even if you don't feel much, you are getting benefit from treatment. Acupuncture is most effective after a series of treatments over a period of time.

• Treatment time should be used to sit or lay quietly, relax, and reflect or meditate.
• Do not smoke, eat, or drink coffee in the half hour before or after treatment.
• Let the acupuncturist know if you are comfortable.

Although acupuncture is fairly new to this country, it has been practiced in China and other Asian countries for over 2000 years. The first documented practice of acupuncture in the United States as by Franklin Bache, the grandson of Benjamin Franklin. In 1826 he reported his own experiments with acupuncture for rheumatism and neuralgia. Widespread awareness came in 1971, when James Reston's postoperative pain was relieved by acupuncture.

The Consensus Statement of the National Institute of Health, a branch of the U.S. Health and Human Services, states that promising results have emerged in a post-operative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting. Acupuncture may also be useful for addictions, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful.