Does Acupuncture work?!

Does Acupuncture work?

I have had on and off pain in the middle of my calf for about two years now and im desperate to get rid of the pain. I did physical theorpy a few times and it still hurts. I heard that acupuncture can heel pain permanently. Does acupuncture work???????????

Well, the truth of the truth is that acupuncture is deeply rooted in old chinese magic and mysticism. Moxibustion--a close cousin to acupuncture--is as old as acupuncture (almost 5,000 years) but employs heated herbs applied locally on the spots where the needles are inserted.

The general idea of acupuncture is to induce physiological changes in the body through needles that supposedly block or unblock--or re-direct--the energy flow consequently with the condition being treated. But, does it really work that way?

So far, the only two demonstrated benefits acupunture may offer any patient are: analgesic and anesthetic effects. Besides that, there is NO WAY acupunture might help you, let's say, with diabetes, or gastritis, or cancer, or any other organic and/or degenerative diseases. The biochemistry of these illnesses are so complex that the mere fact of contemplating acupuncture even as a complementary therapy for them would fall short of insulting well-educated people's intelligence.

Most of my patients that follow a acupuncture treatment for reasons other than the ones outlined at the begining of the previous paragraph, end up dissapointed and frustrated because they can only find kind of palliative support. Doesn't matter how romantic, or appealing, or magic, or overpowering to your senses acupuncture may be, the truth is that it would require far more than a dozen needles attached to the surface of your skin to halt, say, lupus, leukemia, rheumathoid arthritis, etc.

For those fascinated with chinese medicine, a word of caution: it will still need a couple of decades to go before it completes its transition to a more rationalized understanding on how it works and how it can be applied in the management of certain health conditions, and only after quantifying it from a cost/effectiveness approach.

And... it's always more attractive to people to have someone specialized in a quasi-professional health modality to insert needles on the sking, imagining his/her energy being empowered tot he point of reversing the very causal or underlying factors of disease, than making the appropriate lifestyle changes and modifications in order to bring the body under subjection to its harmonious and natural laws that govern it.

Good luck! :)