We also provide information to help you select an appropriate practitioner. Acupuncture is a medical treatment which can relieve symptoms of some physical and psychological conditions and may encourage the patient's body to heal and repair itself, if it is able to do so. Acupuncture stimulates the nerves in skin and muscle, and can produce a variety of effects. This modifies the way pain signals are received. But acupuncture does much more than reduce pain, and has a beneficial effect on health.
Patients often notice an improved sense of well-being after treatment.
Modern research shows that acupuncture can affect most of the body's systems - the nervous system, muscle tone, hormone outputs, circulation, antibody production and allergic responses, as well as the respiratory, digestive, urinary, and reproductive systems. Typically, fine needles are inserted through the skin and left in position briefly, sometimes with manual or electrical stimulation. The number of needles varies but may be only two or three. Treatment might be once a week to begin with, then at longer intervals as the condition responds. The average number of treatments is about five.