Acupuncture has been practiced in China for more than 3000 years, where its use of natural healing therapy has gained traction around the world. If you have heard of acupuncture before, you have likely been told or read something regarding the yin and yang, so what exactly is this? 

Essentially, yin-yang can be thought of as representing a person’s state of being or behaviour and is necessary to be in balance for health. Therefore, when it is not balanced, an individual may feel pain or other symptoms. To restore this balance, acupuncture is used, where traditional acupuncturists are stimulating Qi (pronounced “chee”) to affect change. Let’s try an example to explain this phenomenon. An individual has been suffering from chronic low back pain for multiple years. 

Their yin and yang can be considered to be off balance or in disharmony, contributing to this reoccurring back pain. A health practitioner trained in acupuncture can use acupuncture needles in various locations to stimulate Qi to help restore the balance of yin and yang.

It has been reported that in the early 1970’s, an American experienced the benefits of acupuncture and described this experience in an article in the New York Times. Since then, acupuncture has been a part of North American treatment for various injuries and pathologies. In Western medicine, acupuncture is thought to have many different effects on the body. It is thought to restore blood flow to a specific location, which can help to simulate healing. It also can help to reduce inflammation in an area, which can in turn help to reduce pain. Similarly, acupuncture has been seen to have a neuromodulator effect, where multiple pain-relieving systems are activated to release neurotransmitters and ultimately reduce pain.

This is because many studies suggest acupuncture effectively treatment multiple types of injuries and impairments such as:

• headaches
• migraines
• smoking addiction
• stress
• depression
• insomnia,
• low back pain, neck pain,
• osteoarthritis
• tennis elbow

A study by Ezzo et al., 2001 studied the effectiveness of acupuncture on knee osteoarthritis. Many of us either suffer or know someone who has suffered from osteoarthritis. There is currently no cure, so therefore treatment is to manage the condition, whether it is pain or functional impairments. In the study, they looked at comparing the use of acupuncture versus sham acupuncture to reduce knee pain in those suffering from osteoarthritis. It was found that acupuncture was in fact beneficial in reducing pain in those with knee osteoarthritis. There was also some evidence of the improvement of function (i.e. going up and down stairs).