Acupuncture involves the insertion of very thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body. A key component of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture is most commonly used to treat pain. Increasingly, it is being used for overall wellness, including stress management.

Traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force — known as chi or qi — believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance.

In contrast, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body's natural painkillers.

Acupuncture is used mainly to relieve discomfort associated with a variety of diseases and conditions, including:

Stress and illness caused by stress
Insomnia, anxiety, depression, or other mental/emotional illness
Chemotherapy-induced and postoperative nausea and vomiting
Dental pain
Headaches, including tension headaches and migraines
Labor pain, breech baby, infertility, pregnancy related nausea, labor induction(when appropriate)
Low back pain
Neck pain
Osteoarthritis
Menstrual cramps or irregular menstrual cycles, menopause and other hormone related conditions
Respiratory disorders, such as allergic rhinitis, colds, or are prone to getting frequent colds.
Digestive disorders, including but not limited to IBS

The risks of acupuncture are very low if you have a competent, certified acupuncture practitioner using sterile needles. Common side effects include soreness and minor bleeding or bruising where the needles were inserted. Single-use, disposable needles are now the practice standard, so the risk of infection is minimal. Not everyone is a good candidate for acupuncture. You may be at risk of complications if you:

*Have a bleeding disorder. Your chances of bleeding or bruising from the needles increase if you have a bleeding disorder or if you're taking blood thinners.
*Have a pacemaker. Acupuncture that involves applying mild electrical pulses to the needles can interfere with a pacemaker's operation.

How you prepare:
No special preparation is required before acupuncture treatment. Just make sure to have eaten so as not to have low blood sugar, have not had excessive caffeine intake and are hydrated. Try to wear comfortable clothing if possible, but a gown can be provided if necessary.

What you can expect:
Each person who performs acupuncture has a unique style, often blending aspects of Eastern and Western approaches to medicine. To determine the type of acupuncture treatment that will help you the most, your practitioner may ask you about your symptoms, behaviors and lifestyle. He or she may also closely examine:
The parts of your body that are painful
The shape, coating and color of your tongue
The color of your face
The strength, rhythm and quality of the pulse in your wrist
This initial evaluation and treatment may take up to 75 minutes. Subsequent appointments usually take about 45 minutes. A common treatment plan for a single complaint would typically involve one or two treatments a week. The number of treatments will depend on the condition being treated and its severity. In general, it's common to receive six to eight treatments. Chronic illnesses may require ongoing maintenance care after an initial treatment regimen.

During the procedure:
Acupuncture points are situated in all areas of the body. Sometimes the appropriate points are far removed from the area of your pain. Your acupuncture practitioner will tell you the general site of the planned treatment and whether you need to remove any clothing. A gown, towel or sheet will be provided. You lie on a padded table for the treatment, which involves:
Needle insertion. Acupuncture needles are inserted to various depths at strategic points on your body. The needles are very thin, so insertion usually causes little discomfort. People often don't feel them inserted at all. Between five and 20 needles are used in a typical treatment. You may feel a mild aching sensation when a needle reaches the correct depth.
Needle manipulation. Your practitioner may gently move or twirl the needles after placement or apply heat or mild electrical pulses to the needles.
Needle removal. In most cases, the needles remain in place for 20 to 30 minutes while you lie still and relax. There is usually no discomfort when the needles are removed.

After the procedure:
Some people feel relaxed and others feel energized after an acupuncture treatment. But not everyone responds to acupuncture. If your symptoms don't begin to improve within a few weeks, acupuncture may not be right for you.

Results:
The benefits of acupuncture are sometimes difficult to measure, but many people find it helpful as a means to control a variety of painful or troubling conditions.
Acupuncture has few side effects and is becoming increasingly more mainstream especially as Doctors are becoming more wary of the risk of addiction with pharmaceuticals.