“What does acupuncture actually do for your body?”

Unfortunately, there is no quick answer to your question. I would recommend getting and reading the book, "The Web that has no Weaver" by Ted Kaptchuk. It gives a layman's explanation of what it took four years of eastern medical school for acupuncturists to learn.

Acupuncture stimulates and balances the different energies in your body. There is nothing comparable in western medicine, so it's difficult to explain in western terms.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Acupuncture allows for the reintroduction of blood to areas of the body where there is a lack of circulation and removes blockages that obstruct its flow. The body heals itself as life-giving nutrients are delivered to all areas of the body.

Acupuncture stimulates the brain which releases endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers which stimulates the spinal cord to help with a sympathetic neurons. It also stimulates blood circulation, nerve response, and the immune system to increase the white blood cell count. It can also decrease the inflammation of where the pain is occurring. It then regulates the body’s homeostasis.

Acupuncture stimulates the brain to regulate chemicals/functions of the body to heal any illness.

I'm happy to hear you want to learn more! To answer your first question, acupuncture is a complete form of medicine that is capable of treating any condition. The answer to your second question comes in two parts. In western medical terms, it stimulates the brain but no one is sure exactly how it does so. In Chinese medical terms, we stimulate the body's self healing ability. Long story short, the points we select and how we stimulate them will change how the body functions, move any blockages in the channels, and/or strengthen any weaknesses. With all the junk out of the way and the body functioning as it's intended to, patients can heal themselves.

If you would like more detailed information on theory, I recommend reading "The Web That Has No Weaver" by Ted Kaptchuk.

Increased immune system increases serotonin, energy, and metabolism.

There are a plethora of studies about this and a whole slew of responses from researchers. For western medical thinkers, acupuncture releases a variety of hormones, it relaxes blood vessels, it stimulates immune system, lymphatic system, etc. In fact, each time there is a study that "explains" acupuncture it has another aspect of what it does from a western point of view.

With that, I can tell you that is stimulates more in the body than we can actually currently explain in western terms. We can say easily that it helps the body promote it's own healing process.

Acupuncture doesn't follow western medical processes though, it has it's own language and it's own theoretical processes based on millennia of hands on experience, trial and error. It evolves with every culture that uses it and every generation there is a growth in it's use, practice and methods. It is rooted in observation of nature and treats according to natural laws of change. I'd explain more, but training is a 4-year medical degree and it's too much for this email.

What does it treat? There is a giant list there too. I can tell you that I have personally treated

Pain of all sorts on all body areas, including headaches, joint pains, arthritis, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, toothache, trigger finger, menstrual cramps, backache, migraine, anal fissures, hemorrhoids, stomach cramps and more.

I have personally treated people with skin issues including acne, eczema, rashes, shingles, dry skin, bleeding palms, and more

I have personally helped people with emotional issues including bi-polar disorder, depression, anxiety, stress, multiple personality disorder and more.

I have personally worked with patients who have digestive disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, indigestion, nausea, vomiting, acid reflux and more

I have personally treated with patients who had elimination issues such as incontinence, constipation, diarrhea, diverticulitis, anal prolapse and more

I have personally treated on patients with menstrual issues such as amenorrhea, dysmenorrhea, infertility, menopausal syndrome, pre-menopausal syndrome and more

I have personally worked with patients who have had neurological issues such as parkinson's, brain lesions, and more

I have personally treated patients with sleep issues such as insomnia, hypersomniia, disturbed sleep, night terrors, etc.

I have personally treated patients with addictions such as tobacco, sugar, marijuana, etc.

I have treated peoples vision problems, dental pain problems, hair loss problems, and even colds, flu's, allergies, asthma and other respiratory, circulatory issues.

There are others I know who work on issues i don't such as facial rejuvenation, infertility, weight loss, post-cancer/concurrent cancer assistance, blood born pathogenic diseases, post-stroke treatments and so much more.

Acupuncture is a part of Chinese medicine, it is a medical treatment that is different from western medicine in it's practice/actions but similar to western treatment in the variety of issues that it helps with. In China, they go to western doctors and Chinese medical doctors. If more people used Chinese medicine here, they wouldn't need to go to a western doctor as much.

Good luck on your new journey.

By working on the nervous system. It stimulates pain receptors to decrease pain and increase serotonin and dopamine levels in the body to return the body to homeostasis.

You're probably going to get as many answers to this question as there are acupuncturists on this board. From a scientific perspective acupuncture has been shown to:

1. regulate sensory/pain transmitters in the spinal cord and brain.
2. re-map areas of the pre-frontal cortex responsible for processing pain signals.
3. regulate leptin, ghrelin, cholecystokinin, insulin and blood sugar.
4. influence muscle tonicity at various points on or in the body - often in areas distant from where needles were inserted.
5. promote the parasympathetic side of the autonomic nervous system.
6. promote the GABA system in the brain.
7. regulate immune response.
8. stimulate the release of endogenous opiate peptides.
9. up-regulate opiate receptors in the brain.
10. have a homeostatic effect on blood pressure.

Plus a whole laundry list of other things that are escaping my memory at the moment. So, it's not that we don't know acupuncture has measurable effects in the body. It's also pretty clear that acupuncture is not dependent on placebo - there have been several studies over the last few years demonstrating this fact. We also know that when we test acupuncture head-to-head against pharmaceuticals for certain conditions, acupuncture is almost always at least as effective as the drug, sometimes more effective.

Your question is what got me in to Chinese medicine in the first place: what's going on? After studying for almost 20 years, I have a hypothesis - it's an idea that many practitioners of Chinese medicine share and it has to do with how the body grows and develops as an integrated whole. In a nutshell, we think the needles are tapping in to a bioelectric system that runs on the order of micro or pico amps which follows the fascial planes/connective tissues in the body and serves to integrate everything such that every cell knows both where it is and what it's supposed to be doing. There's quite a bit of circumstantial evidence, from a wide variety of researchers, going all the way back to the late 19th century, that this could be the case.

Without writing an entire book on the subject, this is what I think is being stimulated in the body when acupuncture needles are utilized.