Everything You Wanted to Know About Acupuncture - But Were Afraid to Ask

I bet you got lots of questions about acupuncture. Or at least a few questions about acupuncture. Here’s everything you wanted to know about acupuncture – but were afraid to ask.

I’m doing this in Q & A format to answer those questions. So here goes:

Q: Does it really work?

A: Yes it really works for a lot of ailments. Granted, no medical/health modality can be guaranteed 100%, but statistics show that acupuncture can be helpful 70% – 80% of the time. And since there are no side effects, you have nothing to lose.

Q: Do I have to go forever for acupuncture?

A: Generally, you’d like to give it somewhere between 5 – 10 treatments at first to see how you respond. Some people respond slowly, some are faster. Everyone is different in how long it takes to respond.

Q: Do I have to quit all my medications when I have acupuncture?

A: As much as that would be a great thing to do, it is usually not a wise thing to do. Unfortunately, when you take a medication for awhile—and sometimes it’s not even that long—the body gets used to the medication doing the work. And then, if you quit the drug, the body may not be able to adjust quickly, which can cause problems. The best bet would be to wean off the medication, but that is something to discuss with your acupuncturist.

Q: A friend of mine went for acupuncture and was cured after one treatment? Can I expect similar results?

A: It’s hard to say. Some people do respond incredibly rapidly, but for most people it takes a little while. A good analogy to think of is of a car that’s battery is run down. When you try and jump it, it may take awhile to take. Acupuncture is like the jumper cables, and it’s trying to rev up the motor of your body, of an immune system that may be run down.

Q: My doctor told me he doesn’t think acupuncture is for me. Should I not go for acupuncture?

A: Absolutely you should go. Everyone is a candidate for acupuncture—it helps so many people. Unless you need to go to an emergency room because of a life-threatening problem, there is no reason not to go for acupuncture.

Q: Do I have to believe that acupuncture will work on me in order for it to work?

A: Not at all. Acupuncture is very successfully done on animals, and animals don’t have a belief system that tells them that acupuncture is good. The same thing can be said for humans.

Q: Why does acupuncture work so well on animals?

A: The reason acupuncture works so well on animals is because they have much less baggage than humans. In other words, they are clear channels. What acupuncture tries to do in the body is help the qi flow better, to help people become clear channels. Animals already are there, so their response mechanism works very well. For humans, it takes more work to become a clear channel.

Q: What is this qi?

A: Qi means energy, and it is what courses through our body. We can think of qi as being similar to an electrical circuit. When the circuit is flowing, it generates electricity and can turn on a light bulb. When there is a short circuit, then the light bulb will not work. The same is true for the body. When the qi is flowing, the body will be in good health. When there is a short circuit of qi in the body, disease will set in. It’s as simple as that.

Q: Where does an acupuncturist get trained?

A: In the U.S., there are over 40 acupuncture schools. The education is a 3 – 4 year professional training programs, with a very comprehensive curriculum. After a student graduates, they take a board exam, and when they pass, they apply to whatever state they are interested in working in for a license.

Q: How can I find an acupuncturist?

A: There are several ways: you can look in the yellow pages; you can ask around—word of mouth is the best way to get a referral; or you can do an internet search.