Acupuncture Questions & Answers

Few procedures in the annals of American medicine have created more interest and curiosity than acupuncture. Its growth and public acceptance have been unprecedented. Acupuncture and meridian therapy are extremely effective in the majority of conditions you treat, and rewarding without draining the patient financially.

Acupuncture is also an insurance reimbursable expense on many plans.

Here are a few of the questions regarding acupuncture that are most frequently asked – along with answers that may work for you.

Q: What is acupuncture?

A: It is a centuries-old healing procedure that utilizes the body’s electromagnetic energy to relieve pain or to correct altered physiology. It has been practiced throughout Asia for thousands of years and in Europe for several hundred years. Historically acupuncture utilizes slender needles placed into strategic locations in the body to alter the body’s energetic dynamics.

Q: Does acupuncture really work?

A: Acupuncture seems so unusual to most people that this question is perhaps one of the most frequently asked. Of course it works on the majority of conditions presented! Acupuncture, like chiropractic, treats the body, not the individual condition.

Q: Do the needles hurt?

A: There are only two types of needles the average person has ever encountered and they both hurt. One is a hypodermic needle which has a hole in it large enough to administer something to the body or to take something away from the body. The other needle is a sewing needle which must be stiff and large enough to accommodate passing through a variety of thickness of fabrics.

The acupuncture needle is but a fraction in size of these two types of needles. Five acupuncture needles can fit easily inside of the hole of a typical hypodermic needle.

In essence, the needles are basically painless until the needle is stimulated to release the energy and then a slight twinge may be felt. Most people compare the sensation to less then a mosquito sting.

Q: Can acupuncture help (name a condition)?

A: Yes, acupuncture treats the person, not the disease. It balances the body’s electromagnetic energy.

Q: How does it work?

A: University research into the mechanism of acupuncture has discovered in the last 30 years a host of neurological connections. These discoveries have given acupuncture a scientific explanation that has awakened academic scrutiny. The exact method of how it works is beginning to come together. However, just as a multitude of brilliant scientists cannot agree on how pyramids were built, how Stonehenge was formed, or how the sculpted heads appeared on Easter Island, scientists may not ever agree or be able to explain how acupuncture works.

When asked this question, explanation according to ancient principles, the body is composed of what has been described as “meridians.” The meridians are nonphysical entities, unlike nerves, blood vessels, or muscles that you can actually hold in your hand. The meridians work in carrying electromagnetic energy through the body. Assume that the meridian system of the body can be compared to a radio. If, in fact, any given city broadcasting over a radio were to have 12 specific stations, it would be imperative for each of the individual stations to broadcast on its particular frequency. If the broadcast of a station assigned to 94.5 comes in at 94.4 or 94.6, it is off its proper frequency and would come in with static until it’s vibrating at the proper frequency.

Acupuncture regulates the “frequency” of the body by analyzing the meridian system and adjusting the frequency of the meridian to bring it into normalcy. It does this by utilizing specific points that have been proven to either raise or lower the body’s electromagnetic energy.

Q: Can another procedure replace the needles?

A: Yes. Acupuncture is truly a principle, not a technique. It is not the way the point is stimulated but why the point was chosen in the first place. Therefore, any method of stimulation will have a positive effect. Some of the most popular non-needle techniques are electronic stimulation and simple laser devices.

Q: How long does a typical treatment take?

A: The average treatment takes 15 to 20 minutes, but many forms of acupuncture require only a few minutes of direct stimulation.

Q: What is the typical billing for treatment?

A: Treatment price ranges throughout the country; however, $45-$75 is considered average. Additional fees are often attached to treatments requiring electronic stimulations to the needles.

Q: Do the needles contain medication?

A: No, the needles work by mechanical stimulation.

Q: How do the needles work?

A: One of the most popular theories of acupuncture is that the needles work much like a radio antenna that transmits electromagnetic energy. In this explanation, it is not how much needle is sticking into the body. It is the quality of the needle above the surface of the skin.

Q: What are requirements to become licensed?

A: From 100 to 300 hours are generally sufficient to apply the principles of meridian style, clinical acupuncture as an adjunct to an existing practice, since both chiropractors and medical doctors have already taken well in excess of 4,200 hours of education in their respective courses of study. Practitioners wishing to specialize in traditional Chinese medicine, which focuses on herbal applications in addition to ancient principles of practice, need an additional 2,500 to 4,000 hours of study.

Q: How do acupuncture practitioners find out if a meridian is involved?

A: Modern practitioners- especially those within the chiropractic and medical realm- often rely on computerized, electronic diagnoses such as the Electro Meridian Imaging (EMI), which can, within seconds, measure the electronic resistance of certain points on the body to discover if a meridian potential is too high, too low, or split from left to right. Applying stimulation to the proper points corrects these imbalances.