The primary difference between acupressure and acupuncture is that the latter uses thin needles in addressing health concerns, while the former doesn't break your skin. However, the two methods of holistic medicine have much in common, since they are both based on touching meridians that carry energy, or chi, throughout the body. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, TCM, ailments are caused by blockages of chi somewhere along fourteen meridians, so both acupressure and acupuncture encourage energy to flow freely once again; they are used to treat allergies, arthritis, depression, nausea, migraine headaches, menstrual cramps, and anxiety, according to the philosophy of TCM.
Acupuncture, as the word suggests, punctures the skin with very thin, long needles. They do not resemble the needles you see at a western doctor's office, for they don't inject any material. Acupuncture needles are flexible lengths of disposable, hypoallergenic, sterile metal that a trained acupuncturist delicately inserts beneath the skin, into muscle and tissue. When properly done, this shouldn't hurt at all. The needles reach certain areas, called pressure points, to break up the blockages.
One difference between acupressure and acupuncture arises in the specific application of the techniques. Acupuncture must be performed by a practitioner experienced in TCM. Several pressure points in specific combinations are accessed at the same time. The acupuncturist needs to reach bare skin, therefore the patient usually disrobes prior to being treated.
Acupressure is much older than acupuncture, dating back to 2500 BCE in China. Both practices have been recently evaluated by western standards of medicine; some studies have found them to be efficacious. For example, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy and suffering from extreme nausea used acupressure, applied through a bracelet, to curb their nausea with consistent results.
Acupuncture Treatments
Acupuncture is a relatively painless, natural technique. It consists of the gentle insertion and stimulation of sterile, disposable, small, hair-width needles placed at precise strategic points on the body. While many acupuncture patients are initially wary about their first treatment, they soon discover that the experience is quite pleasurable and pain-free. Acupuncture has been proven to stimulate and release opiate-like hormones and induce a state of relaxation, balance and healing.
An increasing number of patients are using Acupuncture Medicine as their primary health care therapy. Acupuncture has become well known as a medical treatment for pain relief and many other conditions. Some of the benefits include immune enhancement, an increase in energy, and an overall feeling of well being. When provided by a highly trained licensed practitioner, like
Dr. Glenn Marr, acupuncture and herbal medicine are gentle therapies that are free of side-effects. |
