Zina Knight
Dr. S.L. Smith
English 101
3 March 2015
Acupuncture as an Alternative Many Americans everyday are forced to face a decision, to use prescribed medicine, or to find an alternative pain reducing strategy. When facing this tough choice some will chose to take the medicine prescribed by their doctors, but others opt out for a different method such as acupuncture. Both acupuncture and prescribed medicine both have their positives and negatives.
One of the alternatives for pain relief is acupuncture. According to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey, and estimated 8.2 million American adults have used acupuncture. Acupuncture is, “the insertion of extremely thin needles through your skin at strategic points on your body,” According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Acupuncture was originated from China, and it has been said that it has been around since the Stone Age. During acupuncture the acupuncturists insert extremely thin needles into the skin at specific points on the body, depending on where the pain is at. According to Chinese traditional medicine, acupuncture affects the flow of energy throughout one’s body, which is called “chi.” Webmd states that, “Over the years, research has shown that acupuncture affects a variety of biological systems -- releasing hormones, disabling receptors, and activating anti-inflammatory chemicals. It has been suggested that the healing power of acupuncture comes from its effect on the nervous system. It might aid the pain-killing effect of chemicals called endorphins or help cells from the immune system fight infection. Intricate networks of connective tissue -- which extend throughout the body -- may be at the crux of acupuncture, according to other studies. It's evident when an acupuncture needle is inserted into the body. Like a fork in a plate of spaghetti, the needle grabs up tiny bits of connective tissue and nerve bundles between muscles.” The NIH or National Health Institute says that one advantage of this type of treatment is that the rates of side effects are substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions. Not only is acupuncture good for pain relief but for many other things as well. Acupuncture is good for cancer side effects such as nausea and vomiting, which respond well to acupuncture, depression, stroke, infertility, and many more. According to the ACA it is estimated that 31 million Americans at any given time suffer from lower back pain. With acupuncture, back pain symptoms might be relieved, allowing you to pursue physical rehabilitation to strengthen and improve your health. A study in the late 1990s from the University of Arizona showed that clinically depressed women responded well to a course of acupuncture. Other preliminary studies of anxiety