I Love Getting Acupuncture—But Is It Really Doing Anything?
An acupuncture adherent digs into the science.
So if you go way back, acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine, and is based on the idea that health is governed by the flow of energy (called qi) throughout the body along pathways called meridians.Illness occurs when this energy flow is disrupted or becomes unbalanced, according to Ashley Flores, a licensed acupuncturist of Four Flower Wellness in Chicago. Precise insertion of acupuncture needles is said to restore the flow of qi and improve health—and if you ask Flores, the litany of ailments that acupuncture can cure is long. “The Cochrane library, which has some of the most stringent analyses of the available data, finds acupuncture as effective [treatment] for fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, neck pain, and many other conditions,” Flores tells SELF. “Additionally, the World Health Organization has found it to be effective for ailments including hypertension, dysmenorrhea and even dysentery,” she says. Seems like ~*MaGiC*~, right?
