WHAT DOES ACUPUNCTURE TREAT?
“Acupuncture focuses on a holistic, energy-based approach to the patient rather than a disease-oriented diagnostic and treatment model.”
National Institutes of Health (US) Consensus Statement 1997 Nov 3-5; 15(5):1-34.
“Although sometimes described merely as a means of pain relief, traditional acupuncture is actually used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. Its focus is on improving the overall wellbeing of the patient, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms. The skill of an acupuncturist lies in their ability to make a traditional diagnosis from what is often a complex pattern of disharmony. The exact pattern and degree of disharmony is unique to each individual and so following diagnosis, the acupuncturist puts together a personalized treatment plan.”
British Acupuncture Council www.acupuncture.org.uk
The World Health Organization produced, in 1979, a list of 43 diseases and disorders that lend themselves to acupuncture treatment. Included on this list are conditions such as:
- Respiratory diseases
- Eye diseases
- Gastrointestinal disorders
- Endocrine disorders
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Trigeminal neuralgia
- Facial paralysis
- Insomnia
- Tennis elbow
- Low back pain
- Ménière’s disease
- Osteoarthritis
- Migraine headaches
- Frozen shoulder
- Multiple sclerosis
- Sciatica
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Stroke
- Neurological & musculoskeletal disorders
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Alcohol & tobacco addiction
“One of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions.”
National Institutes of Health (US) Consensus Statement 1997 Nov 3-5; 15(5):1-34.