Acupuncture is a technique that involves the placement of hair-thin needles along specified acupuncture points that are charted from a traditional chinese medicine framework. After placement, needles are then manipulated via manual needling, electrical stimulation (electroacupuncture), or heat.
Acupuncture has been shown to release muscle spasm and result in pain inhibition. The specific points chosen by the acupuncturist target skin and nervous system regulation; creating a release of “happy hormones” or endogenous opiods. This balances the body's stress response and dampens the brain’s pain signal for the specific area and related organs.
Acupuncture is a great way to integrate the mental aspects of your health with the physical responses to pain and stress, with the added benefit of improved digestion, sleep, and tissue tension!