By Jasmine Ling, Acupuncturist
1) ACUPUNCTURE IS ONLY FOR PAIN RELIEF
In actual fact, acupuncture is known to treat a wide range of disorders to list only a few would include:
Headaches/migraines Menopausal disorders (hot flushes and night sweats)
Difficulty sleeping Difficulty with conception
Dizziness Morning Sickness
Poor circulation Eczema
Cold hands and feet Herpes Zoster
Asthma Acne
Rhinitis Hair loss
Sinusitis Lumbago (lower back pain)
Hay fever Neck and shoulder pain
Influenza and the common cold Frozen Shoulder
Gastric hyperacidity (heart burn) Tennis Elbow
GORD (acid reflux) Sprained joints
Constipation Muscle tears
Haemorrhoids Depression
Premenstrual tension (PMS) Anxiety
Various issues with Periods Abnormal uterine bleeding
* The disorders above which appear in italic have been recognised by the World Health Organisation (December 1979) as having been successfully treated by acupuncture. All other disorders are found to have significant benefit from acupuncture. List derived from the leading acupuncture and Chinese medicine association in Australia (AACMA). Full list can be found at http://www.acupuncture.org. au/Health_Services/Acupuncture.aspx
2) ACUPUNCTURE HURTS
This is the most common lie people fall for, in actual fact acupuncture is generally pain free. During a session you will be asked to lay comfortably on the bed as the practitioner inserts needles on specific points along your body. When the needle is inserted, some may feel a slight pinch or soreness, and others may feel nothing. If you are to feel sharp or unbearable inform your practitioner and they will be able to re-adjust the needle. Once the needles have all been inserted, most do not notice them at all, and many commonly fall asleep during each acupuncture session.
3) ACUPUNCTURE IS FAKE AND ONLY HAS A PLACEBO EFFECT
You do not need to ‘believe’ in acupuncture for it to work. Acupuncture does not work due to believing, but rather it activates the body’s own natural healing mechanism. Acupuncture is basically used to regulate blood flow and oxygen around the body, so that the body can heal itself, this is what’s commonly referred to a regulating ‘qi’ and blood. When qi and blood flow smoothly though out the body, organs and cells are nourished with the necessary oxygen and nutrients so that our bodies can be strong and thrive.
4) I’VE HAD ACUPUNCTURE ONCE IN THE PAST AND IT DID NOTHING
Acupuncture is not an over-night cure. If you were to buy a car and not service it for 5 years, do you expect a single quick visit to the mechanic will fix the 5 years of daily use? Our bodies are the same in this way. Long term conditions do require on-going treatment. One treatment alone may not be able to relieve all symptoms, especially when a condition is complex and cause other symptoms to arise. The benefit of acupuncture is a incremental process similarly to exercising. The more frequent and regularly you exercise the more you see the benefit. As, you cannot expect to have a six-pack after a single work out at the gym, you also cannot expect to be pain free after struggling with back pain for 5 years.
5) ACUPUNCTURE IS EXPENSIVE
Acupuncture is an affordable form of treatment and can be claimed on most private health insurances, the amount of which will depend on the cover. Multi-bed acupuncture is a more affordable form of acupuncture, where multiple beds are set up in a larger room with dividers between them. This way the practitioner is able to move more freely between patients, making it a more affordable treatment with relative privacy
