Every now and then I’m asked if acupuncture works only if you believe it will work. I won’t refute that the mind is powerful and will influence the body. In fact, I hope that people will use their minds to help their healing.
But, acupuncture works even despite your beliefs. It has been shown to increase the release of endorphins (your feel good hormones), your body’s own morphine (painkillers), and a variety of other chemicals that help in symptom relief and healing.
It has also been shown to increase blood circulation.
And, even change the way that the brain signals. In fact, when the brain has been scanned using a functional MRI during acupuncture, the same point used traditionally to help the eyes lights up the part of the brain that relates to vision. When a different point is stimulated, a different part of the brain lights up.
Western Medicine has about 200 year of scientific methods of observation and testing of hypotheses to prove its effectiveness. Chinese medicine has about 5000 years.
So, to borrow an Olympic phrase, “Do you believe?”
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