First a history lesson:
Acupuncture dates back over 2,000 years, making it one of the oldest forms of medicine still practiced today. Acupuncture is one aspect of Chinese medicine, which consists of 8 different aspects: acupuncture, herbs, diet, exercise, body work, meditation, feng shui, and cosmology. A practitioner may prescribe one or more of these for the treatment of your symptomatology. In ancient China, when a patient was ill, they would see the Chinese medicine doctor, as that was their equivalent to a primary medical doctor. In the US today, most Chinese medicine practitioners practice a variety of the first six branches (acupuncture, herbs, diet, exercise, body work, and meditation). If you come to one of us, we will prescribe either one or a combination of these modalities to help you get back to feeling yourself.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is the placement of very fine, single use, filiform needles at specific points on the body to get a desired effect. The needles are mostly painless though they are not sensation free. Oftentimes, a patient will describe a heavy, achy, warmth, and/or spreading sensation where the needles are placed. This sensation is a desired effect and lets us know the needles are in the correct place and having the proper effect it should have.
What is acupuncture used to treat?
In short, any condition you would normally go see a doctor to treat, you can see an acupuncturist for. There are conditions Western medicine is better at treating (cancer, surgical issues, etc) and there are conditions that acupuncture is better at treating (pain, auto-immune conditions, etc.). However, acupuncture works best when used in combination with Western medicine. Conditions that acupuncture is known for treating in the US include acute/chronic pain, injuries, performance, female health, fertility, allergies, GI health, headaches, migraines, labor preparation, stress, anxiety, amongst many others.
Why should you try it?
Acupuncture is a safe and very effective treatment for so many health conditions, plus it doesn’t have the side effects that so many medications have. It is also used as a preventative medicine to help keep you healthy and injury free.
Want to give acupuncture a try?
Give us a call or shoot us an email to see how we can help you, or click here to schedule an appointment.
Acu For Athletes is conveniently located in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Just a 2 minute walk from the 3 and 4 trains.