What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is an ancient form of medicine which is gaining more and more popularity in America. During a treatment very thin, solid, hairlike needles are inserted at specific points on the body. The stimulation of these acupuncture points affects both the central and peripheral nervous systems. It triggers the release of the body's internal chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins, which have pain-relieving properties.

How did it originate?
Beginning well over 3,000 years ago, the purpose in the development of Chinese Medicine was to enable someone to live as long as possible, retaining the highest degree of vitality and clarity.  This is because the royal families of China demanded from their doctors a medicine that would allow them to lead their armies into their 90's, procreate into their 90's, and lead a productive life right up to the very end.  Simply meaning we should remain as strong and healthy for as long as we can only to die quickly and suddenly with out the burden of a long painful disease ridden death.  In Chinese Medicine this goal is termed, 'compression of morbidity', which simply means minimizing the time one is incapacitated before the end of life comes.  This is a goal the Chinese are highly successful at achieving.  Therefore, the belief of living with the aches and pains of aging is nonexistent.  Leaving us with still another option of relieving common pains and serious illnesses.

What can it treat?
Acupuncture can be used to treat a wide variety of common ailments, just a few examples are: Headache & Migraine, Fibromyalgia, Allergies & Sinusitis, Depression, Back, Neck & Shoulder Pain, Hip/Leg & Sciatic Pain, Hypertension, , and many more.  It is also effective in treating women's health issues, including Infertility, Menstrual Disorders, Polycystic Ovarian Disease, Endometriosis, and Menopause.

How are my symptoms diagnosed?
The most respected method of diagnosis in Chinese Medicine is "Pulse Diagnosis" or interpreting the flow of blood in the radial artery at the wrist. Unfortunately this method is a lost art with very few practitioners in the world competent in its immense subtlety. The uniqueness of this method is that it is anatomically based. If used correctly, the pulse can reveal anatomical problems such as urinary tract infections, kidney stones, ovarian cysts, bone spurs, gall stones, varicoceles, sinus infections, gastric or duodenal ulcers, coronary blockages and a host of other physical aliments.

What does Acupuncture feel like?
Prior to their first treatment, many people do not believe that acupuncture can be painless. Over the centuries, refined needle insertion techniques have been developed which enable the skilled acupuncture practitioner to place a needle with little or no sensation. People often report that they feel some warmth, pressure, or dull aching and that the feeling is unfamiliar but relaxing. Acupuncture needles are very fine, about the size of a thick hair. They are solid, and nothing is injected through them. So they have very little in common with the "monster needles" most people remember from their childhood. All needles are sterilized and disposable.
This medicine is available in thousands of Chinese Medical clinics throughout the United States.  But unfortunately, when most Americans think of Chinese Medicine, they usually only think of the pain relieving abilities of acupuncture.  Acupuncture is just one small part of the large body of medicine known as Chinese Medicine.  The main aspects of Chinese Medicine are the creation and maintenance of superlative health by using Chinese herbs and acupuncture.
 
More and more Americans are discovering the incredible benefits of Acupuncture, and are choosing the natural approach to health care.   Most patients seek out Acupuncture for chronic pain relief, and the results are nothing less than miraculous.  Pain relief usually occurs within seconds after the needle insertion, and long lasting relief over a series of treatments is at least 80%. 
 
Nicole T. Robbins
Local Wellness Representative
Foundation for Wellness Professionals
www.wellnessspeakers.org
Public Relations Assistant
Acupuncture & Wellness Center, P.S.
18870 8th Avenue NE, Ste. 108
Poulsbo , WA 98370
(360) 917-6087 cell
(360) 394-4357 office
(360) 394-7972 fax
fwpkitsap@yahoo.com
www.acupuncturewellness.net