by cherie

Created on: October 26, 2007   Last Updated: November 23, 2007

It just seems to me that with the ever increasing pills and medicine that mankind has come up with to solve our ailments, at some point it must be taxing for the body. Nature didn't intend things to be this way. Natural remedies, if possible should be used as often as possible.This is especially important for adults who are working everyday and often suffer from muscle strain, tension and overexertion.

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical technique for unblocking chi (ch'i or qi) by inserting needles at particular points on the body to balance the opposing forces of yin and yang. Chi is an energy that allegedly permeates all things. It is believed to flow through the body along 14 main pathways called meridians. When yin and yang are in harmony, chi flows freely within the body and a person is healthy. When a person is sick, diseased, or injured, there is an obstruction of chi along one of the meridians. Traditional Chinese medicine has identified some 500 specific points where needles are to be inserted for specific effects.

Acupuncture has been practiced in China for more than 2,000 years (though some think it has been around for 4,000 years). Today, the needles are twirled, heated, or even stimulated with weak electrical current, ultrasound, or certain wavelengths of light. But no matter how it is done, scientific research can never demonstrate that unblocking chi by acupuncture or any other means is effective against any disease. Chi is defined as being undetectable by the methods of empirical science.

A variation of traditional acupuncture is called auriculotherapy or ear acupuncture. It is a method of diagnosis and treatment based on the unsubstantiated belief that the ear is the map of the bodily organs. For example, a problem with an organ such as the liver is to be treated by sticking a needle into a certain point on the ear that is supposed to be the corresponding point for that organ. (Similar notions about a part of the body being an organ map are held by those who practice iridology [the iris is the map of the body] and reflexology [the foot is the map of the body].) Staplepuncture, a variation of auriculotherapy, puts staples at key points on the ear hoping to do such things as help people stop smoking.
Acupuncture is considered a holistic approach to curing disorders and discomfort in the body's system. It is the Asian way of cleansing the body from these illnesses, working its way to clear the natural flow of energy inside the body, as they

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