Acupuncture comes from two Latin words namely "acus" which means needle in English and "pungere" which means prick. Its history originated in China over 2000 years and has developed in various ways.
Some of the techniques of acupuncture do not even use needles. vibrating objects, ultrasound and even the fingers of the practitioner have taken some of the work for the person feel better.
The history of acupuncture is first discussed in an ancient Chinese medical text called the "Huang Di Nei Jing" or Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine.
But there have been a few who are skeptic as archaeologists have found a 5,000 year old mummy in the Alps with similar acupuncture points on the body. This gives some people the idea that was used even before the Chinese did but sine there is no written text to show that no one is certain and credit to this ancient practice goes back to the Chinese.
In the sixth century, this knowledge was transferred to Japan. In the 17th century, a man by the name of Waichi Sugiyama wanted to make this procedure painless for the patient so he developed the insertion tube, a small cylindrical tube through which the needle is inserted. Believe it or not, this technique is still used today.
But acupuncture only reached the U.S. in the early 80's with the establishment of a regulatory board called the National Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. As a result, several schools have been built and those who want to become licensed acupuncturists are now able to practice their profession.
Despite this, there was a lot of people still are not convinced of the positive effects of alternative forms of medicine. It was not until 1995 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration decided to classify acupuncture needles as medical instruments and assured the public that are safe and effective.
To further promote acupuncture, the NIH or National Institute of Health in 1997, said that this technique is useful in treating various health conditions. These include ear, nose, throat, eyes, respiratory, gastrointestinal, neurological and muscular disorders. In some cases, acupuncture is able to avoid some of them happen.
This was reinforced by the fact that the side effects of acupuncture are much smaller than that of conventional drugs that are being sold by pharmaceutical companies.
So people can make use of acupuncture, another recommendation by the NIH is for U.S. companies to provide comprehensive coverage of certain conditions. If not quality, perhaps not cover part you should look for in your policy.
But despite that, more research needs to be done for their effects on health related issues. Some examples of these include addictions, autism, chronic back pain, migraines and osteoarthritis of the knee.
If you look at the history of acupuncture, not much has changed since the needle technique used back then is still used today. Although the various forms have been developed over the years, one thing for sure is that it works.
For you to see how effective it is, you have to see a specialist is not alone to treat your condition, but also one is trained well.
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