Acupuncture, as a health-care modality, dates back to the Stone Age, when stone needles were used for a curative purpose. However, the Neijing, the early Canon of Medicine, dates back to between 500-300 B.C. The Neijing became a summary of medical experience and theoretical knowledge. The evolution of the Acupuncture experience and theoretical knowledge has been a rocky one, dependent upon the whims and commitment of the Dynastic Rulers. History traces back many forms and treatment principles (moxibustion, herbology, gigong). The discussions of when and how to employ these procedures are classical by definition. Each treatment is so individual that each must stand alone to be integrated with the body energy.
Acupuncture therapy is a technique that is employed to balance one’s bodily energy. Inherent to living things is that energy or polar forces (positive and negative) which are vital to the life process.
As new discoveries are found by Western science regarding our bodies and our environment, it becomes more apparent that maintaining the proper polar energetic balance is necessary. Without that balance, we render ourselves defenseless against both internal and external conditions. Acupuncture is an approach that seeks to balance our internal structure against imbalances of internal and external conditions. Acupuncture does not seek to obviate Western medicine--but complement it.
Acupuncture therapy deals in polar energetics. Therefore, the use of electricity to enhance the energetic quality of the treatment has been shown to be effective both from an invasive as well as a non-invasive perspective. Using electro-acupuncture, the organs and meridians may be stimulated internally as well as externally. Today, micro-electrical stimulation is employed to aid in the resolution of sports injuries, non-surgical face lifts, arthritis, herpes attacks, and countless other bodily disorders.
The future holds a great deal more in store for the application of Acupuncture. As diseases such as AIDS proliferate within the society, individuals will begin building the immune system by stimulating the body processes (energetics) with Acupuncture as the vehicle.
From the Acupuncture view, the body’s energetic balance has been disrupted, usually in terms of excesses and deficiencies that are in Western terms, illness and pain. Using the meridians, it is the Acupuncturist’s intentions to balance the body’s energetics. The meridians are thought of as the pathways that allow the body’s vital energies to be the vehicle for change. By activating the body’s vital forces, Acupuncture tends to be most useful in functional disorders* , pain syndromes and psychosomatic conditions.
When practiced by Board Certified Acupuncturists using approved methods, Acupuncture is safe. Acupuncturists have a high regard for the control of infectious diseases; therefore, it is important that sterile non-infectious conditions are maintained. For the most part, disposable needles are used for each patient. In cases where reusable needles are required, individual patient-needle files will be kept to ensure that the patient’s needles are sterilized and used only for that patient.
Acupuncture may be thought of as a therapy in part concerned with treatment through energetics and in part treatment through environmental adaptation. This is the use of herbs to help balance the life process. This use of herbs closely links Acupuncture with the therapies of Naturopathy, Homeopathy, Nutrition and Herbology. Often the interaction of the Herbalist and the Acupuncturist serves as a powerful catalyst for health.
Acupuncture is not a replacement for medical treatment. A regular medical diagnosis is usually indicated at the onset of treatment to rule out organic conditions not suitable for Acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture therapists are not medical doctors, although medical doctors have taken up the practice of Acupuncture. Acupuncture therapists do not practice medicine and they do not provide a medical diagnosis. However, by working with the patient’s physician, the Acupuncture therapist affords the patient the widest range of self-help treatment possible.

*Most acupuncture treatments for smoking and food habits tend to bear with them a dual responsibility. While treatments for weight loss and smoking have been shown to reduce craving and the body’s dependence on such substances, it is the Acupuncturist’s primary responsibility to integrate the body, mind and spirit -- to subtly balance the physiology of the body, which will result in greater mental and spiritual strength for the client. The client’s responsibility in these types of treatment is to conscientiously modify the behavior that is undes