Acupuncture: New Medicine Alternative or Scam?

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Recommended: Compare and Contrast Traditional Chinese Medicine and Conventional Western Medicine

Acupuncture: New Medicine Alternative or Scam?
Acupuncture is an old therapeutic practice in Chinese medicine; however, it is becoming more prevalent in America every year. Have you ever wondered how sticking little needles into someone could actually work to reduce pain and other illnesses? Acupuncture is, by definition, “A Chinese medical practice or procedure that treats illness or provides local anesthesia by the insertion of needles at specified sites of the body” (“Acupuncture”). It sounds crazy that getting poked by needles would actually alleviate pain, right? According to an article on the effects of acupuncture on central autonomic regulation, “Acupuncture has clinical efficacy on various nerve-related disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, epilepsy, anxiety and nervousness, circadian rhythm disorders, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and subfertility” (Li et. al). The big question when it comes to acupuncture is: is it actually working or are the psychological and therapeutic effects just making people believe it is?
Acupuncture first originated in China, thousands of years ago as a part of Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM (Li et. al). TCM was built on the Taoist philosophy which states, “people have a dynamic interaction with their environment, in which health and well-being are influenced by one’s natural surroundings” (Leake and Broderick). According to an article by Leake and Broderick, “Acupuncture became firmly established as a system of medicine during the Sui dynasty in 589-618 with the foundation of the Imperial Medical College.” As a part of TCM, acupuncture “is believed to restore the balance between Yin and Yang,” which, in the terms of Western Medicine translates to: “acupuncture modulates the im...

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...Debate." Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies 5.4 (2012): 141-47. ScienceDirect. Elsevier B.V, Aug. 2012. Web. Apr. 2014.
Neporent, Liz. "A Close-up Look at Acupuncture for Pain." ABC News. ABC News Network, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. Apr. 2014.
Ng, Siu-Man, and Yan-mun Yiu. "Acupuncture for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Randomized, Sham-controlled Trial With Single-blinded Design." Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine 19.4 (2013): 21-26. ProQuest. 2014 ProQuest LLC, July-Aug. 2013. Web. 3 Apr. 2014.
"Numerous Benefits of Acupuncture." Numerous Benefits of Acupuncture. Acupuncturecost.org, 2014. Web. Apr. 2014.
“Ways to Save Money on Acupuncture Treatment." Ways to Save Money on Acupuncture Treatment. Acupuncturecost.org, 2014. Web. Apr. 2014
Wen, Leana. "When A Prescription For Pain Pills Becomes A Gateway To Addiction." NPR. NPR, 15 Feb. 2014. Web. Apr. 2014.

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