Cupping Therapy and Hijama

Does Acupuncture Really Work?
By Melinda Walker

Absolutely acupuncture works. At least it does for me. It probably sounds frightening to some when you think of needles being pierced into your skin, but believe me it hardly ever hurts and is far less daunting than you would expect and far more beneficial than I ever expected. In fact over the many years that I have had acupuncture I have used it to treat things like depression, anxiety, lethargy, back pain, sciatic pain, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome and most recently to help with painful periods. Basically just about any illness or ailment I have I resort to acupuncture, sometimes in conjunction with modern medicine and sometimes not.

The idea of acupuncture is to promote general health and well being and it can also help to alleviate pain and suffering. It helps to rebalance your body and ideally helps to keep illnesses 'at bay' or to prevent them from lingering on.

Through very fine needles acupressure points in the body are stimulated and the (energy) qi in the body is moved around to restore natural balance. These needles are placed into certain meridians and channels in the body that help to stimulate ones system and to help increase their rate of healing.

On many occasions acupuncture has helped restore my eldest daughter's breathing to virtually normal after hyperventilating and having suffered quite a bad asthma attack. Her croup was improved and the severity of it lessened through acupuncture. With children a thing like a laser light is usually used instead of the needles. This creates no pain at all and doesn't tend to distress the kids as much as what the needles can.

During an acupuncture treatment you lie on the bed, with the needles in or whatever else is put on you and you just lay there for 20-30 minutes and enjoy the moment. While you are lying there and relaxing, the needles and the treatment are doing their work. Afterwards you generally do feel a big shift in your mental clarity and your physical well being.

Tools such as needles, lasers, herbs, magnets, scraping, cupping and the tens machine can all be beneficial in helping to create a healthier and more in-balance system. I have had all of the above done and have found each to be beneficial in their own way.

Something like scraping or cupping is often done in conjunction with the needles when you are really sick with something like the flu. The scraping does actually hurt but the result is worth the effort of a little pain. Basically it involves scraping the top of your bare back and helping to get rid of all the heat in your body.

Things such as the herbs also work really well in conjunction with an acupuncture treatment and I always have a batch on hand for those 'winter colds' for me and the kids or for my 'stressful moments. The herbs really do cut down the amount of time that the cold or the flu 'bug' tends to hang around.

I have also used the herbs for my asthma and for anxiety and helping me to sleep. The anxiety herbs, in my opinion are very effective and do make a difference to how you feel about yourself and the outside world.

Overall, acupuncture helps to create a sense of relaxation and well being. You feel as if you have had a wonderful nights sleep or a long therapeutic rest after having a treatment. You tend to feel lighter, happier, more relaxed and a lot calmer.

While fixing any ailment is an enormous advantage, to me the real benefit comes from how I feel after an acupuncture treatment and how much better I react to stress and everyday life.

So, yes for me, acupuncture is worthwhile and basically I need it to help me get through those really hard times in life. Hey, I say if it works, if it makes you feel good and if it's natural herbs instead of chemicals that you are putting in your body then why not give it a go and see for yourself how much better it can make you feel.

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