What is acupuncture?
Acupuncture is a complex branch of ancient Chinese medicine, but its practical principles and methods are easily understood:

#1 - Fourteen major energy channels called meridians course through the human body including the head, arms, hands, legs, feet, torso, and internal organs.

#2 - A subtle energy called Chi (pronounced chee) circulates via the meridians to all parts of the body, even the most remote cells.

#3 - Chi is the vital force, the presence of which separates the living from the dead. Its balanced, unimpeded flow is critical to sound health.

#4 - Any misdirection, blockage, or other derangement of the amount, flow, or balance of Chi may result in pain, dysfunction, and ill health.

#5 - With acupuncture needles, or other means, the acupuncturist stimulates certain points (acupoints) along the course of the meridians. Such stimulation helps restore the normal balance and flow of Chi so organs and bodily systems can work together in harmony as intended. This sets the stage for the body to repair itself and maintain its own health.

What can acupuncture treat?
According to the World Health Organization, the National Institutes for Health, and clinical experience, acupuncture is useful in the treatment of:

• Fertility
  Click here to request our brochure on Acupuncture for Fertility.

• Chronic and Acute Pain:
  Injuries, headaches, neck and back pain, tendonitis, sciatica, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia

• Neurological Disorders:
  Post-stroke recovery, Bell's Palsy & Trigeminal Neuralgia, movement disorders

• Upper Respiratory Disorders:
  Asthma, allergies, bronchitis, sinusitis, sore throat, laryngitis, colds, and flu

• Digestive Disorders:
  Irritable bowel, colitis, constipation, diarrhea, gastritis, heartburn, food allergies, ulcers

• Urinary and Reproductive Disorders:
  Cystitis, menstrual cramps, irregular or heavy periods, infertility, menopausal symptoms.

• Immune Function:
  Recurrent infections, supportive treatment for cancer and AIDS patients

• Addictions:
  Addictions to nicotine, alcohol, and drugs

• Eye and Ear Disorders:
  Tinnitus, Meniere's disease.

• Chemical/Emotional Imbalances:
  Depression, Anxiety & Insomnia

• Other Conditions:
  Contact Hipple Acupuncture to find out about other conditions that can be treated with acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

What are meridians?
Chi, the vital force, circulates throughout the body along fourteen major channels, twelve of which are duplicated on the left and right sides of the body. The two other major channels are located in the center of the body, one in the front, the other in the back. There are also a number of so-called “extra channels” and “miscellaneous channels” throughout the body. Today, English-speaking acupuncturists usually call the channels "meridians."

Meridians form a highly-complex invisible network transporting and directing chi to every cell of the body including the head, arms, legs, torso, organs, and systems. Good health, Chinese sages of old discovered, depends on a balanced circulation of chi throughout the meridians.

Over centuries of trial and error and meticulous observation, healers accurately mapped the locations of the meridians and identified hundreds of specific points in the meridians where Chi can be accessed and stimulated when there is an aberration of flow. Those points are commonly called "acupoints." Over time, many more points have been discovered.

What are the main objectives of acupuncture treatment?
The main objectives are three:
#1 - Relieve pain and other symptoms.
#2 - Strengthen the immune system.
#3 - Balance, harmonize, and integrate functions of the organs with each other, making for a unified, healthy person, rather than a collection of fragmented, disharmonious parts.

What are the needle treatments like? Are they painful?
Patients who have received inoculations or other medical injections from a hypodermic needle are sometimes fearful that acupuncture treatments will be as painful, but such is not the case. Medical hypodermic needles are stiff, hollow, and thick for forcing liquid into the patient's flesh, usually an uncomfortable, if not painful, procedure.

Typically, acupuncture needles are fine and flexible, no bigger around than a human hair or piece of thread. Deftly inserted into an acupoint by a skilled acupuncturist, the slender needle produces little or no sensation at all. When the needle makes contact with chi, the energy, some patients experience a slight tingling sensation. First-time patients are usually amazed at how comfortable they are during treatment.