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Natural Health Approach: Understanding Acupuncture Philosophy

Creston Acupuncture & Natural Health Centre offers acupuncture as treatment for a wide range of ailments
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Paul Gaucher and Dove Sprout are co-owners of Creston Acupuncture Natural Health Centre. (Submitted)

By Paul Gaucher, co-owner of Creston Acupuncture and Natural Health Centre

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been around for a couple thousand years and has deep roots of experience to draw from. In my practice, it’s common for patients to ask me how acupuncture actually works, as it can seem baffling and unclear. There are many esoteric explanations, but through this article I hope to de-mystify Chinese medicine a bit, and offer some clear explanations on how it functions.

Acupuncture is a time-tested medicine based on real anatomy and physiology of the human body, and not invisible or intangible energy. In my 12 years of clinical experience, I’ve come to realize that we are far more electrical in nature than I first imagined. TCM describes Qi energy flow that moves throughout the body to animate us. While this is true, its essentially the electro-magnetic energy that courses through our bodies. This electricity moves along pathways that TCM calls meridians. While this is also true, this electricity in our bodies moves through not just our larger nerves, but also throughout our systems by way of small sensory nerves and receptors, muscle fibers, and perhaps most notably, throughout our fascia.

Fascia is a band or sheet of connective tissue, primarily collagen, that is very densely woven, covering and interpenetrating every muscle, bone, nerve, artery and vein, as well as, all of our internal organs including the heart, lungs, brain and spinal cord. The most interesting aspect of the fascial system is that it is not just a system of separate coverings. It is actually one continuous structure that exists from head to toe without interruption. When your acupuncturist gives you a treatment, they are able to influence the movement of this electrical current to positively affect your health and well-being. Electricity is indeed everywhere in the human body, and even our cells are specialized to conduct electrical currents. The elements in our bodies, like sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium, have a specific electrical charge. Almost all of our cells can use these charged elements, called ions, to generate electricity. Generally, when someone has muscle pain, we most commonly refer to that as “Qi stagnation”, meaning the electrical flow is tied up and blocked at the site of pain. A skilled acupuncturist moves this Qi to resolve the blockage and pain.

Acupuncture treats one of the main causes of disease, which is blood stasis, or poor circulation. When there’s a problem with blood flow to any area of the body, that area cannot function properly and so the body won’t heal without restored blood flow. Acupuncture greatly improves the flow of circulation, re-establishing the movement of oxygen and nutrients to the site of injury and tissues of the body. Acupuncture causes your blood vessels to dilate and so increases circulation to specific areas of the body to relieve pain, improve organ function, and offset the aging process.

Thirdly, acupuncture stimulates nerve signals to your brain causing it to release endorphins, which are your body’s natural pain-relieving neurotransmitters. This strongly reduces pain, relaxes the nervous system, and calms stress.

Another mechanism in which acupuncture works is by reducing pro-inflammatory markers, or proteins, in the body. Some animal and human studies suggest that by doing acupuncture, you can significantly decrease these pro-inflammatory markers, which decreases inflammation and reduces pain. One such spot is just below the knee (known as stomach 36), according to a study. This acupoint is used in a wide variety of treatments that involve inflammation anywhere in the body, as well as for increasing energy and the immune system, which in turn also help to decrease inflammation.

Yet another aspect of acupuncture’s efficacy is specifically how acupuncture can be used to treat nerve damage, such as peripheral neuropathy, a condition that often causes numbness or weakness in the feet and hands. The idea is that by putting the needle in, you stimulate the brain to secrete some nerve growth factor, and then that helps the nerve to regenerate

These are the time tested ways that acupuncture stimulates the body’s natural ability to heal itself, and its an effective treatment for a wide variety of health problems, without side effects or the need to use pharmaceuticals.

Paul Gaucher and Dove Sprout co-own and operate Creston Acupuncture & Natural Health Centre from their location, 219 10th Ave N, in downtown Creston. For more information or to book an appointment, call the clinic at 250-428-0488, check our their website at acupuncturecrestonbc.com, or follow their Facebook and Instagram to stay up to date.

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