Acupuncture is not just a technique for inserting needles into the body, it is an Art connecting practitioner and patient, performed with focused intention, concentration, and precise, sensitive finger movements. It can be considered as a Spiritual ritual. Some call it energy flow, other De Qi.
Over 5000 years ago acupunture was developed through practice, meditation, and spiritual insight into the form has been used for millennia and is still used today . It has helped tens of millions of people across the world since it's inception. Today it is considered common practice to treat many types of diseases even incurable ones by medical physicians world wide. It has been shown to alter the mind and body to relieve pain and heal.
The report from a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture held at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1997 stated that acupuncture is being "widely" practiced—by thousands of physicians, dentists, acupuncturists, and other practitioners—for relief or prevention of pain and for various other health conditions. According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, which included a comprehensive survey of CAM use by Americans, an estimated 3.1 million U.S. adults and 150,000 children had used acupuncture in the previous year. Between the 2002 and 2007 NHIS, acupuncture use among adults increased by three-tenths of 1 percent (approximately 1 million people).
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates acupuncture needles for use by licensed practitioners, requiring that needles be manufactured and labeled according to certain standards. For example, the FDA requires that needles be sterile, nontoxic, and labeled for single use by qualified practitioners only.
Relatively few complications from the use of acupuncture have been reported to the FDA, in light of the millions of people treated each year and the number of acupuncture needles used. Still, complications have resulted from inadequate sterilization of needles and from improper delivery of treatments. Practitioners should use a new set of disposable needles taken from a sealed package for each patient and should swab treatment sites with alcohol or another disinfectant before inserting needles. At Chiron Oriental medicine, we always use top-quality, brand-new sterilized needles to minimize discomfort and maintain complete safety.