Acupuncture works by approaching each person individually to determine what energetic imbalances exist and then restoring healthy balance to the bodymind system.  Therefore, each treatment is unique and it is the person as a whole who is treated, rather than an isolated symptom.  By approaching treatment from this perspective, acupuncture promotes healthy functioning and resolves unwanted symptoms at the same time.   

The paradigm behind the Oriental Medicine approach is very different from the medical model that dominates Western health care today.  Oriental Medicine understands that our bodymind system is part of one integrated whole, and that we can maintain health by promoting the body’s natural ability to regulate and heal itself, and by warding off the cumulative effects of stress.   

In the current Western medical paradigm, there is little or no understanding of the value or means of keeping the body in good working order to prevent disease.  Unless we have a clear symptom that is treatable through medication or surgery, the doctor will tell us we are fine.  When we do have a symptom, the treatment involves prescribing medication or surgery (or both) to mask or suppress the symptom, and doing nothing to address the root cause of the symptom. 

Inevitably, suppression of a symptom will lead to further and more severe problems later.  This is the life cycle we are so familiar with: growing old involves getting sick and going on increasing numbers of medications to prevent unwanted symptoms. 

Oriental Medicine tells quite a different story.  We maintain our car to keep it running smoothly and extend its life span – it’s common sense.  In Oriental Medicine we do the same for our body.  Growing old does not mean we have to become ever more debilitated and more dependent on pharmaceutical medications and surgery.  However, to keep the body in optimal health we need to begin taking care of it when we’re young and before symptoms have developed. 

Because Acupuncture works by restoring balance to the body, it is capable of resolving a wide range of symptoms.  Below is a partial list of the most common conditions treated using acupuncture: