Common Myths About Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a healing practice that has become very common today. It can be used to treat all kinds of pain and promote wellness, in general, and has been around for more than 3,500 years.

Despite the numerous benefits it offers, acupuncture is met with a lot of misconception. This is because it is not what you would normally consider a modern medicinal practice. At Dixon Chiropractic, we know first-hand how effective acupuncture can be. So, in this article, we outline the common myths regarding the treatment and talk about why they are not true.

Acupuncture is a painful practice 

Since acupuncture is carried out using needles, it must be an excruciating procedure, right? Wrong. Sure, if you don’t really understand how it works, then it seems like it would hurt a lot. But once you see how it works, this myth can be debunked easily.

First of all, the needles are extremely thin, almost as tiny as human hair. When they are inserted into your skin, you may feel a slight prick, which will eventually go away on its own as Dr. Ashley Dixon makes adjustments. As chiropractic, the doctor has a deep understanding of just where the needles need to go. You will experience heaviness or a mild electrical sensation, which is described as Qi or chi energy. This is your body healing.

Acupuncture is not a legitimate health care procedure 

As mentioned before, acupuncture has been around for thousands of years. This has led some people to believe that it must be outdated or it doesn’t work since it’s so ancient. This is far from the truth. Acupuncture is a recommended treatment for many illnesses and for promoting overall wellness. In fact, many hospitals across the world even offer acupuncture services to treat their patients.

Acupuncture always involves needles

Many people associate acupuncture with needles being inserted into the skin. This isn’t true. Today, thanks to technological innovation, laser acupuncture is available for patients, which requires no needles. Here, low-intensity laser irradiation is used to accurately target traditional acupuncture points.

Acupuncture can disrupt your daily routine with its side effects 

Another common myth is that there are plenty of side effects that come along with acupuncture, and this can interrupt your everyday activities. People tend to believe that you will need time off work or school, and won’t be able to do things that you usually do. In reality, acupuncture has very few to no side effects at all, and you can carry on with your daily routine after a session without any restriction.

Acupuncture can only treat physical pain

Many people believe that acupuncture is a procedure that is used solely for treating acute, physical pain. In reality, acupuncture can address all kinds of illnesses and diseases, from physical pain to allergies to mental illnesses. Patients of respiratory problems like asthma and allergies, back pain, knee pain, headache and migraine, menstrual cramps, hypertension, anxiety and depression, and so on can benefit from the practice.

Acupuncture always delivers results immediately

Acupuncture isn’t a miracle worker. Like all treatment options, it takes time to show results. Depending on the individual conditions, it can take just three sessions for results to show, or it may take up to ten sessions for some patients. After a few sessions, Dr. Ashley Dixon will see how well the patient is responding to the treatment.

Now that these common myths of acupuncture are busted, it’s easy to see just how beneficial the procedure can be for patients of all kinds. Dixon Chiropractic also provides moxibustion, which is a Chinese practice of burning dried plant materials known as “moxa” on the skin. This, much like acupuncture, invigorates the Q flow.