Acupuncture for Asthma
Acupuncture For Asthma: Fact Or Fiction?
What is Asthma? |
Asthma is a chronic disease with no cure. There are different types of asthma, but they all produce the same signs and symptoms: rapid breathing, sweating, rapid heartbeat, and the uncomfortable sensation of suffocation. The exact cause of asthma is not known (there may be a genetic factor at work), but there is no doubt that environmental factors – cold, dust, pollution, etc – trigger the attacks. During the attacks, inflammation and constriction of the respiratory passages limit the amount of air that can be inhaled, the attacks can last for minutes or hours and as mentioned earlier, there is no cure. But although there is no cure, there are constant efforts to find new methods of treatment, and there are practitioners and patients who believe that acupuncture for asthma is the answer.
|
Acupuncture Needles |
Acupuncture (the word comes from the Latin words acus, meaning needle, and pungere, meaning to puncture) is a very old system of medicine. It is not clear where acupuncture originates from, but it has been most closely associated with China. In acupuncture, very narrow needles are inserted into the skin (just barely penetrating the surface) at certain key points in the body. The needles are said to correct a disharmony in the flow of energy through the body, a disharmony that is said to be the cause of disease. Traditional, Western medicine has several theories about how acupuncture works (e.g., it may stimulate the release of natural pain relievers, endorphins) but has not yet completely explained how acupuncture.
|
How does it work for Asthma? |
Acupuncture (the word comes from the Latin words acus, meaning needle, and pungere, meaning to puncture) is a very old system of medicine. It is not clear where acupuncture originates from, but it has been most closely associated with China. In acupuncture, very narrow needles are inserted into the skin (just barely penetrating the surface) at certain key points in the body. The needles are said to correct a disharmony in the flow of energy through the body, a disharmony that is said to be the cause of disease. Traditional, Western medicine has several theories about how acupuncture works (e.g., it may stimulate the release of natural pain relievers, endorphins) but has not yet completely explained how acupuncture.
|