Oriental Medicine Article
Using Herbs With Acupuncture
The usual picture that acupuncture brings to mind is a patient sitting or lying down with a number of fine needles stuck into him and even sometimes dangling from the ears or other parts of the body. That’s true in most cases, though the needles don’t always dangle because they are so tiny and usually one does not find them being stuck into every part, making one look like a porcupine.
Why does acupuncture involve the placing of needles in certain strategic points? This is done to make sure the energy that runs through the body gets back to the way it was - flowing freely and ensuring balance in every part. This flow of energy has to be restored for the body to get back to its state of health. How long this takes to happen and how many sessions are needed depends on the illness, on the patient and on the severity of the symptoms.
Acupuncture is a centuries-old Chinese system of healing. Some practitioners also use herbs along with the conventional acupuncture techniques in order to speed up healing. We in the U.S. are quite used to taking capsules and tablets for general health. Be it vitamins or supplements, they are so much a part of our daily lives. With an acupuncturist, the herbs used for each disease is very specific. These could be administered to the patient as capsules or pills. Or maybe you will have to swallow down a brew or a tea made with these herbs. So the acupuncturist makes sure that you are getting just the right amount of herbs that is supposed to be taken by each patient. The tea usually speeds up the action and sometimes to make the herb act even faster, it is given in its raw, potent form. Of course, that could be a terrible experience for your taste buds as most of them taste foul but once you’ve tried it, you’ll probably see how fast it acts and ask for it.
Talk to your acupuncturist before you start your treatment. It is always better to know what to anticipate. Will he be giving you herbs? Maybe not as a lot of acupuncture treatment does not involve herbs and is usually very effective even without them. Also remember to tell him about what you take every day, even if it is only a vitamin or a supplement. In most cases it will not matter but in some cases it might, so it is better to be sure than sorry. There are some herbs that interact with many things you take or eat regularly so if your acupuncturist plans to administer those to you, he should know exactly what you take. Of course it goes without saying that it is imperative to apprise him of any prescription medication that you might be on. In most cases, herbs do not react with anything but help general healing within the body.
When it comes to herbal treatment, you have to be very acutely conscious of any new symptoms that you might experience. Maybe you will experience a slight tummy upset which could just mean adjusting to the herbs but even this as well as any other symptom should be reported to the acupuncturist at once. Yes, herbs could quicken the healing process when combined with acupuncture and get you back to good health faster.
