Acupuncture

Acupuncture treatment is a deeply relaxing, meditative experience. Acupuncture patients rarely report feeling any discomfort during treatments. In fact, most patients actually fall asleep! At the Allergy and Acupuncture Center of La Jolla, San Diego, we practice proven, relaxing acupuncture treatments for a wide range of conditions.

Click Here for a list of conditions that are commonly and effectively treated with acupuncture.

Acupuncture involves the shallow insertion of very tiny needles (as thin as a few human hairs) into various points on the body. The needles are sterile, single use only and are recognized by the FDA as an approved medical tool. We practice an extremely gentle yet effective style of acupuncture.

Today, the efficacy of acupuncture is irrefutable. The debate in the West is no longer “does it work” but rather, “HOW does it work” so well? The Chinese use the ancient concept of "Qi" or energy to explain the effects of acupuncture but this can be difficult for Westerners to grasp. As acupuncture has grown in popularity in the West, the Word Health Organization (WHO) and the National Institute of Health (NIH) have performed clinical studies on the effects of acupuncture and have developed the following 5 theories of how it works, in easy to understand, modern scientific terms.

Acupuncture Augments the Immune System

Acupuncture has been shown to raise blood levels of white blood cells, prostaglandins, gamma globulin and overall anti-body levels which suggests that acupuncture has the effect of increasing the strength of the body's immune system. Acupuncture is an effective treatment for many chronic diseases, chronic infections, preventative medicine during cold and flu season and can be a helpful adjunct therapy in cancer treatment.

Acupuncture Increases Circulation

Acupuncture has been shown to increase circulation in the body, especially to the areas adjacent to points being needled. Histamine and other vasodilators are released by the body in response to acupuncture. This is useful in healing injuries, minimizing scar tissue etc...

Acupuncture Causes the Release of Endorphins

Endorphins are the body's natural pain killers and acupuncture strongly stimulates their release. Endorphins are thought to be around 10x stronger than morphine, the strongest pharmaceutical pain killer available. This is why acupuncture is so effective in pain management.

Acupuncture Raises Levels of Important Neurotransmitters

Acupuncture has been shown to affect certain neurotransmitter levels such as serotonin. Low levels of serotonin are associated with insomnia, addiction, depression, sugar cravings, obesity and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Acupuncture raises serotonin levels and can be an effective treatment for these conditions. This also explains why acupuncture makes you feel so good.

The Gate Control Theory

Acupuncture is thought to interrupt the neurotransmission of pain by overloading certain 'nerve gates' in the central nervous system with stimulation, thus preventing the transmission of the pain signal. In other words, the brain never receives a pain signal.