In this episode we take on the question of What Does Acupuncture Treat?
Today’s Everyday Acupuncture Podcast question is answered by
MB Huwe, Small Town Appalachia, Huwe Acupuncture Clinic
I’m Mary Beth Huwe, my husband Brian, and I run Huwe Acupuncture, an acupuncture and herbal medicine clinic in a super tiny town in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia. We are often asked, what does acupuncture treat? And we explain it in this way. Acupuncture treats people not diseases. That means no matter who you are or what you’re suffering from, acupuncture is an option for you, not just an alternative or a last ditch.
But an actual, serious, thoughtful medicine. We’ve helped people aged one month to 92 years with conditions such as fatigue, headaches, menstrual problems, joint injuries, and pain, H I V, digestive complaints, back aches, earaches, nose bleeds, nightmares, constipation, anxiety, cancer, insomnia, nausea, brain injury, neuropathy, pregnancy, depression, lupus, diabetes, and smoking.
And each of those individuals, Individualized care. That’s because effective acupuncture is specifically tailored for an individual at a certain place in time. For example, if five people came to me today for treatment of headaches, they would not all receive the same treatment. , each individual’s point prescription would depend upon the very detailed picture of pathology, the location of the headache, the type of pain, the time at which it occurs, the triggers, the pulse picture, the tongue.
Each of these components is significant, both in its own right and in relationship to the other components. Furthermore, if those same five people with headaches came again next week, they would not receive the same points they received today. I reevaluate each individual each time, and though I may keep the treatment targeted toward the same general channels, I won’t necessarily do so.
Of course, we cannot legally guarantee a cure, and we wouldn’t want to make such a claim even if we could. What we do put forward is that even if acupuncture doesn’t cure your disease, save your life, or remove your symptoms, it will very likely change the way you feel about your disease life and symptoms.
And this way, acupuncture greatly and profoundly reduces suffering. Some people wonder is acupuncture for. . The short answer is yes. Acupuncture is for anyone who wants it. Maybe you’re in the best shape of your life, or maybe you feel like you’re falling through the cracks of modern healthcare. Maybe you don’t notice your body unless it’s hurting you.
Maybe you have a vague sense that something is lacking in your health, or maybe you’re very sick. Acupuncture is multidimensional. It has something to offer every one of those maybes because it is a medicine that takes the full constellation of the individual of you into account.
