New York, the great melting pot of America, is famous for taking the best food, entertainment, and health practices from other cultures and taking ownership over them. It's no wonder then that New York has embraced one of the most traditional and ancient practices of China, Acupuncture.
Everyone well versed in Sex and the City will remember when acupuncture famously made it's debut into the New York scene when Charlotte discovered it's effectiveness as a fertility treatment. While Charlotte shed a lot of light on herbs and needles to stimulate fertility, the show didn't explain, well, anything else at all about acupuncture.
Acupuncture is also effective in pain management, weight management, aiding in neurological disorder treatments, and at least 148 other therapeutic implementations. Here's the other thing they don't usually tell you about acupuncture; it is actually pretty painless and is truly an effective line of treatment for a massive range of ailments.
When you first go in for an acupuncture session you can expect the visit to be along the lines of what you're used to as far as any other appointment with a health professional would go. You'll begin by getting comfortable in your treatment room (always be sure to go somewhere you feel relaxed and comfortable-- you will still have needles protruding from your body after all!) and then relaying to your doctor your health concerns and what help you'll be seeking.
The treatment may start to look a little bit different at this point. Imagine you've told your acupuncturist you're experiencing pain in your left arm and they then start to prepare your right foot for a needle insertion. ...Maybe they weren't listening to you? Or, maybe (when you remind them the problem is nowhere near the needles they're placing...) they are working from an Eastern methodology focusing on meridian lines and connections throughout the body that just don't make sense to an acupuncture newbie.
The meridian lines are what makes the practice of acupuncture so all-encompasing and holistic. Working along the meridian lines your acupuncturist can access the arterial network of the body as well as the internal organs, making it possible for them to treat thoroughly treat a whole range of ailments.
Back in the day acupuncture needles used to be made out of animal bones (!!!) but, no worries, now they're made out of sterilized needles, sometimes no wider than a few hairs, and definitely as painless as a needle can possibly be. It's worth braving your fear of needles or your apprehension/doubts over the efficacy of an acupuncture treatment to give it a try.
Some of the common ailments acupuncture is used to treat include:
Respiratory System Problems
Muscular and Joint Disorders
Disorders of the Nervous System
Heart/Circulatory Disorders
Acupuncture after Surgery
Gastrointestinal Disorders
Gynecological, Genital, and Urinary Tract Disorders
Dental Problems
Diseases of the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat
Emotional Problems
If you've been suffering from a health problem that other treatment modalities haven't been taking care of, then now might be the perfect time to give acupuncture a try. After all, it has the Sex and the City stamp of approval. So, come into our Upper West Side Physical Therapy Office for your next (or first) acupuncture treatment and you can treat yourself to a Manhattan after.