Acupuncture
F.A.Q

Acupuncture is a therapeutic technique that works using very thin metal needles that are inoculated in particular zones of the human body known as Canals/Channels or Meridians, which are able to react giving specific clinic replies.

In Italy the Acupuncturer is a Surgeon Doctor who is qualified at the pertinent profession. The capability to reach the necessary skillfulness requires at present a specific formation in Acupuncture and Chinese Traditional Medicine to be acquired by a qualified structure and the inscription on/at the Nonconventional Medicine Register pertinent the own Medical Association. The Acupuncture doctor is able to recognize the most efficient therapeutic and diagnostic way, evaluating the risks and the benefits also in relationship with the Western Medicine methods.

Anyone who practices acupuncture without being authorized by the professional exercise board commits a crime for the abuse of the medical profession foreseen by the article 348 of the penal code.

The diseases, pathologic conditions and symptoms for which acupuncture has shown to be efficient through controlled clinic trials referring to the World Health Organization (WHO), are :

• Gastroentherology: dysentery, irritable bowel syndrome, acute epigastralgia (ulcer, chronic gastritis and gastrospasmo), nausea and vomiting.
• Pain: neurological pain, muscle pain, inflammatory arthritis and degenerative osteoarthritis, temporomandibular joint conflict, facial pain, headache, migraine, joint discursive, postoperative pain, dental pain, renal colic, hepatic colic, intestinal colic.
• Gynecology: primary dysmenorrhea, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), infertilità, fetal malposition and breech presentation, nausea in pregnancy, induction of labor.
• Pneumology: allergic rhinitis.
• Musculoskeletal and neurological diseases: arthrosis, arthritis, bursitis, sciatica, tendonitis, headaches, migraines, trigeminal neuralgia, cerebral stroke sequelae.
• Mental and Emotional diseases: anxiety, stress, depression, insomnia.
• Neurology: ischemic stroke and hemorrhagic stroke.
• Miscellaneous: side effects from radio-chemotherapy, essential hypertension, primary hypotension, leucopenia.

According to the World Health Organization, the pathologies that have already shown an efficient clinic reaction and are therefore worthy to be treated by acupuncture are really many more : their number is more than one hundred. The pertinent statement issued by the H.W.O. is reported here below.

www.acupuncture.org.uk

Acupuncture is a very safe practice with scarce side effects. The most frequent side effects described in the Medical Literature are: a local pain (1,1-2,9%) a little bleeding or ecchymosis (2,1-6,1%). Negative events as pneumotorax and cardiac tamponage have been cited but are extremely rare when acupuncture is performed by an expert practicioner.

Yes they are. The used needles are sterilized and are throw-away.

It depends from the type of pathology to be treated. In a few cases the result may be evident after the first or few following sessions. In other cases it is necessary to perform a cycle that may reach 10 sessions, to be eventually repetitive. Usually the necessary number of sessions is declared in the first 3 dates.

The seats answer speed varies according to the patient’s pathologies. It often happens that he can evidence the first benefits only after the first treatment but however it is frequently detected within the first 3 seats/immediately after the first 3 seats.

The time mostly depends from the pathology. The very hard ones can be definitively solved in nearly/almost all cases. For the chronic forms are often required more repetitive seats. The main aspects depends from the potential relapse of the disease, Chinese Medicine offers a lot of useful instrument to cure this relapse (Phytotherapy, energetic gym).

As well as a normal Western Medicine examination, after a very careful analysis of the clinic history, the evaluation of the previous diagnostic checks, the Acupuncturist Doctor establishes a clear and deep diagnosis on the base of the Chinese Traditional Medicine. The Doctor can inform if the only Chinese Medicine is able to solve the patient’s problems or if it is necessary to use western therapies too. Only after said examinations the acupuncture treatment becomes possible and practicable.

Generally an acupuncture seat lasts from 15 to 45 minutes. The patient is required to lay on an ambulatory bed and then the doctor inoculates/pierces the needles. The number of necessary needles varies from 5 to 20.

The needles inoculation is generally painless when a good technique is used by an expert doctor. It is however a lower level pain than the one of a normal blood injection. When some patients are more sensitive the stimulation is obtained by moxibustion or by finger-pressure or other manual techniques.

Yes, you can. Acupuncture may be performed with other therapies without any physic or pharmacologyc controindications.

From an eastern point of view everything is energy or Qi. Acupuncture is an instrument that allows to guide Qi in order to soothe unbalance that give origin to diseases development. From a neurobiological point of view acupuncture is able to awake the human organs to react giving a lot of responsible answers to the potential clinic modifications that may happen. The injection of a needle in peculiar points of the human body may release the presence of hormones and neuro-transmitters that can reduce the inflammation and cause an interaction among neurons and to activate axonal and somatoautonomic reflexes able to modulate some biologic reactions positively.

A lot of Insurance Companies refund the acupuncture expenses. It is anyway useful to ask details to the own Insurance Company.

Yes, it is.