Chinese Medicine is an ancient system of diagnosis and treatment, which involves energy pathways in the body called meridians, through which Qi (or vital energy) flows. Illness and diseases result in disturbance of this flow and disruption of the balance of energy within the body.



Treatment in Chinese Medicine can consist of a combination of herbal treatment, massage treatment, dietary treatment and/or the use of acupuncture in order to restore energy flow and to allow healing to occur.



Acupuncture is a means of encouraging the body to activate its own healing abilities to restore normal function to problem areas. This is done in modern times by inserting very fine needles to specific points on the body called acupuncture points.



Other methods of treatment related to acupuncture are moxibustion (burning of mugwort or other herbs on or near the skin), acupressure, laser acupuncture and electro-acupuncture. Auricular acupuncture is a system of acupuncture where needles are inserted into specific points on the ear in order to bring about changes in other parts of the body.



The oldest known acupuncture texts are from China and date from 3,000 years ago. However, acupuncture has expanded into other regions and many different approaches exist today, including Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese styles.



In recent years, Western medicine has become interested in acupuncture. Acupuncture used alongside orthodox western medicine is sometimes called Medical Acupuncture. Western acupuncturists may use traditional Chinese acupuncture points, trigger points or a combination of points.