Acupuncture involves using needles to treat various
type of diseases and ailments. This is an ancient system of Chinese therapy. The points where the needles are treated by sticking needles into the skin are known as Acupuncture points. These lie along the meridians (invisible energy channels) which are linked to internal organs. The needles are believed to increase, decrease or unblock the energy flow through meridians. Most of the important acupuncture points lie on the meridians of important organs viz., heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, gall bladder, liver, lungs, colon, stomach and spleen, pericardium and triple heater (controls endocrine glands). The number of needles used varies from one to fifteen depending upon the experience of the practitioner. The needles may be retained for just a few minutes to half an hour depending upon the condition of patient, disorder being treated and previous treatment results. Acupuncture is found to be effective in treating many disorders including arthritis, back pain, rheumatism, allergy, asthma, anxiety, bronchitis, colitis, digestive disorders, gall bladder disorders, insomnia, stress, fatigue, ulcer etc.