The Basics of Acupuncture

Acupuncture is something you're probably all familiar with, but for some people it's still considered a bit of a mystery. But I can tell you from my own personal experience, it really works. The person responsible for my very prickly condition is my own acupuncturist, Hong Chong. Breathe in and out. As usual, Hong, that was fantastic. But for those people who haven't tried acupuncture, how does it work? Well, acupuncture has a basic principle and illness and pains occur if there's an imbalance of energy within the body that can be caused by stress, poor diet, infection or injury. Acupuncturist is to identify and stimulate the energy to regain full equilibrium or balance by inserting fine acupuncture points to stimulate the body's healing process. So Hong, is there any scientific data that backs up acupuncture? Yes, acupuncture has been shown to trigger the release of endorphins, serotonin and cortisol in the body. That is your body's natural painkillers. And when you acupuncture a point, what you do is you basically inhibits the nerve receptor from sending pain into your brain. That's why they have a very strong effect in calming your body and causes your body to relax. George, as you know, there's a different type of acupuncture. There's different length and different size in terms of the gauge. And the standard gauge is 0.2 that we use. It's quite simple. Use a tube, put into acupuncture points. And all I have to do is just get you to breathe in, breathe out, just gently tap it. And then there we go. You see that twitch? That was the sensation we're after. Well, Hong, when I used to come and get treatment from you, it was more to do with recovery and regeneration for training and for games. But there's more to it than that, isn't it? Yes, acupuncturists treat a different variety of problems. Like 25% of our patients come in for chemo treatments because of the side effects of chemo. And we treat problems ranging from severe disc protrusion to torn ligaments, torn tendons, and muscle tear. And even athletes who train excessively, their body locks up and stiffens up, and they cannot function normally. That's the type of things that we can use acupuncture for. Well, on average, how many needles is it for person to person in terms of treatment? Well, it's different. You see, for you, we mainly isolate your major body parts, for example, your shoulders, your lower back. So I might use anywhere between 12 to 20 needles. But if people come in for chemo treatments, I may use up to 25 to even up to 35 needles if necessary. It just depends on what condition they come in with. And how long, on average, does a needle stay in? Well, it depends. On average, they recommend 15 minutes. But I've left people in there for at least one hour to one and a half hour, if necessary, to get rid of inflammation. And you can also use the electrode treatment, which also triggers those really tights that really pacify the effects. You think it's strong just by doing it manually with electrocurrents, it actually stimulate the sensation amplified up to 100 times if needed be. Acupuncture is a very real health solution. And even now that I've stopped playing, it's still one of the first things I turn to for any pain, soreness or injury and general well-being.