Acupuncture may not be the first method of treatment that comes to mind when deciding which path to follow for your child’s health. In fact the idea of having your child subjected to multiple needle placements may be horrifying to you. But it shouldn’t be. Acupuncture, one of the modalities in Oriental medicine is a safe, natural and effective alternative to other more traditional methods. Of course we must remember that complimentary medicine is not a replacement for sound allopathic care. Obviously if you are in an emergency situation you would seek the nearest emergency hospital rather than alternative care.

We must also keep in mind that while allopathic medicine is outstanding in diagnostics, surgery and emergency medicine it has a more challenging time with chronic degenerative or idiopathic (unknown cause) health issues.

Complete medical models like traditional Chinese and Aruveydic medicine are able to manage and at times resolve these chronic degenerative auto immune diseases such as fibromyalgia, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.

Acupuncture is an excellent alternative for those patients who have maximized allopathic medical care and are seeking further treatment without the use of drugs or surgery.

As a parent you want nothing more than for your child to be healthy. Acupuncture can be an integral part of regaining and maintaining your child’s health.

Children experience many stressors on a daily basis. These stressors can affect their life force or chi (qi). Some stressors include accidents and falls, exposure to environmental and chemical hazards, improper diet, poor sleep patterns, and emotions.

Some children experience symptoms that are unable to be diagnosed, especially stomach and lower abdominal pain. These symptoms are generally brought about by stress. Acupuncture is an excellent technique to reduce stress, just one needle can release enough endorphins to ease a younger child to restful sleep.

Acupuncture is a procedure in which very fine needles are inserted into the skin at strategic points on the body to relieve pain and treat disease. Acupuncture was developed centuries ago according to the theory that energy flows through channels between the surface of the body and internal organs. Pain and disease are the result of these channels becoming blocked. By placing needles at one end of the channel or the other, healthy energy can be restored.

Western medicine’s view is that the placement of acupuncture needles at specific pain points releases endorphins and opioids, the body’s natural painkillers, and perhaps immune system cells as well as neurotransmitters and neurohormones in the brain.

This may explain why acupuncture is effective in the treatment of ADHD and other attention deficient disorders. In a study conducted at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and published in Pediatrics (Volume 105(4) supplement of April 2000), 70% of children who had acupuncture felt the treatment had helped their symptoms. Fifty-nine percent of patients’ parents agreed that acupuncture had helped with symptoms. Only one of the 30 children who responded directly to the study’s interviewers said the treatment made symptoms worse. Two-thirds of children rated the therapy as pleasant.

For very young children and for those unwilling to receive the needles, the treatment strategy varies from acupressure and massage to the use of magnets. Other choices for treatment of childhood issues such as skin ailments, colic, sore throat, tooth pain and chronic ear infections are homeopathy, herbs, nutritional counseling and energetic techniques that are completely noninvasive.

As always choose a licensed practitioner who is board certified in the modality in which you seek. For acupuncture and oriental medicine national board certification is provided by the NCCAOM. You can find a certified acupuncture physician on their website www.nccaom.org.

As a parent you want nothing more than for your child to be healthy. Children experience many forms of stress daily from accidents and falls, or exposure to environmental and chemical hazards, improper diet, poor sleep patterns, and emotions.

Acupuncture can be an integral part of regaining and maintaining your child’s health and is an excellent technique to reduce stress. Just one needle can release enough endorphins to ease a younger child to restful sleep. Acupuncture is a safe, natural and effective alternative to other more traditional methods of healthcare.