Acupuncture is an Oriental medical system developed, researched, and refined in China for over 3,000 years, and utilized by millions of Americans today, most often for relief from chronic pain. Modern research has recently has discovered that the ancient technique of acupuncture, the insertion of tiny, hair-sized needles into specific points on the body can effectively alleviate one of the most pervasive ailments affecting Americans today: chronic stress.

A recent study showed that animals pre-treated with acupuncture, when exposed to chronic stress had no spike in stress-related hormones; further, that the stress-exposed, acupuncture animals and the control animals who were not exposed to stress had similar, commensurate blood profiles of stress hormones: essentially both groups, the acupuncture group and the control group remained normal and healthy. On the other hand, the stress-exposed animals who did not receive acupuncture did not fare so well – they showed spikes in stress hormones, the types of elevations that lead to many of today’s prevalent chronic stress-induced disorders such as depression, insomnia, anxiety, tight shoulders and upper back, arthritis, headaches, and a variety of digestive disorders. Chronic stress is even linked to food, respiratory, and seasonal allergies!

Treatment with acupuncture before a stressful event, or as a routine health measure amidst a lifestyle that includes stress is shown to prevent the harmful, health-deleterious hormones that provoke exacerbation of existing conditions that may be asymptomatic until a stressful event occurs. Travel, changes in eating and sleeping habits, disharmony with family, a lot of excitement, financial vacillations, and even increased or decreased exercise training provoke the stress response and the hormones measured and stabilized by preventative acupuncture. But how does acupuncture measure up after a stressful event has occurred and you are in pain, can sleep, are fighting fatigue, or don’t feel like yourself with mood swings and food cravings?

In scientific reviews of numerous studies about acupuncture pain, which is often aggravated by acute and chronic stress, acupuncture demonstrated a “clear and robust effect” in the treatment of:

Study participants experienced an average 50% reduction in pain response to acupuncture with needle insertion (average 3 to 15 tiny needles inserted that resulted in no or little temporary discomfort).