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“The second most-often asked question.”

The most often-asked question about acupuncture has been addressed countless
times, here and elsewhere: “Does acupuncture really work?” Time and time
again, we have established that indeed it does.

But, there is another important question that I am asked almost as often. It
is, “How does acupuncture work?” This question is often asked with some
measure of doubt or skepticism…sometimes spoken, sometimes unspoken.

It is understandable that a person asking such a question may seek more
confidence before undertaking an acupuncture treatment plan. Many of us have
trouble when trying to imagine a clear and apparent connection between
treatment with acupuncture and relief of a problem. In contrast, most of us
have no trouble understanding ‘surgery.’ We find surgery easy to understand:
There is a physical problem, there is a physical solution. An incision is
made and an inflamed appendix is physically removed. Problem solved, what
else is on your mind? Bugs in the kitchen? We can handle that; just get out
the bug spray, and move on to the next problem in the same way.

In comparison, the Traditional Chinese Medicine treatment to relieve an
inflamed appendix involves stimulating an acupoint on the lower leg. Most of
us in the USA have made it to adulthood without a working familiarity with
Oriental Medicine, and we find such a connection much more difficult to
believe. In fact, many of us retreat from ‘I don’t understand how this could
work’ to, ‘I don’t believe that this can work.’ After all, it isn’t a long
walk to get from the question ‘How can this work’ to the statement ‘This
can’t work.’ Fortunately for those who ask questions: There is almost always
an answer. Unfortunately for those who instead embrace a preconceived notion
in a statement: There is often no satisfactory reply to the statement, no
matter how compelling that reply may be.

If something is voiced as a question but thought of as a statement (“I don’t
understand, so I don’t believe it can work,”) then the answer will likely be
elusive.

As difficult as some concepts may seem to you today, keep in mind:

The Sun doesn’t revolve around the Earth…which was a revolutionary concept
that had heads rolling not too long ago.

The earth is round, not flat.

Maybe some of our beliefs, convictions, and notions about Oriental Medicine
are right, and maybe they are wrong. The case can be made that acupuncture
is five thousand years old and still working, even though there have been
ample opportunities for it to be supplanted by ‘modern medicine.’

The explanation is simple. We seek the root cause more than the symptoms. We
restore balance to the system. We don’t spray poison on the flies…we
simply take out the garbage.

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