Brent Kramp Jill Leiendecker Sean Lemke Phillip Roberts

Acupuncture  Holds an invisible life force called qi  Travels by meridians in the body  Blockages in qi cause illness and pain  Acupuncture can unblock the meridians

Does Acupuncture Work?  Arthritis of the Knee  Headaches  Lower Back Pain  Cancer  Infertility  Addiction

The Science Behind Acupuncture  Acupuncture does have real effects on the human body  Neuroimaging studies show acupuncture calms areas of the brain  Doppler ultrasounds show increased blood flow  Thermal imaging shows reduced inflammation

The Science Behind Acupuncture  Acupuncture points correspond to nerve bundles or muscle trigger points  Studies in the 1980s found that acupuncture stimulates the release of endorphins  Research suggests it stimulates blood flow, tissue repair and sends nerve signals to the brain

Acupuncture Today  U.S. Navy, Air Force and Army doctors are using acupuncture  Reduce the stress in earthquake victims in Haiti  Used to counteract chemotherapy side effects  In 2007, 3.2 million Americans had tried acupuncture

Risks  10% of patients experience some bleeding  Very rare cases, fatalities have occurred

Diagnoses  Most common for chronic pain conditions and fatigue, anxiety and digestive problems  Acupuncturists examine a patient’s tongue, takes pulses in the wrist and asks background questions before determining which meridians are blocked

What’s Next with Acupuncture?  When needles are inserted and rotated, connective tissue wraps around them  Stretches the cells in connective tissue  Yoga and massage have the same effect, they could act like acupuncture meridians