Acupuncture, the needle therapy, was developed about 8000 years ago in China. His oldest written mention is in the “Yellow Emperor”’s book of classic medicine. In the second half of the twentieth century, this method of treatment spread throughout Europe. Today, it is often used in addition to conventional medicine.

Acupuncture is supposed to guide the Qi in the right direction.

The word acupuncture comes from Latin and comes from the word acus, the needle, and punctio, the stabbing. The basis of acupuncture is Taoism. Human imagination differs from Western knowledge of anatomy and bodily functions:

According to Asian understanding, the vital energy Qi flows through the human being. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it crosses the body in the meridians and is easily accessible in more than 700 points just below the surface of the skin. About 400 of them are used as acupuncture points.

People are healthy when their energy flows smoothly. But if the flow of qi is disrupted, for example by cold, heat, poor diet, environmental factors, climate change or psychological factors, then disease and pain may appear. Acupuncture is supposed to eliminate these blockages of the flow of Qi. The Chinese descriptions of organs correspond less to fixed anatomical units than to functional circle concepts that describe functional inter-organ contexts – such as the immune system.

Do happiness hormones work in acupuncture?

What exactly happens in the body during acupuncture has not yet been fully clarified in conventional medicine. New studies suggest that acupuncture triggers an increased release of substances that relieve bodily pain and balance the mood in the brain, among other things. These substances, commonly known as “happiness hormones”, include serotonin and endorphins.