Conclusion

In conclusion, acupuncture has been used for over 5,000 years.It has a large body of empirical anecdotal evidence indicating its effectiveness. Now scientific based research evidence indicates there are several causes and effects of acupuncture. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for acute and chronic pain conditions. Acupuncture has also been found to be effective in the treatment of addiction and withdrawal from various drugs, gastrointestinal functions, environmental illnesses and cardiovascular illness, along with positively changing learning/memory, conditioning and immunology.

As a result of this research, more and more physicians outside China are using acupuncture to treat many painful conditions. It is estimated that 5,000 MD's in Germany, 30,000 in France and 60,000 in Japan use acupuncture along with drugs, nerve blocks and other approaches to treat patients with chronic pain. Here in the United States over 1,000 physicians and surgeons are actively in the practice of acupuncture. With increasing research and evidence, more and more physicians in the West will become acupuncture practitioners.