Acupuncture has been practiced in China for three thousand five hundred years. It involves the stimulation of acupuncture points on the body by inserting thin, solid needles to give a therapeutic effect. These needles are generally to a depth of a half to one inch depending on the treatment being given. In Traditional Chinese Medicine terms acupuncture helps the flow of energy, or Qi, along meridians or pathways in the body to stimulate the body to heal itself. In Western medicine terms acupuncture likely works by stimulating the Central Nervous System to release neurochemicals to dull pain and boost the immune system.

• The World Health Organisation has recognised since the late 1970s that acupuncture is effective for treating a range of conditions including
• Musculoskeletal conditions such as arthritis, neuralgia, insomnia, dizziness, and neck or shoulder pain.
• Emotional and Psychological disorders such as depression and anxiety
• Circulatory disorders (such as hypertension, angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis and anaemia); Respiratory disorders (such as emphysema, sinusitis, allergies and bronchitis);
• Gastrointestinal conditions such as food allergies, ulcers, chronic diarrhoea, constipation, indigestion, intestinal weakness, gastritis.