How Does It Work?
Chinese medicine focuses on treating the body’s energy channels, or meridians, that allow for the free flow of energy, or qi (pronounced “chee”). In a healthy or balanced state, qi flows smoothly throughout the body. With disease, injury, or a state of imbalance, the normal quantity, quality, and/or movement of this energy is impaired. Acupuncture treatments use stainless-steel needles to unblock obstructions in the meridians and to promote a healthy state and flow of the body’s energy, which in turn can heal illness, restore the body’s ability to function normally, promote optimal well-being, and relax and rejuvenate the body-mind-spirit.
Acupuncture for Addictions: The NADA Protocol
“Acupuncture is perhaps the most extensively studied and most promising integrative treatment for addictions.” – Rakel
From an acupuncture viewpoint, substance abuse may be seen as an attempt to self-medicate an underlying imbalance in the state of or the flow of the body’s qi (energy). The “drug of choice” provides a temporary relief from this imbalance, but ultimately creates further imbalance and cravings. In the 1970s a five-point auricular acupuncture treatment protocol for addictions was developed that is currently being taught and advocated by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA). Numerous studies have shown a dramatically improved efficacy and success rate of detoxification programs when the NADA acupuncture protocol is incorporated into the program.