How Acupuncture Works: The Science Behind the Healing

<p>If you're curious about trying acupuncture or know someone who may benefit from it, it can be helpful to understand some of the background science for how acupuncture works. At a high level, Mark Whalen describes it as working with patients' own internal mechanisms to heal the body.</p> <p>Since our bodies are always seeking homeostasis, sometimes they just need a stimulus, like acupuncture, to draw the attention of the central nervous system to the affected areas. Mark guides us through how he views this process through a mesh of both classic and current ways of thinking about healing.</p> <p><strong>On Today’s Episode of A Healthy Curiosity:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">His path of desperation with nerve pain that led him to acupuncture</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why treatment doesn’t always involve dealing directly with pain areas</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How he explains acupuncture when a patient asks how it works</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">What is happening, mechanically, when an acupuncture needle enters the body</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">How effects of acupuncture can relate to the default mode network of the brain</span></li> </ul> <p>Mark Whalen is the owner and acupuncturist at Five Points Acupuncture & Wellness. He first became interested in acupuncture while he was a patient. Facing an unwanted surgery for a nerve entrapment, Mark turned to acupuncture and not only did it resolve his issue, it changed his life.</p> <p>Mark went on to graduate from the New England School of Acupuncture in 2005 with a Masters of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He is certified in Acupuncture by the Massachusetts Board of Medicine and in Herbal Medicine by the NCCAOM.</p> <p>Mark believes in integrating the traditional Chinese Medical model with modern Allopathic Medicine to get