Why Acupuncture Is A Superior Treatment for Drug Addiction Than Any Conventional Treatments

One can use acupuncture for drug detoxification because of the treatment’s proven efficacy. Acupuncture has been developed and practiced in China for thousands of years. It is a type of treatment that uses extremely thin needles to activate certain points in the body. Underneath these points lay energy channels known as meridians. Sometimes, these energy channels develop obstructions and blockages that result in diseases and illnesses. Acupuncture is used to clear out these obstacles to restore the normal flow of energy and thus resolve symptoms arising from health conditions.

Acupuncture has been verified through several clinical studies to help stimulate the brain to produce and release feel-good chemicals in the body known as endorphins. Endorphins can help alleviate chronic pain, a condition most people in the United States experience and the number one condition acupuncturists treat each year.

The painkilling effect of acupuncture makes it a very suitable modality for drug detoxification. The treatment can help minimize the severity of drug withdrawal symptoms and is especially effective for the treatment of cocaine addiction. Studies have shown that acupuncture treatments have provided painkilling benefits to about 85% of cocaine addicts who participated in the studies as opposed to a 70% rate of effectiveness from morphine addicts.

Modern methods of acupuncture such as electro-acupoint stimulation have produced much better results in drug detoxification than needles. Traditional needling acupuncture though, is still the preferred choice of treatment in some hospitals in the U.S., which are able to treat up to 245 drug addicts each day.

Because it not only brings physiological benefits but psychological benefits as well, acupuncture has been a huge success for the treatment of drug addiction withdrawal symptoms. Doctors trained in Western medicine find this treatment difficult to understand. Part of the reason for this is that Western medicine sees the mind and body as two mutually exclusive aspects of a person; on the other hand, Chinese medicine acknowledges that a person has a third system, an energy system that acts as a bridge to the psychological and physical aspects of the person.

A balance between the body and mind is essential for any detox treatment program to succeed. In this regard, Western medicine has no form of treatment that can bring about this balance. This makes acupuncture a superior modality that combines physical and psychic effects that help normalize the emotional, mental, and physiological state of a person. All these states become imbalanced when a person is addicted to a certain substance. Acupuncture is the only modality capable of restoring balance to these various human aspects.

Dominic Sembello is a licensed and board certified acupuncturist and the clinical director of Health Source Acupuncture in Linwood, NJ.