Acupuncture: The Science Behind the Needle

Acupuncture is a modality of Chinese traditional medicine known to have been in practice for at least 2500 years.  Hieroglyphs and pictographs from the Shang Dynasty suggest that acupuncture was practiced as early as the 12th century BCE.  While its specific origins in China are uncertain, one theory suggests that the effects of acupuncture were realized when it was observed that some soldiers who had been wounded by arrows in battle were mysteriously cured although left untreated.  Scholars also suggest that the healing principles behind acupuncture may be traced as far back as the Stone Age, when Bian shi, or sharpened stones were employed at keys points on the body.   Read more . . .