针灸是一门古老的治疗技术和手段，它导源于茹毛饮血的远古时代，是古人从偶然的生产生活实践中总结出来的规律，它既有中国古人启迪于天的大智慧，又融入千百年的点滴积累，它的几千年的生存发展史是验效的最佳证明。

针灸和中药是中医学的一源两歧，基本理论相同只是在治疗手段上有所区别，都是基于气血阴阳、脏腑表里等中医学的基本要义。不同于中药的是，针灸是通过各种针具和针法来调整人体的功能，通过点（穴位）、线（经络）、面（皮部）来疏通气血平衡阴阳。

有经验的针灸医生可以通到多年积累的熟练手法基本做到“无痛”进针，但进针后尤其是针到病位之后患者会有“酸麻胀重”的感觉，是正常现象，中医学上称这些感觉为“得气”，是针刺有效的标志。当然如果在针灸过程中出现剧痛等不适，请及时告知针灸师以便调整针法从而避免之。

针灸对各种痛症往往有立竿见影的神奇疗效，这主要是和针灸的增加大脑内啡肽（止痛）、改善局部肌肉血流状态（活血）、缓解肌肉韧带等软组织痉挛（散瘀）等作用有关。此外，针灸对其他各种风湿病，消化神经内分泌呼吸系统以及皮肤妇科等多种疾患都有非常好的疗效。

Acupuncture Evidence information sheet by AACMA: Download Here

Acupuncture (with disposable needles only) is believed to be good for:

Muscular-skeleton Injuries, Arthritis, Sciatica;

Neck, shoulder, back, lower back and leg pain; Tennis elbow

Various internal medical problems;

Stress related syndrome (Headache, migraine etc.);

Chronic fatigue syndrome;

Common cold;

Ear acupuncture to help stop smoking

Review And Analysis On Reports From Controlled Clinical Trials

World Health Organization (WHO)

Diseases and disorders that can be treated with acupuncture

The diseases or disorders for which acupuncture therapy has been tested in controlled clinical trials reported in the recent literature can be classified into four categories as shown below.

1. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved—through controlled trials—to be an effective treatment:

Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Biliary colic
Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhoea, primary
Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
Headache
Hypertension, essential
Hypotension, primary
Induction of labour
Knee pain
Leukopenia
Low back pain
Malposition of fetus, correction of
Morning sickness
Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain
Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative pain
Renal colic
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Sprain
Stroke
Tennis elbow

2. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed:

Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Acne vulgaris
Alcohol dependence and detoxification
Bell’s palsy
Bronchial asthma
Cancer pain
Cardiac neurosis
Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
Craniocerebral injury, closed
Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
Earache
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Female infertility
Facial spasm
Female urethral syndrome
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Gouty arthritis
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Insomnia
Labour pain
Lactation, deficiency
Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
Ménière disease
Neuralgia, post-herpetic
Neurodermatitis
Obesity
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Osteoarthritis
Pain due to endoscopic examination
Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein–Leventhal syndrome)
Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence
Premenstrual syndrome
Prostatitis, chronic
Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, primary
Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Retention of urine, traumatic
Schizophrenia
Sialism, drug-induced
Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Spine pain, acute
Stiff neck
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Tietze syndrome
Tobacco dependence
Tourette syndrome
Ulcerative colitis, chronic
Urolithiasis
Vascular dementia
Whooping cough (pertussis)

3. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult:

Chloasma
Choroidopathy, central serous
Colour blindness
Deafness
Hypophrenia
Irritable colon syndrome
Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
Small airway obstruction

4. Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment:

Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Coma
Convulsions in infants
Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)
Diarrhoea in infants and young children
Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage
Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar