Chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating malady that affects more than one million Americans. Yet, sadly, the time-proven success of acupuncture for chronic fatigue treatment is often ignored by Western medicine. Fortunately, some medical professionals in the West do understand the vital role of acupuncture for chronic fatigue treatment, and sufferers can find expert acupuncturists to help them overcome the problem.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, chronic fatigue syndrome is attributed to a deficiency of qi, which is the life force of the mind and body within everyone. This force can be weakened if a person’s mental and physical balance is off—frequently leading to chronic fatigue. Western treatment of chronic fatigue recognizes the role of the mind in this syndrome, and mental health therapy is commonly used. Unfortunately, this treatment often fails to appreciate the full nature of the relationship between mind and body. Common Western pharmacological “solutions” such as stimulants, anti-depressants, and anti-anxiety drugs focus too much on the mind and merely mask the syndrome rather than cure it. Even worse, these medications can lead to further problems. Some stimulants used such as Provigil and Nuvigil, for example, actually can cause long-term harm to the body’s qi, especially the kidney qi. Chinese medicine, on the other hand, recognizes that replenishing and tonifying the qi with the help of acupuncture is the key to long term recovery.
Treating chronic fatigue syndrome involves determining the level of qi in various meridians of a persons’ body. With chronic fatigue, the deficiency is usually in the spleen or kidney meridians, but it can also be in the lung or liver meridians. Principal acupuncture points include Hua Tuo Jia Ji(M-BW-35), a group of 34 points located along the spinal column, BL 18 (Gan Shu), BL 20 (Pi Shu), BL 23 (Sheen Shu), and SP 6 (San Yin Jiao).
Acupuncture for chronic fatigue works to increase a person’s vitality by clearing obstructions to energy flow and building the spleen and kidney qi. This process enhances the body’s natural healing capability. Considering limited efficacy of the Western treatment approaches for chronic fatigue, sufferers should not hesitate to explore the benefits of acupuncture for chronic fatigue.
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