A jab well done.

1. The ancient oriental practice of piercing parts of the body with needles to treat diseases or to relieve pain; more recently, "acupuncture anesthesia" or "analgesia".
2. As adapted in Western medicine, the needles may be twirled or weak electrical current applied; also called stylostixis.

Historical background of acupuncture

Acupuncture, the insertion of thin needles into specific points on the body in order to relieve pain or to treat illness, was developed in China more than four thousand years ago.

It is based on the idea that the body contains an essential life energy known as qi (CHEE), which flows in channels or meridians. It was believed that qi was made up of two varieties of energy, yin and yang.

In the human body, the male or yang elements indicate the capacity for "activity and transformation", while the female or yin characteristics are associated with "circulation, nourishment, and growth"; and the balance between them needs to be maintained.

The purpose of the acupuncturist is to remove barriers to the flow of qi and to restore the balance of yin and yang and such objectives are thought to be achieved by the placement of needles at certain positions on the surface of the patient's body.

Analgesia (feeling no pain or very little pain) produced by the insertion of acupunture needles at certain acupuncture points on the body.

This activates small myelinated nerve fibers in the muscles which transmit impulses to the spinal cord and then activate three centers: the spinal cord, midbrain, and pituitary/hypothalamus in order to produce analgesia or no pain.