Acupuncture is a safe, alternative form of preventative medicine that works to strengthen the child and reduce symptoms of negative behavioral patterns and disease. Please read on for more information.
What is Acupuncture?
Acupuncture is ancient Chinese practice that employs the use of needles on the skin to restore the body from symptoms of illness, injury and disease.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is founded on the principle that energy channels (meridians) run all over the body nourishing tissues with energy. When blocked, the energy is obstructed and prevented from nourishing the tissues, which may result in poor states of physical, emotional and mental health.
Acupuncture Techniques for Infants and Children
Despite acupuncture needles being quite thin and gentle on the skin's surface, not all practitioners will choose to use them in a pediatric acupuncture session. Instead, they may treat symptoms through the combined use of acupressure (applied with finger and hand pressure) and:
- Blunt probes
- Rollers
- Brushes
- Cutaneous magnet therapy, with which energy movement is stimulated by a low frequency sent via magnets that tap lightly upon the skin
These techniques are most regularly used on infants and children with the Japanese acupuncture technique, Shonishin. The practice is based upon the principle that young children are more susceptible to the healing affects of meridian and point stimulation, thus deeming it unnecessary for the child’s skin to be pierced with needles.
Pediatric Conditions Treated Successfully by Acupuncture
Scientific research has shown acupuncture to be effective in treating pediatric conditions such as:
- Colic
- Earache
- Cerebral palsy
- Jaundice (in newborns)
- Myopia
- Bedwetting
- Hyperactivity
- Pain
- Nausea/vomiting
- Anxiety
- Headaches
- Weight loss
- Constipation
- Allergy Rhinitis
- Eczema
- Epilepsy
Children may avoid disease altogether if introduced to acupuncture at an early age. In Asian countries, this is common practice and good preventative measure that most children often enjoy.
What to Expect With and After a Treatment
After a detailed health history intake, the acupuncturist will observe and assess the child’s overall energetic health. Specificities they may consider include the child’s:
- Eyes – brightness/dullness
- Face – colouring
- Tongue – via oriental tongue diagnosis
- Nose – irritations/discharge/colouring
- Ears – size/discharge
- Veins in the fingers and wrist
More often than not it will be encouraged that the mother receive treatment as well, as Chinese Medicine believes that the parents are primarily responsible for passing on energy to the child in the earlier years of their life.
If you are interested in learning more about how acupuncture may benefit your child or infant, please contact a professional acupuncturist or Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner for more information.
Originally published on Jul 06, 2010
