Is Acupuncture Safe? For over three thousand years, billions of acupuncture treatments have been safely given in countries around the world. Today, acupuncture continues to be one of the safest forms of medical treatment. The needles used for treatment are very fine and they are inserted superficially. Compared to a steroid injection or some standard diagnostic procedures which use a much larger gauge needle, acupuncture is a much safer procedure. Acupuncture is safer than drugs because it cannot cause dependence, side effects, allergic reactions, or toxicity of any kind. Acupuncture is safer than surgery because it does not subject the body to the trauma of an operation, it does not destroy tissues or cause scarring, and there is no recovery period such as usually follows surgery. Also, the risks of the general anesthesia used in most surgeries is avoided. Acupuncture is the choice of treatment for so many people and for so many conditions because over the years it has proven to be the most effective and safe form of treatment. HOW EFFECTIVE IS ACUPUNCTURE? Again, time and experience have proven that acupuncture is effective in the relief of all types of pain, and also for the treatment of arthritis, psychosomatic, allergic, psychiatric and neurological disorders, many of which have no satisfactory alternative treatment. Over 85% of the patients treated for such ailments at the Washington Acupuncture Center have found relief of their pain or significant improvement in function. Acupuncture is especially valuable for those patients who have previously been told by their physicians that they will have to learn to live with their pain or disability. It has freed many people from dependence on wheelchairs, hearing aids, narcotics, and other toxic drugs. It has restored many people to self-sufficiency after being invalids. next