Guiding the Current: How Does Acupuncture Work?

The question I hear most often as an acupuncturist is: “How does acupuncture actually work?” It’s a good question, because many people can feel something shifting as they lie on the table, but it’s not always clear what’s happening beneath the surface.

Acupuncture is one of the central pillars of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s based on the understanding that our health depends on the free flow of Qi, the body’s vital energy through pathways or meridians. When that flow is smooth, we feel well. When it’s blocked or out of balance, symptoms arise. As the Huang Di Nei Jing, a classical text, explains: “If there is free flow, there is no pain; if there is pain, there is lack of free flow.” This same principle applies not only to pain, but to any symptom or illness.

So how does placing needles in your arms, legs, or ears help? In treatment, we insert fine, sterile needles into specific points located along meridians that can be thought of as rivers carrying Qi to every part of the body. Each point is a portal where we can influence the current, opening what is stuck, redirecting what is overflowing, and replenishing what has run dry. In this way, acupuncture helps restore balance to the entire system.

Over time, our bodies fall into patterns which can sometimes be supportive, sometimes not. Acupuncture gently nudges the body back toward its innate capacity to heal. This is why it can be so effective not only for pain, but also for stress, digestive issues, reproductive health, sleep disturbances, and more.

From a modern scientific perspective, research shows that acupuncture influences the nervous system, circulation, and the release of the body’s own biochemicals. Stimulating acupuncture points sends signals to the brain, prompting the release of endorphins and other neurotransmitters that help reduce pain and regulate mood. It can also improve blood flow to targeted areas, calm the stress response, and help regulate hormones and immune function, offering a physiological explanation for why so many people experience both immediate relief and long term improvements to health.

Ultimately, acupuncture works on both body and spirit. The ancient texts remind us that health is not just the absence of illness but the presence of harmony—between yin and yang, body and mind, self and environment. Each session is an invitation to reconnect with that harmony and to support the body’s natural rhythms of healing