does anyone here know anything about this? i'd like to do some research into it because my roommate is all into it and i've heard skeptics decry it as completely useless (outside of a possible placebo effect). also, does acupuncture go hand in hand with the belief in "qi," or energy?

I've heard it solve everything from back pain, to infertility, to quitting smoking. I think skeptics think it simply releases endorphins and can almost work like a placebo, giving patients the strength of mind which then affects the body.

*acupuncture

My wife is breast feeding twins and has struggled with plugged ducts for the past 3 months. We have been rubbing, applying heat compress, hot showers, pumping, etc...and it has only been managed, not fixed.

She got a terrible plug that was turning into mastitis. We went to acupuncture and after 3 sessions, the plugs are gone. In fact they haven't come back and that was a month ago. The marvel of ancient medicine!

I went in for a series of acupuncture sessions after years of trying different solutions for my back. Didn't help a lick, hurt the same as always and everything.

I think it's a load of old bollocks, personally. My da used it to give up smoking (didn't work, but whether he had the drive to quit is debateable anyway), and someone else I know used it for depression/anxiety and it didn't do squat for that, either. Maybe it works for some things, but not others. I think it's a load of old cobblers.

Asking about this kind of thing online is going to give you anecdotal, qualitative samples, although I don't know how 'proper' researchers could quantify the results of so subjective a treatment as acupuncture.

*consults Irish to American dictionary.

"Irish American dictionary?" What a load of cobblers!

I'm a believer. It isn't going to cure anything, but it can certainly play a role in adjunct therapy.

Perhaps it just allows you to focus on what you are trying to "cure" in a way that allows you to cope with it better, almost like a type of meditation?

Or, perhaps, it's a load of old...

this may be true, but it doesn't say anything good about the causal effects of acupuncture.

I can see it maybe working in the 'tattoo effect' sense, where if your brain spurts a lil burst of adrenaline when the needles go in, it could lead to a nice post-sticking relaxation.

But that's about it.

i've been researching all sorts of science behind this and qi and it seems there's not a thread of scientific evidence showing these are productive ventures or beliefs.

i did a lot of this, didn't help a thing. i just learned i can fall asleep with needles in my back. the scientific thought behind it as i understand is that your body treats the puncture points like wounds and sends healing chemicals which can be channeled to fix certain problems by placing the needles where those chemicals can affect the problematic area. for me it was an absolute waste of time and money