Herbal Medicine or Acupuncture? A Guide to Choosing the Right Treatment

This combined approach can be particularly helpful in treating frozen shoulders, pinched nerves and dislocated joints. Cupping therapy is similar to acupuncture since it also stimulates the body’s energy channels. The tension release it creates allows for increased blood flow and better distribution of nutrients and oxygen, which can aid in tissue repair.
We don’t give herbs for “back pain” or “shoulder pain” but we use herbs for the disharmony your body is in, which has then lead to that flare up of pain. Some herbal formulas work like a direct tonic to your body, putting substance into you that your body requires to function more optimally. Herbal Medicine for Frozen Shoulder For myself, if I get a back pain, over the years I would always go to herbs first. While it’s actually not as hard as you might think to needle yourself, my main reason is you don’t have to stop or lie down to have herbs! There are plenty of times I’ve used both, but actually if I have pain, I would rarely just use acupuncture alone.

We specialise in distal  style acupuncture, where needles are placed away from the pain site. ACAHM has released draft proposals for revising accreditation standards related to programs of study. They are asking the entire AHM community to weigh in via straw poll survey by June 21st. Around 40% of the pharmaceutical products we use day-to-day are already drawn from nature. Herbal medicine is all about leveraging the natural state of herbs, plants, and minerals rather than the synthetic versions used throughout Western medicine.
Dietary therapy involves selecting specific foods based on their energetics, such as warming, cooling, or neutral properties, to align with each patient’s unique constitution and health needs. Moxibustion complements acupuncture by targeting weak and stagnant conditions within the body. The combination of these therapies can be particularly helpful in treating conditions like renaud’s syndrome, fatigue and digestive disorders. The warming effect of moxibustion also supports the body’s natural healing processes, often leading to improved overall wellness. At Acupuncture Colorado Springs, David W. Armstrong is dedicated to helping you achieve optimal health and wellness through acupuncture.
Additionally, we conducted a comprehensive review of the reference lists of the retrieved studies to ensure that all the relevant literature was included in the analysis. The details of the search strategy are available in Supplementary Table S1, accessible online. Similarly, our search for studies on HM retrieved a total of 47,042 relevant articles. The methodological quality of the included RCTs was evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Regarding random sequence generation, seven studies clearly described the method used.

TCM considers the human body a self-controlled system network, attributing diseases to imbalances in “yang qi” and “yin qi,” leading to organ non-homeostasis. Acupuncture, with its 12 main meridians and 365 acupuncture points, aims to increase qi and treat specific diseases. Chinese herbal medicine, based on syndrome differentiation (“Zheng”), contrasts with the cause-oriented approach of Western medicine, aligning with Roofener’s theory that herbalists address the whole body, not just symptoms. Infertility affects millions of couples worldwide, with an estimated 10–15% of reproductive-aged couples experiencing difficulties conceiving.
Combining acupuncture and herbs enhances fertility by addressing both the physical and energetic aspects of reproductive health. Acupuncture involves the insertion of thin, sterile needles into specific points on the body, known as acupoints, which are located along the meridians. These points are chosen based on the individual’s symptoms and the underlying patterns of imbalance identified by the practitioner. By stimulating these points, acupuncture helps to unblock and regulate the flow of Qi, promoting healing and restoring balance to the body. However, imbalances or blockages in the flow of Qi can lead to illness or discomfort. TCM aims to restore balance to the body by harmonizing Qi through various modalities, including acupuncture and herbal medicine.

While there might be formulations at your chemist labelled as Chinese medicine, a qualified practitioner will never use a one-size-fits-all approach. A qualified practitioner will prescribe a Chinese herbal formula specifically formulated for your own condition. The formula is also adjusted and modified during the recovery period until the desired health outcome is achieved. For most conditions, there is not enough clinical evidence to know if traditional Chinese medicine methods work.
As a clinical nutritional intervention, the diet would be individually designed to achieve inner balance in combination with the Chinese medicine treatment of herbs and acupuncture. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) dates back thousands of years and is a system of primary health care that includes acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine and remedial massage (An Mo Tui Na). In Australia, the most popular forms of TCM health care are acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews is a collection of evidence-based reviews produced by the Cochrane Library, an international nonprofit organization.
National University offers “shadow experiences” before and/or after you apply with a network of practicing graduates nationwide. The goal of acupuncture is to promote healing through rebalancing the patient’s Qi (or chi) energy. This type of research informs physicians' decisions about referral, as well as helps patients to make treatment choices. Further, this comparative effectiveness design allows assessment of relative cost of the treatment options. There is similar research on many of the other TCM treatments, such as herbal remedies and moxibustion. But once again, it is worth considering the limitations of research that focuses on one aspect of TCM instead of the system as a whole.

To validate these findings and guide clinical integration, future studies should prioritize large-scale, multi-center, and double-blind randomized controlled trials with standardized treatment protocols and rigorous methodological designs. Mechanistic research and long-term outcome studies across diverse populations are also essential in order to establish the role of East Asian traditional medicine in reproductive medicine. Another limitation lies in the variability of practitioner expertise, which could have influenced treatment outcomes. While acupuncture is ideally administered by certified professionals, only 12 of the 25 acupuncture studies explicitly confirmed that treatments were delivered by certified acupuncturists [7,11,30,36,39,40,42,43,46,47,48,49].
It is important to understand that much of the language that is used by Acupuncturists and Chinese medicine practitioners to describe Eastern philosophy, and medical knowledge is like using Shakespearean language today to describe modern medical terms. Kaitlin is an acupuncturist from the Classical Meridian Therapy tradition, with extensive knowledge and use of different styles of acupuncture. She began her studies informally in Japan and completed her Bachelor of Health Science (TCM) in Australia in 2008.
Combining the two ensures that you’re receiving internal and external treatment to relieve symptoms and address the root cause of your conditions. Unlike pharmaceuticals that take a one-size-fits-most approach, herbal medicine allows you to customize your treatment to your exact needs. Patients who use herbal medicine may experience fewer side effects because of the more personalized approach.