Acupuncture has been very helpful for millions of people for thousands of years!  Here in Murfreesboro many area residents have discovered that acupuncture can provide relief that has been difficult to find.

The tiny painless needles are gently inserted into specific points carefully selected to obtain the best results.

Acupuncture points are associated with specific locations in the human nervous system.  The stimulation has a direct effect on the functioning of the brain.

Traditional view

Acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years.  In fact, acupuncture was used to help people find relief of pain and heal from illness before modern scientific principles of human physiology were understood.  Acupuncture was developed in an era known as a pre-scientific period.

The ancient theories developed primarily in China and other Asian cultures.  The most dominant aspect of these traditional views of health is that energetic balance is necessary for good health.  For a person to be healthy, their body must function in a balanced, harmonious way.  Even though this idea originates from ancient cultures from around the world, modern views of health are in agreement with the concept.

The primary purpose of acupuncture when practiced from a traditional perspective is to assist the body to heal and restore balance.  Acupuncture helps your own body to heal.  The traditional view considers your body’s own innate energy to be the essential healing force and the acupuncture treatment helps reduce blockages or stagnation of the energy pathways.

Even though this ancient traditional perspective may seem unusual to those of us in a modern culture, it must be remembered that acupuncture has long been found to be effective, even though it may be difficult to understand.

Contemporary Scientific Explanation (Clinical Acupuncture)

In recent years a large amount of research has been directed toward acupuncture in scientific facilities all around the world.  It has become evident that acupuncture is an effective treatment that holds great promise for a wide range of conditions.  Studies from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, China, Japan, Korea, India and other countries have demonstrated the very real positive effects of acupuncture stimulation.

Most of the research has investigated the effects of acupuncture stimulation on the nervous system.  The tiny needles have been shown to stimulate peripheral nerves in such a way as to affect the function of the deepest portions of the brain.

In fact, acupuncture stimulates the portion of the brain that interprets pain and affects normal regulatory function.  This is believed to be the reason that acupuncture can be so effective for painful conditions and in helping the body function in a more balanced manner.

It is interesting that clinical acupuncture can have a profound benefit for hormonal imbalances as well.

One thing is for sure.  Acupuncture has proven to be highly effective and safe for millions of people around the world for a wide range of conditions.  It is drug-free, so drug side effects are non-existent.  In many cases, patients have responded well to acupuncture when other treatments have failed to resolve their complaint.

Research is ongoing to understand how acupuncture works.  Dr. Mark Kestner is actively following clinical acupuncture research done by organizations in the United States and other countries to learn more about how to develop acupuncture to be even more effective. (Click here for Journal Article by Dr. Kestner.)

There has never been a better time to try acupuncture than right now!

In 1998 Dr. Mark Kestner completed his first post-graduate course in acupuncture and was named a Fellow of the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture.  He subsequently sat for and successfully passed national board examination in acupuncture by NBCE.  He has studied with respected experts in acupuncture from around the United States and from China.

In addition to studying traditional Chinese acupuncture, he has studied meridian style acupuncture and biomedical acupuncture.  He has participated in studying acupuncture in post-graduate courses with acupuncturists, chiropractic physicians, medical physicians and physical therapists.

BMAS

AAPM

He participates in national and international professional communities to promote development of acupuncture as a clinical science.  He is a past member of the British Medical Acupuncture Society and the American Academy of Pain Management

Our doctor is the first licensed doctor to bring clinical acupuncture to the Murfreesboro area.  In post-graduate programs he has studied traditional Chinese and contemporary scientific acupuncture for more than twenty years.  Dr. Mark Kestner has been a licensed chiropractic physician since 1988.

In his professional library Dr. Kestner has more than seventy acupuncture texts by authors from around the world.  These volumes are written by experts in traditional Chinese, Japanese and Korean acupuncture styles as well as contemporary authors regarding scientific and physiological aspects of acupuncture.

Dr. Kestner has authored articles that have appeared in national professional publications on scientific acupuncture.  He writes an ongoing column on how acupuncture affects human physiological processes.

Dr. Oz introduced Oprah to acupuncture live on her television show.

Dr. Oz introduced audiences to   acupuncturist Daniel Hsu on The Oprah Winfrey Show . Now he’s  invited Daniel to educate Oprah Radio listeners about the healing powers  of acupuncture. Acupuncture is an ancient Chinese medicine practice  that involves sticking needles into different parts of the skin. This releases  endorphins and serotonin in your brain, which are natural chemicals that  regulate pleasure and mood. Daniel says acupuncture has been shown to treat many  common ailments and chronic diseases more effectively than modern Western  medicine practices. Daniel outlines a few of the health benefits of  acupuncture: Provides relief for chronic pains such as lower back  pain and migraines Daniel says acupuncture not only causes the body to  release natural pain killers, it can also change a patient’s perception of the  pain, thereby relieving their symptoms. “If two people have the same X-rays and  the same MRIs and one person can feel absolutely no pain and the other person  can feel a lot of pain and it’s just unexplainable, what acupuncture does is  just alter that perception—and it’s quite effective,” he says.   Relieves stress and anxiety Daniel says acupuncture treatments geared  toward different parts of the body can relieve different types of stress. For  example, he says that if a patient complains of palpitations and is upset and  unhappy, he will use acupuncture to trigger points that help the heart. If a  patient is irritable, stressed-out and quick to lose their temper, he will treat  trigger points that help the liver. “Every organ has corresponding signs and  symptoms,” he says.