Acupuncture is being increasingly seen as an accurate medical science and not as quackery imported from the Orient. Acupuncture has been accorded a legal status in the United States. Not just anyone can become an acupuncture practitioner and open an acupuncture clinic. Professional training is available and a license is required for becoming an acupuncture practitioner. Many conditions with symptoms of acute pain like tennis elbow, cervical spondylitis, arthritis etc. can be treated successfully through acupuncture.

Acupuncture is a part of wealth of wisdom of traditional Chinese medicine. Many symptoms of acute pain can be successfully and easily treated using this therapy. The basic premise of acupuncture is that there is a channeled network of filters or gates throughout the body which are connected to the nervous system through the spinal chord. When an incision with a metallic needle is made at these points, the pinching can offset and cure the pain from an existing condition.

Contrary to current allopathy, this therapy makes the assumption that it is body fundamentals being out of balance that result in the disease. Imbalances can include Chi, Yin and Yang. Acupuncture aspires to do more than just reduce pain. It tries to rectify the underlying imbalance. For example an acupuncture practitioner will treat the liver for Yin imbalance as they believe it is the deficiency of Yin in the liver that causes a lost of tendon moisture that is key for easy mobility.

To relieve pain, "rounded" thin needles are used so as to pierce the skin to reach the specific points on muscles but avoid damage in the process. Multiple sessions are required and the identification of "maximal response" (substantial reduction of symptoms) varies from patient to patient, generally taking not more than four or five acupuncture sessions.

It should be noted that acupuncture therapy should be continued for at least a year even if the patient feels that he has been completely cured in the first few sessions itself. It's a good thing to know that this natural treatment for tennis elbow is completely harmless and has no side-effects on the human body. Some people report that the therapy not only relieves the pain but also energizes them.

Acupuncture treats many ailments besides relieving pain. It treats even those ailments that modern medicines could not cure fully. What the present medical system cannot treat, acupuncture treats easily. Acupuncture is one of the alternative treatments for the common cold as well as one of the natural remedies for influenza. Whenever you are suffering from these ailments or feeling the pain, the best solution is to think of going to the nearest acupuncture practitioner.