How does it work?

Contemporary Western medicine has developed more than 17 different ways of explaining different aspects of acupuncture
effects, but no unified theory. The traditional understanding of acupuncture provides a unified framework for clinical evaluation and treatment (the channel system, five-phase theory, yin/yang theory). Western and Chinese medicine agree on the fact that it works, and that formal studies, using techniques ranging from blood serum analysis to MRI, have documented acupuncture’s efficacy in ways that are compatible with Western scientific methodology. The outcomes of many studies suggest that acupuncture is more effective when applied by a skillful practitioner using traditional theories.