Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease that produces scaly skin that is rather unsightly. Surprisingly, many people with psoriasis are able to find relief with acupuncture.

Because of its unsightliness - even to close family members, when psoriasis flares up it creates a problem. It can affect rather small patches or large areas on the body. Here is why acupuncture may be able to help psoriasis.

Causes of Psoriasis

The cause of psoriasis has not yet been determined. However it is known to be genetic, sometimes skipping a generation. The problem stems from a rapid growth of cell production. Cells are produced faster than they are lost so there is a build of cells that results in a scale effect.

Scientists are not certain what causes this scaling of the skin cells, but there is a general belief it is related to the immune system. It is considered to be a severe case of psoriasis when it covers 30% or more of the body. Those that have psoriasis are also candidates to get a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis.

Things That Can Trigger Psoriasis

Psoriasis has a number of known things that can trigger a flare-up of the disease. It can remain relatively inactive, at times, but when these triggers occur, it will often produce a recurrence. These flare-ups are:

· Stress
· Food allergies
· Alcohol - in men only
· Smoking

What Is Acupuncture

Acupuncture comes from China and has been used there for over 2,000 years. It is based on the Chinese religious beliefs that the universe, and our bodies should have a balance of the oscillating forces of yin and yang.

Problems in the body come when this balance is lost. Chi, or the life force, normally flows through the body in a balance, along certain pathways called meridians.

When the chi is stopped along some lines, problems develop. The acupuncture specialist inserts hait-thin needles of silver, gold, or copper, to help unblock the flow of life-energy. This will permit the body to bring about a healing of itself.

Use of Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been known to bring about some excellent help for psoriasis. In fact, there have been cases where traditional medicine could not do much, but the acupuncture treatments were found to be quickly helpful.

Although more research is needed using acupuncture to treat psoriasis, results do look very good. Many studies have been performed in China showing significant improvement.

One of the best reasons that acupuncture can help with psoriasis, is because it is known to be able to relieve anxiety. Anxiety is one of the major triggers of psoriasis.

The exact reason why acupuncture works is unknown to medical science. It is known that acupuncture releases endorphins, the body's own pain-killing chemicals. This may block some inflammatory mechanisms involved in psoriasis, or possibly prevents some nerve action from taking place.

An acupuncture treatment will usually last from around a couple of minutes to about an hour, at most. Treatments may also include other forms of acupuncture, such as electro-acupuncture, or laser acupuncture. Laser acupuncture uses mild lasers, instead of acupuncture needles.

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