Let’s be real here, volunteering to have a licensed practitioner stick needles into your body for healing purposes may sound ridiculously absurd, but acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practice of penetrating the skin with tiny, stainless steel needles, continues growing in popularity year after year. More than 10 million patient acupuncture sessions happen in the United States every year!

The reason for its appeal? Acupuncture is generally safe and may be an effective therapy to help address a variety of health concerns.