Skip to content

Acupuncture treatment and therapists in Tucson

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese Medicine that stimulates the body’s ability to heal itself. At Caritas Center for Healing in Tucson we have professional acupuncturists who are experienced at using acupuncture to relieve pain and improve health.

Acupuncture works by stimulating acupoints on the body with the insertion of fine, sterile needles. It might sound painful if you have never experienced it (did I say “needles”?), but it actually helps to relieve pain. That’s one reason it’s used as an alternative to pain-relieving drugs such as opioids, and why acupuncture is covered by many insurance plans. So how does it work? According to the UCSD School of Integrated Medicine:

Energy, called “qi” (pronounced “chee”) flows along specific pathways, called meridians, throughout the body. …If the flow of energy gets blocked, like water getting stuck behind a dam, the disruption can lead to pain, lack of function, or illness. Acupuncture therapy can release blocked qi in the body and stimulate function, evoking the body’s natural healing response through various physiological systems. Modern research has demonstrated acupuncture’s effects on the nervous system, endocrine and immune systems, cardiovascular system, and digestive system. By stimulating the body’s various systems, acupuncture can help to resolve pain, and improve sleep, digestive function, and sense of well-being.

Another school of thought claims that acupuncture works by stimulating blood flow and the nervous system. The following short (under three minutes) video summarizes that view of how acupuncture works.

Either way, acupuncture is a proven treatment. It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or in conjunction with other treatments. At Caritas, we also offer qi gong classes, which stimulate the flow of qi through movements of the body and mental focus. The best of both worlds!

While experts disagree on why and how acupuncture works, they agree that it does work. That’s the bottom line.

 

Connect with two of Tucson’s best acupuncture therapists, who practice at Caritas!

Nanie Carrillo
Nanie Carrillo

Meet our acupuncturists — caring, experienced, licensed

Websites and contact info:

Nanie Carillo

Website: Acupuncture Del Soul

Britta Van Dun
Britta Van Dun

Contact Nanie at: (520) 979-7078

 

Britta Van Dun

Website: Essence Acupuncture

Contact Britta at: (917) 519-2432

Email: britta@essenceacupuncture.com

Conditions Treatable with Acupuncture

See below for a complete list of conditions that acupuncture is used to treat, which is quite extensive.  The National Institute of Health (NIH) recognizes acupuncture’s effectiveness.

  • Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
  • Biliary colic
  • Depression
  • Dysentery
  • Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
  • Headache
  • Hypertension,
  • Knee pain
  • Leukopenia
  • Low back pain
  • Malposition of fetus
  • Morning sickness
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Neck pain
  • Pain in dentistry
  • Periarthritis of shoulder
  • Postoperative pain
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Sciatica
  • Stroke
  • Tennis elbow

 

Limited but probable evidence supports acupuncture’s effectiveness for treating:

  • Abdominal pain
  • Acne vulgaris
  • Alcohol dependence and detoxification
  • Bell’s palsy
  • Bronchial
  • Asthma
  • Cancer pain
  • Cardiac neurosis
  • Cholecystitis
  • Cholelithiasis
  • Competition stress syndrome
  • Craniocerebral injury
  • Diabetes
  • Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
  • Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
  • Female infertility
  • Facial spasm
  • Female urethral syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
  • Gastrokinetic disturbance
  • Gouty arthritis
  • Hepatitis B virus carrier status
  • Herpes zoster 
  • Hyperlipaemia
  • Hypo-ovarianism
  • Insomnia
  • Labour pain
  • Lactation, deficiency
  • Male sexual dysfunction
  • non-organic Ménière disease
  • Neuralgia,
  • post-herpetic Neurodermatitis
  • Obesity Opium
  • cocaine and heroin dependence
  • Osteoarthritis Pain due to endoscopic examination
  • Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans