Having a dozen needles inserted into your body doesn’t sound like a health practice. But when done in the correct manner, it may have a transformative effect.
Acupuncture is a component of Chinese medicine in which thin filiform needles are placed into skin to stimulate the body’s nervous system and provide relief to a variety of ailments — like muscular pain, which the practice is most known to treat. When viewed through the lens of Chinese medicine, the needles work to balance the body’s flow of qi — or vital life force — as it flows across the body’s channels.
Over 7.3 million Americans are acupuncture patients, and the botanicals and acupuncture industry is worth $65.1 billion as of 2024. This number is projected to grow to $78.21 billion as interest in the treatment's potential for muscular relief grows.
According to Theresa Rizzo, the owner of Gainesville Integrative Wellness Center, the practice can relieve far more than just muscular ailments; it can extend as far as gynecological or mental health treatment, too.
Health insurance usually only covers acupuncture when used for pain relief, Rizzo said, hence why it’s seen as the practice’s primary use.
Rizzo promotes the practice as part of a holistic approach to health — a key tenet of Chinese medicinal philosophy. Western medicine typically treats health issues on a piece-by-piece basis, she said, rather than viewing the body as one connected network. Acupuncture — and Chinese medicine in general — acts as an alternative to this divisional approach.
“It's what doctors should be doing: looking at the whole body, figuring out why someone has something, trying to get to the root cause of something [to] correct that imbalance,” Rizzo said, “instead of looking at pieces of the body or just looking at giving you a medication to cover up one thing.”
Gainesville Integrative Wellness Center combines different kinds of treatments to create a broader picture of health, she said. In addition to acupuncture, the center offers mental health counseling, massage and primary care.
But humans aren’t acupuncture’s only patients. UF horses might be finding some needles in their haystack.
As the director of the UF Equestrian Sports Medicine Program, Dr. Sara Gould said equestrian athletes tend to be more receptive to giving acupuncture a try. That’s in part because they’ve seen their horses give it a shot first.
If the benefits of acupuncture are evidenced by the horse's performance, why wouldn’t it work for the human athlete? After all, a horse can’t experience the placebo effect; if the treatment truly had no effect, the horses wouldn’t see a difference.
“I think that in more mainstream sports, there's not such a move to embrace some of these things, because it's not as well understood or known,” Gould said.
Gould advocates for the use of acupuncture as part of a broader system of sports medicine. This stance is shared by acupuncturist Hannah Caruso, who works at Sports and Orthopedic Acupuncture of Gainesville.
While acupuncture can be a powerful tool in both preventative and remedial measures, Caruso finds it the most effective when paired with practices like orthopedics and physical therapy. Acupuncture can act as a first line of care, decreasing the likelihood of injury and working to recover some existing ones, Caruso said — but acupuncture isn’t all-powerful, and this is where collaboration with Western medicine practitioners comes into play.
“People come to me at times, and there have been a few cases that I've said, 'Hey, you actually need to go see a surgeon,’” Caruso said. “‘This is really big, and this is something that I think you need additional care for.’”
Acupuncture can be viewed with skepticism by many first time patients, but Caruso has seen many instances in which a patient’s doubts are washed away after finding relief. Her practice focuses on measurable outcomes, which provide a sense of progress to her patients.
People from all walks of life can find relief through the practice, from athletes to parents, Caruso said.
“My goal is for each person to feel better, and whether I give them that care or somebody else does, I want them to get back to doing what they need to do, they want to do, as soon as possible,” Caruso said.
Contact Christopher Rodriguez at crodriguez@alligator.org. Follow him on X @ChrisRodri29386.
