How it works
Acupuncture is used to influence body systems related to pain, stress, circulation, and regulation. Treatment is selected based on your symptoms, health history, and overall presentation.
What it feels like
The needles are extremely thin. Most people feel little to no pain. Some people notice a mild tingling, warmth, heaviness, or a sense of release.
Is it safe?
Yes. When performed by a licensed acupuncturist using sterile single-use needles, acupuncture is considered very safe. Many patients find treatments deeply relaxing.
Why Acupuncture?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, concepts such as Qi, Blood, Dampness, Heat Toxins, Fire, and Yin-Yang balance can be understood in modern terms as the body’s ability to regulate its internal biochemical systems efficiently.
Acupuncture has been shown in modern medical research to influence a wide range of neurotransmitters, hormones, and biochemical mediators involved in pain, mood, stress, and immune regulation. While conventional medicine — including medications and surgery — plays an essential role in healthcare, these approaches may sometimes come with a cost: withdrawal effects, side effects, or long-term dependency. The substances introduced into the body to quickly resolve certain problems can suppress the body’s natural production of these chemicals in one area and sometimes in other areas as well, because everything in the body is interconnected.
The body and mind are deeply connected. Whether the mind controls the body or the body controls the mind, no one can say with certainty when, how, or in what direction it flows. We do our best — we eat well, we listen to the body, we exercise, we give the body as much as we can. But we cannot control everything. Bad news falls from the sky. A major business deal keeps us awake at night. Our moods shift, and the body reacts accordingly. When this balance is disrupted — whether by stress, injury, chronic illness, aging, or lifestyle — symptoms begin to appear. Many people tend to seek help only after problems start to occur.
Acupuncture Works Differently
Rather than introducing external substances, acupuncture stimulates the body’s natural regulatory systems.
Release beneficial neurochemicals
Acupuncture encourages the brain and nervous system to produce the body’s own pain-relieving, mood-regulating, and healing compounds — naturally, without external drugs.
Restore internal balance
By working with the body’s existing pathways, acupuncture helps recalibrate systems that have been thrown off by stress, illness, or lifestyle — nudging them back toward equilibrium.
Improve resilience and recovery
Over time, treatment can strengthen the body’s ability to self-regulate, adapt to stress, and recover more efficiently from injury, illness, and emotional strain.
The Science: Neurochemical Effects of Acupuncture
Scientific and clinical studies show that acupuncture may influence the following systems:
Natural pain relief
β-endorphin, enkephalins, dynorphins
Helps reduce pain perception and improve comfort through the body’s own opioid system.
Serotonin
Mood, sleep & pain regulation
Supports emotional balance, relaxation, and healthy sleep-wake cycles.
Dopamine
Motivation & neurological function
Involved in reward pathways, movement, and mood — plays a role in conditions like Parkinson’s and depression.
Norepinephrine
Stress response & alertness
Supports pain modulation and autonomic balance, helping the body respond appropriately to stress.
GABA
Calming neurotransmitter
Helps reduce anxiety, quiet an overactive nervous system, and promote a state of calm.
Adenosine
Local anti-inflammatory
Produces pain-reducing and anti-inflammatory effects at the site of needle insertion.
Hormonal regulation
HPA axis — cortisol, oxytocin
Influences the stress hormone axis to help regulate cortisol, oxytocin, and other hormones central to wellbeing.
Immune modulation
Cytokines & immune responses
Helps regulate inflammatory markers and immune function, supporting the body’s defense systems.
Conditions Acupuncture Can Help Support
Acupuncture supports the body’s natural healing processes by influencing specific biochemical and regulatory systems. Here’s what the research suggests:
Acupuncture for Chronic Pain
Triggers: endorphins, enkephalins, norepinephrine, adenosine
Helps reduce pain signals and inflammation throughout the body.
Acupuncture for Migraines & Headaches
Triggers: serotonin, endorphins, adenosine
Helps reduce inflammation, regulate blood vessels, and relieve headache pain.
Acupuncture for Neck Pain
Triggers: endorphins, adenosine, local circulation
Helps relieve muscular tension, reduce stiffness, and improve range of motion.
Acupuncture for Depression
Triggers: serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine
Helps improve mood, emotional balance, and motivation.
Acupuncture for Anxiety
Triggers: GABA, serotonin, cortisol regulation
Helps calm the nervous system, reduce stress, and ease anxiety.
Acupuncture for Stress
Triggers: cortisol regulation, serotonin, GABA
Helps restore balance in the nervous system and reduce overall stress levels.
Acupuncture for Insomnia
Triggers: GABA, serotonin, melatonin regulation
Helps promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.
Acupuncture for Fatigue
Triggers: dopamine, norepinephrine
Helps improve energy, alertness, and overall vitality.
Acupuncture for Allergies
Triggers: immune-regulating cytokines, histamine modulation
Helps reduce inflammation, regulate immune overreaction, and relieve symptoms such as congestion and sinus pressure.
Acupuncture for Digestive Issues
Triggers: serotonin, vagal nerve regulation
Helps improve digestion, reduce bloating, and regulate gut function.
Acupuncture for PMS & Menstrual Pain
Triggers: endorphins, serotonin, hormonal regulation
Helps reduce cramping, regulate cycles, and balance hormones.
Acupuncture for Fertility
Triggers: hormonal regulation, improved blood flow
Helps support ovulation, implantation, and reproductive health, including IVF support.
Acupuncture for Immune Support
Triggers: cytokines, immune-modulating responses
Helps regulate inflammation and strengthen immune defense.
Acupuncture for Cancer Support
Triggers: endorphins, immune modulation, serotonin
Helps manage side effects of chemotherapy and radiation such as nausea, fatigue, neuropathy, insomnia, and pain.
Acupuncture for Alzheimer’s & Cognitive Health
Triggers: acetylcholine, improved cerebral blood flow
Helps support memory, cognitive function, and overall neurological health.
Acupuncture for Parkinson’s Disease
Triggers: dopamine, neuroprotective pathways
Helps support motor function, reduce tremors, and support neurological balance.
Acupuncture for Memory & Cognitive Clarity
Triggers: acetylcholine, increased cerebral circulation
Helps support memory retention and mental clarity.
Acupuncture for Addiction
Triggers: dopamine, endorphins
Helps stabilize reward pathways and reduce cravings and withdrawal symptoms.
Acupuncture for Diabetic Neuropathy
Triggers: nerve regeneration pathways, adenosine
Helps manage chronic nerve pain and improve sensation in affected areas.
And many more…
Eva’s Approach
Eva approaches each patient with the belief that healing requires time, attention, and a genuine understanding of the individual. Rather than rushing through symptoms or focusing on a single complaint, she looks at the whole person — their physical condition, emotional state, lifestyle, and the deeper patterns that may be contributing to imbalance.
Every treatment is carefully individualized. Eva takes time to assess each patient thoroughly and develop a treatment plan that may include acupuncture, herbal consultation, bodywork techniques such as cupping or gua sha, trigger point acupuncture, and practical lifestyle guidance. Her goal is not only to relieve symptoms, but to help the body restore balance and support long-term healing.
Eva continues to study and expand her clinical knowledge every day, believing that a practitioner should never stop learning. She approaches her work with deep respect for each person who comes to her for help, and considers it a privilege to be part of their healing journey.
A Note from Eva
I always encourage my patients to do what they can, in terms of when and how often to get acupuncture. I do not like to impose stress on top of the stress that they are already handling.
Remember — “hundreds of diseases emerge from emotional imbalances.”
Of course, it is always better to do prevention than to treat it when symptoms are already showing, but I understand we all have our responsibilities and priorities — so do what you can.
Research & References
The following peer-reviewed studies and reviews support the neurochemical and clinical effects of acupuncture described on this page.
Pain & Endorphins
Han JS. “Acupuncture and endorphins.” Neuroscience Letters, 2004. PubMed
Zhao ZQ. “Neural mechanism underlying acupuncture analgesia.” Progress in Neurobiology, 2008. PubMed
Zhang R et al. “Mechanisms of acupuncture–electroacupuncture on persistent pain.” Anesthesiology, 2014. PubMed
Serotonin & Dopamine
Lee B, Shim I. “The role of serotonin in acupuncture.” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2012. PMC
Yoon SS et al. “Acupuncture modulates dopamine release.” Neuroscience Letters, 2004. PubMed
Adenosine & Anti-inflammatory
Goldman N et al. “Adenosine A1 receptors mediate local anti-nociceptive effects of acupuncture.” Nature Neuroscience, 2010. PubMed
Kavoussi B, Ross BE. “The neuroimmune basis of anti-inflammatory acupuncture.” Integrative Cancer Therapies, 2007. PubMed
Migraines
Yang C et al. “Acupuncture for migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis.” 2024. PubMed
Liu Y et al. “Efficacy of acupuncture-related therapy for migraine.” 2024. PubMed
Liu AR et al. “Efficacy of acupuncture and pharmacotherapy for migraine prophylaxis.” 2025. PubMed
Insomnia & Sleep
Wang Z et al. “Efficacy and safety of multiple external therapies in patients with insomnia.” 2024. PubMed
Gao L et al. “Acupuncture for systemic therapy-associated insomnia in breast cancer patients.” 2025. PubMed
Wang J et al. “Traditional Chinese medicine therapies for insomnia.” 2025. PubMed
Yao L et al. “The central regulatory effects of acupuncture in treating insomnia.” Frontiers in Neurology, 2024. Frontiers
Neuropsychiatric & Cognitive
Tan W et al. “Efficacy and safety of acupuncture therapy for neuropsychiatric symptoms.” 2024. PubMed
Lam WC et al. “The use of acupuncture for addressing neurological and neuropsychiatric symptoms.” 2024. PubMed
Zhang A et al. “Acupuncture for the treatment of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Parkinson’s disease.” 2024. PubMed
Wu Z et al. “Meta-analysis and trial sequential analysis of acupuncture for anxiety in Parkinson’s disease.” 2024. PubMed
Fertility & IVF
Fu QW et al. “Acupuncture for women undergoing in vitro fertilization: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis.” 2025. PubMed
Xu M et al. “Effects of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing IVF.” 2024. PubMed
Wang X et al. “The timing and dose effect of acupuncture on pregnancy outcomes.” 2024. PubMed
Pain, Neuropathy & Depression
Xie CR et al. “Effectiveness of acupuncture for neck pain.” 2025. PubMed
Lan L et al. “Acupuncture for the management of chronic diabetic neuropathy.” 2025. PubMed
Lee MJ et al. “Effects of acupuncture on chronic stress-induced depression-like behavior.” Frontiers in Psychology, 2019. Frontiers
Li P et al. “Acupuncture may play a key role in anti-depression.” Chinese Medicine, 2024. BioMed Central
General Evidence Reviews
Hempen M et al. “The state of evidence in acupuncture: A review.” 2025. PubMed
Acupuncture can help support the body’s natural healing processes by influencing biochemical and regulatory systems. Individual responses vary, and no specific results are guaranteed.