Don't let the pain factor needle you -- Acupuncture is actually a painless alternative to traditional Western medicine, according to most practitioners.

Acupuncture is a 2,500-year-old Chinese tradition of healing that attempts to relieve pain and to prevent or treat disease by inserting very thin, sterile needles into strategic parts, or "points," of the body. After treatment, the body begins to heal and regain its balance of Qi (pronounced "chee").

There are two schools of thought that explain how acupuncture affects the body: the Western view of medicine and the Eastern view, said Sucheta Pandit, a registered acupuncturist at Holistic Associates, 233 Easterly Parkway.

"In the Western view, a symptom is treated. In the Eastern view, something like blood pressure is one symptom in a mosaic of symptoms," she said. "You treat the whole person."

Pandit said there are many different types of acupuncture. Cultural methods of administering treatment come from Asian countries like China, Korea and Vietnam. Pandit prefers to use the Chinese method on her patients.

Qi is the force in the body that gives people the capacity to move, think, feel and work, Pandit said. The acupuncturist hopes to access the Qi with the needles and remove blockages, which cause pain and stress because the Qi is unbalanced. When the blockage is gone, the Qi will flow freely and the body will reach a homeostasis.

"The human body is like a garden," said Janie Sheerin, a registered acupuncturist and owner of Lemont Acupuncture Centre, 324 First Ave. "The garden needs all sorts of elements to flourish: The sun makes it grow, rain provides irrigation to the roots, and irrigation carries the nutrients to the roots."

Dr. Edward Rosick, a physician for University Health Services, said that the Western or more traditional view of acupuncture is that needle insertion disrupts neural pain pathways.

"It interrupts the signal from the body part to the pain, which is why your pain sometimes goes away after treatment," he said.

However, he added that science does not have a definitive answer on how acupuncture exactly works.

"The jury is still out on that one," Rosick said.

Sheerin said that acupuncture is actually a more conservative alternative treatment for pain than taking medications because acupuncture does not inject any foreign objects into the body during treatment.

Pandit pointed out that acupuncture is also a form of preventative medicine because acupuncture treatments aim to keep your Qi in balance, helping to prevent sickness in the first place.

"You can view illness as your body's way of rebalancing and establishing homeostasis. It's just getting to that point to know that something's not right," she said.

Typical symptoms that cause people to seek out treatment from an acupuncturist include depression, migraines, back pain, menopause, PMS, tendinitis, and slipped disks, Pandit said. Others seek relief from conditions such as lupus or fibromyalgia.

Sheerin said that when new patients comes to her office, they fill out a medical history form to identify their pre-existing conditions. She then proceeds with a tongue diagnosis where she examines the color, shape, width and overall condition of the tongue. The tongue is thought to be an indicator of a body's condition or "environment" as a whole, she said.

Pulse is also used to diagnose where the underlying problem could be.

"Your legs can be swollen and it actually indicates a problem with your kidneys," said Sheerin.

Sheerin then palpates, or feels, where on the body the problem is, based on the patient's complaints and on her previous diagnoses of the tongue and pulse.

"The organs underneath can be sick. We have to get to the root of the problem, then treat the branches," she said.

Needles are then placed over the affected area or areas. For example, if a patient has upper back pain or knots in muscles, the needles are put in the center of the knots or area of pain. Sheerin said that there should be no pain at all during the procedure, but it depends on the acupuncturist.

However, Pandit said there is sensation of some sort.

"It isn't like hypodermic hurt. There are all kinds of varieties: numbness, tingling, heat, throbbing ... it all depends on how you hit the Qi with the needle. You might feel something for one or two seconds; then it generally goes away," she said.

Acupuncture needles are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and are packaged in sterile, disposable packets to prevent the spread of bacteria and more serious blood-related diseases like AIDS. Sheerin said about 98 percent of acupuncturists use a one-inch needle during most treatments, unless the affected area has thick tissue or muscles. The needles usually go 2.5 millimeters into the skin.

"You just tap it in. It goes in so fast that the skin doesn't know it's there," she said.

The needles are hair-thin and very flexible. Sheerin said her patients can still move around after the needles have been inserted. The needles can remain in place from 20 to 40 minutes, and then are removed.

Many insurance companies are covering acupuncture treatments as a form of pain management; however, West Coast-based companies are more likely to cover their clients than those on the East Coast, Sheerin said.

Malpractice insurance is very low for practitioners because there is little risk of side effects associated with acupuncture treatment, she said. Some doctors, however, warn that there can be small amounts of bleeding after needle insertion.

Whether further treatment is needed or not depends on the patient's condition and how much patients are willing to believe in the effectiveness of acupuncture.

"Sometimes, people just need to make lifestyle changes [for acupuncture to work]. Why do you feel the way you do? Maybe it's because you're drinking two liters of pop a day," Sheerin said.

In fact, Pandit said she has followed a healthy lifestyle along with consistent acupuncture treatments and went eight and a half years without being sick.

"Acupuncture isn't just a treatment; it's a lifestyle," she said.