I was watching the Olympics the other day and saw a piece where a reporter went and received acupuncture treatments. It was interesting to hear about this particular practitioner who was influential in acupuncture's acceptance into Western culture. After the piece, the reporter mentioned that Nastia Liukin, gold medalist in the women's all-around gymnastics competition, has weekly acupuncture treatments.

She's not alone. Acupuncture is widely used as a method to aid and speed healing from sports-related injuries. Though the thought of multiple metal needles being inserted into your body is daunting, to say the least, proponents of the traditional form of medicine sing its praises. In addition to aiding in healing, acupuncture is said to help athletes by boosting energy, improving circulation, and ensuring the body gets the most out of nutrients. In addition, acupuncture is said to help improve the quality of sleep and boost immunity.

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Acupuncture is used to treat many conditions -- from migraine headaches to arthritis to backaches. It's also sometimes recommended as an companion to in-vitro fertilization (IVF). It was thought to improve blood flow, subsequently improving the chance of embryo implantation. However, recent data from London suggests that acupuncture may not be helpful to IVF at all.

The researchers evaluated 13 separate trials involving nearly 2,500 women. Five of the trials evaluated the efficacy of acupuncture at the time of egg retrieval. Eight studies evaluated acupuncture at the time of embryo implantation. Some women who were getting acupuncture treatments did need less pain medication during egg retrieval, but none of the studies showed a difference in pregnancy rates among the women who received acupuncture, those who received a "sham" version of acupuncture, and those who didn't get acupuncture at all.

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If you're wanting to look younger and are considering some of the more invasive and drastic procedures like injections or cosmetic surgery, have you thought about acupuncture instead? Although acupuncture has existed for thousands of years, it's only really been in use here in the U.S. for face lifts for about 20 years or so. And the technique may not be what you expect -- an acupuncture face lift isn't what I pictured at first, which was needles sticking all over a person's face. It's much more complicated and often the needles are put other places on the body based on where the acupuncturist determines the problems (the wrinkles) are originating from.

Have you tried it? Would you try it? Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Cher apparently have. What do you think?

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