In most medical treatment, the words "needle" and "relaxing" don't generally go together.

But when Holly Buchanan of Newmarket, N.H., turned to acupuncture to induce labor at 42 weeks, she experienced "a wave of warmth and realization that gave me a moment to reflect on my body, instead of having my head filled with worry over my first baby being overdue."

One Harvard University study estimates that Americans visit acupuncturists more than five million times a year. The National Institutes of Health reports ever increasing use of acupuncture by thousands of doctors, dentists and other practitioners to treat or prevent many illnesses.

Chinese medicine identifies more than 2,000 acupuncture points connected with pathways called meridians that conduct vital energy or qi (pronounced "chee") throughout the body. Illness or symptoms are associated with an imbalance of this vital energy. Acupuncture uses hair-thin, disposable needles to stimulate specific areas associated with organ functions in order to restore balance and help the body maintain its own health.

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