It is estimated that acupuncture has been practiced in China for at least 2,500 years, making it one of the nation's traditional medical practices. Acupuncture as a medical practice is often founded on the assumption that there are specific patterns of energy flow (Qi) within the body that are necessary for good health. This is the central tenet of the general theory of acupuncture. It is believed that sickness is caused by disturbances in the flow of this energy. It has been hypothesized that acupuncture can rectify flow abnormalities at specific locations that are somewhat close to the surface of the skin.
Prior to President Richard M. Nixon's trip to China in 1972, the use of acupuncture in American medicine for the purpose of treating identified pathophysiological (disease) conditions was uncommon. Since that time, there has been a meteoric rise in the level of interest in the United States and Europe over the integration of the acupuncture methodology into Western medical practice.