Though it has been used in China to treat pain for thousands of years, acupuncture still makes many doctors uneasy, especially in the West. 1. The treatment is based on the idea that needles inserted at specific points can correct a pain-producing imbalance in two bodily forces—the yin and the yang. Dr. Bruce Pomeranz, a University of Toronto neurophysiologist, has a different explanation: acupucture may stimulate the release of the body’s own natural painkillers—endorphins—which act something like morphine (吗啡). Seven years ago social worker Gwenn Chriss was told she had lupus (狼疮). Once able to swim a mile, she could barely swim across the pool. She tried all sorts of pills, but her pain only got worse. Desperate, she went to an acupuncturist who inserted about a dozen stainless steel needles at points on her legs, arms and ears. Slowly, Chriss began to recover. Within six months she was swimming again. 2. The U. S. Food and Drug Administration recently pronounced acupuncture needles appropriate for general medical use in that country, but declined to say whether acupuncture relieves pain. Dr. Brian M. Berman, a pain specialist at the University of Maryland, believes the FDA eventually will approve acupuncture as a treatment for pain. But before that can happen, he concedes, "More well-designed studies need to be done. " There are many chronic pain clinics in the Asia region; they often are associated with hospitals in the major cities. Ask your physician for a referral. 3. In the end, whatever therapies you try, remember that you’re the expert on your own body. If a treatment feels right, look into it. If it sounds wrong, steer clear.