Acupuncture is an effective and relatively gentle therapy used to encourage natural healing, to reduce or relieve pain and to improve function of affected areas of the body. The World Health Organization has endorsed it as a legitimate therapy for a variety of conditions, either as an adjunct or as a primary intervention. Acupuncture works to modulate the body by inducing physiological changes on the activity of the nervous system and its effectors (muscles, joints, soft tissues). This allows your central nervous system, your brain and spinal cord, to exert control on structures that are inducing pain or improper function. Acupuncture has been shown to help with acute and chronic musculoskeletal problems with pain and dysfunction, with or without visceral origin.