In Health Watch: For more than 4-thousand years, the Chinese have used acupuncture to treat many ailments. Vivien Williams shows us how it's helping patients recover faster from surgery. Gaylon Jones knew that getting his strength back after surgery for cancer of the esophagus would be tough. Gaylon says, 'you then begin the process of rebuilding.' But he was not prepared for the intense nausea and vomiting that developed after the operation. Gaylon says, 'mild to extreme nausea. Even dry heaving. Basically I was nauseated from the first thing in the morning to late at night, and it was completely debilitating. I struggled to keep my weight up.' Gaylon's life was being controlled by the nausea. Neither diet nor medications could stop it. That's when he turned to a neurosurgeon at mayo clinic who, in addition to surgery, also practices the ancient chinese art of acupuncture. Dr. Ronald Reimer traveled to china to study acupuncture. He describes it as working in this fashion: needles in the skin stimulate pathways that travel through meridians and peripheral nerves to the spinal cord and brain. This is also often coupled with low frequency electrical stimulation. This causes endorphin levels to rise and other chemicals to change, unblocking trapped energy and restoring its flow. Dr. Reamer says, 'it is a science that is trying to rebalance the flow of qi, or energy in the body." Acupuncture relieved the nausea for Gaylon. Gaylon says, 'I went from probably 12 hours a day of nausea, from mild to extreme, to maybe two to three hours a day. It was life changing.' For Medical Edge, I'm Vivien Williams. For more information, visit the Medical Edge website at our Featured Links.