Looking at acupuncture sceptically I've never seen why it might not have actual benefit.
After all interfering with nerve transmission is known to affect sensation.
If you bang your leg the first thing you do instinctively is to rub it. This 'confuses' the stimulus sent to the brain - it is receiving the same pain signals, but also tactile sensations which bottleneck and the overall pain sensation is reduced.
It might not be fully understood but I don't see why acupuncture can't work within known scientific principles.
Even
the Sceptics Dictionary entry on Acupuncture allows that some pain relief is not unreasonable:
Nevertheless, it is possible that sticking needles into the body may have some beneficial effects. The most common claim of success by acupuncture advocates is in the area of pain control. Studies have shown that many acupuncture points are more richly supplied with nerve endings than are the surrounding skin areas. Some research indicates sticking needles into certain points affects the nervous system and stimulates the body's production of natural painkilling chemicals such as endorphins and enkephalins, and triggers the release of certain neural hormones including serotonin. Another theory suggests that acupuncture blocks the transmission of pain impulses from parts of the body to the central nervous system.
It just seems like acupuncture could be perfectly normal medical science working in a method appropriated by strange beliefs and linked to 'ancient beliefs'.
If it works due to clustering of nerves and interference with their transmission then it is part of known medical science.
If it works by altering unknown 'energy channels' then it is paranormal.
It was believed in days of yore that drilling holes in people's head allowed demons to escape and cured madness by posession.
The fact was that drilling holes in peoples head can alleviate mental disturbance due to brain inflammation and subsequent pressure release. It didn't mean that demons actually existed.
