| In recent years acupuncture has enjoyed a | | | | acupuncture. Low back pain, sciatica, neck pain, |
| tremendous surge in popularity and acceptance. Just | | | | shoulder pain, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, |
| the other day, my mother called to tell me "Oprah's | | | | fibromyalgia, headaches and other kinds of pain may |
| talking about acupuncture on her show today!" | | | | all be treated successfully with acupuncture. But |
| Despite Oprah's coverage, the questions I hear over | | | | because the aim of acupuncture is to bring balance |
| and over again about acupuncture tell me that what I | | | | and harmony to the whole person, it can also be an |
| do for a living is still not well-understood by everyone. | | | | excellent treatment for insomnia, fatigue, digestive |
| When I was asked to write an article for a local | | | | problems, menopause, menstrual disorders, infertility, |
| newspaper about acupuncture, I decided that busting | | | | MS, Lupus, and a supportive treatment for patients |
| common myths about acupuncture would be a good | | | | with cancer, Hepatitis or HIV. |
| place to start. | | | | Myth #4: Acupuncturists aren't licensed medical |
| Myth #1: Acupuncture needles hurt! | | | | professionals. |
| Compared with the needles used to take blood or | | | | This may have been true 35 years ago when |
| deliver medicine, acupuncture needles are many times | | | | acupuncture first became available in the U.S., but |
| thinner, solid rather than hollow, flexible rather than | | | | today acupuncture is a licensed, regulated profession. |
| rigid and rounded at the tip. An acupuncture needle is | | | | A Google search of "acupuncture in hospitals" reveals |
| inserted quickly through the skin's surface until you | | | | acupuncturists on staff at a number of hospitals |
| feel tingling, warmth or pressure in the area of the | | | | across the country. To be licensed in most states, |
| needle. After a few minutes, these sensations fade | | | | acupuncturists must complete a 3 to 4-year graduate |
| away and you are left feeling sleepy and deeply | | | | program in acupuncture and Traditional Chinese |
| relaxed. | | | | Medicine (TCM) and pass a series of national |
| Myth #2: Acupuncture only works if you believe in it. | | | | certification exams. Like other professionals, to |
| While keeping a positive attitude will probably help | | | | maintain our licensure, we must add to our |
| you get well, how and why acupuncture works is not | | | | knowledge with continuing education, maintain national |
| so simple. According to the National Institutes for | | | | board certification and adhere to a strict code of |
| Health (NIH), studies have shown that acupuncture | | | | medical ethics. |
| seems to affect the body's immune reactions, blood | | | | Myth #5: My insurance won't cover acupuncture, so I |
| pressure regulation, blood flow and temperature, and | | | | can't afford to try it. |
| may aid the activity of endorphins (the body's own | | | | Don't be so sure about that! Where I practice, there |
| painkilling chemicals) and immune cells "at specific sites | | | | has been a sudden increase in coverage for |
| in the body". While most clinical studies on | | | | acupuncture treatment and there is currently a bill in |
| acupuncture do note that even "sham acupuncture" | | | | congress (HR646) that would allow acupuncture to |
| (in which an needle is not inserted or not inserted into | | | | be covered by Medicare. Many acupuncturists offer |
| a non-acupuncture point) seems to have a small | | | | discounts for seniors, students or for multiple |
| therapeutic effect on the body, study participants | | | | treatments purchased at once. Community |
| who receive "real" acupuncture treatment | | | | Acupuncture, a traditional style of acupuncture |
| consistently do better than those in the control group | | | | treatment that allows patients to receive simple |
| or those receiving conventional treatment. | | | | treatments alongside other patients (fully clothed, of |
| Myth #3: Acupuncture is only good for treating pain. | | | | course) at a very low cost, $15-$40 per visit. |
| It is true that pain responds very well to | | | | |