HERBAL REMEDIES

Acupuncture pierces pain, helps you

The Chinese healing art of acupuncture is one that can be dated back at least two thousand years. Its exact age is vague, as some authorities maintain that acupuncture has been practiced in China for four thousand years. Up until the twentieth century, however, most of the population of the world had been uninformed about acupuncture, its origins, and its capacity to promote and maintain good health. Even today in relatively "advanced" nations such as the United States, there are many who hold acupuncture under the stereotype of a new or radical medicine, one which would almost always be a second choice after more familiar Western approaches to handling illness, (ie. drugs and surgery).
On the most basic of levels, acupuncture can be described as the insertion of very fine needles (sometimes in combination with electrical stimulus or with heat produced by burning specific herbs) into the skin at specific acupuncture points in order to influence the functioning of the body. The choice of acupuncture points varies from patient to patient and from treatment to treatment and relies on very careful diagnoses of different kinds. Diagnosis entails the observation of the body through looking, touching, smelling and listening. One of the primary and fundamental diagnostic methods of traditional Chinese medicine is pulse taking, which is far more intricate than pulse taking in the West. It has been said to take upwards of fifteen years to master this diagnostic art.
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine is one of the fastest growing forms of health care in the United States. This explosion is due to the recognition by consumers and regulators of the safety, effectiveness and low cost of this form of health care.
Today, thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have recognized the practice of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Legislation has been introduced in an additional eight states.
Acupuncture has been cited by the World Health Organization as effective treatment for over forty-three conditions, including allergies, asthma, back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, colds and flu, constipation, depression, gynecological disorders, headache, heart problems, infertility, insomnia, pre-menstrual syndrome, sciatica, sports injuries, tendonitis and stress.
The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) is recognized by the United States Department of Education. Acupuncture is a three-year masters level program. Oriental medicine is a four-year masters level program. Over forty colleges are accredited or in candidacy status.
Acupuncture is used in more than 20 states in over 800 drug dependency programs. Patients who go through these programs have lower re-arrest rates on drug-related charges than those not treated with acupuncture.
The National Institute of Health Consensus Conference on Acupuncture recognized the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of several diseases , stating, "One of the advantages of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same conditions."
A study in six clinics in five states showed the efficacy and cost savings of acupuncture. Of the patients treated with acupuncture, 91.5 percent reported disappearance or improvement of symptoms; 84 percent said they see their MDs less; 79 percent said they use fewer prescription drugs, and 70 percent of those to whom surgery had been recommended said they avoided it.
Controlled clinical trials in the United States have evaluated the use of acupuncture combined with standard stroke protocol for the treatment of paralysis due to stroke. Effective or markedly effective results were found for over 80 percent of the patients receiving acupuncture with a cost savings of $26,000 per patient.
The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) offers four independent certification programs: Acupuncture, Chinese Herbology, Acupuncture & Chinese Herbology, and Oriental Bodywork Therapy. The NCCAOM has certified over 9,000 practitioners in 47 states and 18 foreign countries.
Clinical studies indicate that acupuncture is effective in treating headache, dysmenorrhea, fibromyalgia, stroke, substance abuse, menopause, depression, female infertility, neck pain, low back pain, osteoarthritis, morning sickness, respiratory disease, urinary dysfunction, tennis elbow and facial pain.
A study by the New York advocacy group, Patients Have Rights, showed that 90 percent of the respondents had heard of Chinese medicine and acupuncture and 13% had used acupuncture. 80 percent of the respondents described their experience as "favorable" and 100 percent thought it important to have a choice in the type of medicine they use.