Acupuncture Patient FAQ
At our practice, we use medical acupuncture to treat patients. Most new patients have never experienced an acupuncture evaluation or treatment previously. We assess the meridians (or acupuncture pathways) using Electrical Meridian Imaging (EMI). Next, we assemble the data into a computer program to graph and evaluate the patient’s meridians. Lastly, we recommend a treatment plan based on the objective findings and patient history of the presenting complaint.
Medical acupuncture is a hybrid of Chinese and modern European techniques. Solid needles, laser light, electric stimulation and other non-invasive methods can be used to encourage the flow of qi (pronounced chee), a life force energy, through specific acupuncture pathways (called meridians). By the elimination of folklore and by concentration upon modern concepts such as neuroanatomy, scientific studies to validate efficacy, and safe technique, your physician acupuncturist can provide the standard of acupuncture care.
What Type of Conditions is Acupuncture Effective for?
The National Institutes of Health and the World Health Organization have position statements regarding specific medical conditions which acupuncture has been useful for.
Acupuncture as a therapeutic intervention is widely practiced in the United States. While there have been many studies of its potential usefulness, many of these studies provide equivocal results because of design, sample size, and other factors. is further complicated by inherent difficulties in the use of appropriate controls, such as placebos and sham acupuncture groups. However, promising results have emerged, for example, showing efficacy of acupuncture in adult post-operative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting and in post-operative dental pain. There are other situations such as addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofacial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma where acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program. Further research is likely to uncover additional areas where acupuncture interventions will be useful. Reference: November 3-5, 1997 Vol. 15, No. 5
What Is The Scope of Practice for Acupuncture In Virginia?
Virginia State Law: What is the Scope of Practice for Acupuncture?
Recent Acupuncture Studies and News:
Study: Acupuncture Eases Heart Failure Symptoms.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Acupuncture can relieve some of the stress caused by heart failure, researchers said on Wednesday. When used correctly by professionals, the thin needles reduced activity of the sympathetic nervous system — which become overactive in heart failure patients and stress the heart, the researchers told a meeting of the American Heart Association.
Acupuncture May Help Relieve Fibromyalgia Symptoms.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Health) – Acupuncture helped relieve symptoms such as pain and depression in women with the chronic pain disorder fibromyalgia, according to research presented here Monday at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology. “Patients not getting enough results from drug therapy should try honest acupuncture,” said lead author Dr. Daniel Feldman, head of rheumatology at the Federal University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. “It really works.”
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