World Health Organization: Acupuncture Proven Effective for
Several years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) published an official report listing 31 symptoms, conditions and diseases that have been shown in controlled trials to be treated effectively by Acupuncture. Following is the list of conditions shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by Acupuncture:
The report also contains three other very important lists of conditions:
This landmark report, Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials, is available on the WHO website for download as a printable PDF file (see link at end). It could help patients deal with insurance carriers who deny coverage for Acupuncture treatments for the situations contained in the report, especially those proven effective in controlled trials. WHO’s authority concerning health-related matters internationally cannot be challenged.
If a patient’s treatment is on the lists of symptoms, syndromes, disease processes, pathologies, traumas and conditions that have been proven to be effectively treated by Acupuncture, the report should be presented to insurance carriers along with a request to reconsider coverage.
This is difficult to say because of the wide variations in the styles of acupuncture performed. Generally three to fifteen needles will be placed. Costs vary depending on locale and practitioners training and experience.
Your first visit is for a diagnostic consultation and if you have made an appointment for acupuncture, your first treatment will be included. Your practitioner will find out medically relevant information about your condition and examine your tongue and you pulse. A brief physical examination will be conducted where necessary. If you are seeking treatment to a physical injury or ailment, please wear something that will allow the problem area to be examined easily. If you take any medication including vitamins and supplements, bring a list of these to your first appointment. *IF YOU ARE A NEW PATIENT, PLEASE BE SURE TO FILL OUT THE NEW PATIENT INTAKE FORM (NPIF) IN ADVANCE TO SAVE TIME DURING YOUR OFFICE VISIT. THANK YOU!
No, you don’t. Infants can be treated, as can unconscious people. Animals can be, and are, successfully treated with acupuncture.
The cost varies for each type of treatment; Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine or medical Qigong.
Usually treatments are scheduled weekly, sometimes bi-weekly. Many patients choose to, once the problem has been successfully treated, to attend treatment bi-weekly or monthly in order to ensure they stay healthy.
It is impossible to say how many treatments somebody will need, especially without a proper consultation and diagnostic process. What can be said is that generally, more recent complaints are easier to treat than chronic, long-standing illnesses.
It is ok to the usual things you do afterwards. We do recommend that you avoid strenuous exercise or intellectual strain for about 30 minutes after your treatment.
In the hands of a professionally trained practitioner, Acupuncture TCM is safe and free of negative side-effects. Non-physician acupuncturists are required by law in most states to use safe, disposable, one-time-use, sterilized needles. Physicians, because of their experience and background in infection control, have the option of using re-usable sterilized needles. These needles would need to be sterilized in the same way as any surgical instrument.
Requirements can vary significantly worldwide. In most of Europe a person to legally practice acupuncture must first be a medical doctor, although there are currently more countries changing laws and opening this to non-medical healthcare professionals. In the United States there are non-physicians who are licensed to practice. Again there can be significant variations in requirements depending upon state and local laws. You can review requirements for membership in the AAMA as a guideline for recommendations for physicians wanting special training.
Acupuncture can be very helpful in treatment of side-effects of western medical treatment, such as chemotherapy, and for alleviating cancer related pain or other problems, but it cannot treat cancer itself. For this you need to seek western medical treatment. Clinical trials report the use of acupuncture relieves nausea and vomiting from anticancer therapies. Other trials have studied the use of acupuncture in cancer treatment to relieve symptoms such as fatigue, dry mouth and hot flashes.
Yes. Acupuncture TCM can be very helpful for those having trouble conceiving or having the family they would wish. Your practitioner discuss treatment options with you and suggest Chinese Herbal Medicine, either alongside acupuncture treatment, or on its own.
Acupuncture doesn’t hurt. Acupuncture needles are extremely fine, almost like a hair, and it is sometimes hard to even feel them being inserted. Often people report a sensation sometime after the insertion of the needle, but this is a pressure-like sensation rather than a pain.
The needles used are hair thin and totally unlike the needles used for injections of medicine. Most people don’t even feel the insertion and those who do, describe it as a kind of pressure. There is no need to be afraid of the needles. If you are worried, however, mention this when you make your appointment, or at your first appointment so your practitioner can take it into account and make things easier for you.
Acupuncture can, and often is used in conjunction with western medical treatment. It does not negatively interfere with other forms of medicine. It is important, however, to tell your practitioner what other forms of treatment you are receiving.
No, that is outside the field of TCM. If you need advice about medications prescribed to you by your GP or consultant, you need to discuss that with them.
TCM views the human being very differently from western medicine. It does not separate the body from the mind, or the inside from the outside, but takes a comprehensively holistic view of the person, the complaint and the context it is happening in. TCM can often diagnose and treat ‘odd complaints’, problems that western medicine can’t put a label on.
TCM acupuncture treatment is based on a thorough diagnosis and examination of the problem. Only once your practitioner is satisfied that they have all the information they need in order to understand what is wrong, will they attempt to start putting it right and give you a treatment. Selecting the right points for your individual condition is a matter of a good diagnosis combined with the practitioners experience. Each acupuncture point does a different thing, or the same thing but slightly differently.
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.