Patient Testimonials and Case Studies on Medical Acupuncture.

I was having dinner with my grandmother and she began asking me how safe acupuncture is.

She has been getting acupuncture for years (from an L.Ac.) so I asked why the sudden safety concern? She told me a friend at work had recently had her lung punctured by an acupuncturist. My grandmother was now concerned about this happening to her.

I was shocked. I had heard of this happening, but by students or unqualified practitioners. Most properly trained L.Ac.’s know how hard you have to try to actually collapse a lobe of the lung. I explained this to my grandma and asked if she knew who the practitioner was. She said that it was the woman’s primary care MD at Kaiser. Bingo!

This MD had taken a medical acupuncture course and was now providing acupuncture through Kaiser. I used this opportunity to educate my grandmother (and hopefully her friend in turn) about the difference in training and the importance of seeing an L.Ac. to insure a safe and effective treatment.

It is very scary to me to think that people trusting that their MD’s “know best” (or whose treatment are covered by their insurance) are receiving acupuncture by unqualified providers that can do them harm; and in turn harm our credibility and professionalism.

Tamsen Staniford, L.Ac.

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