Many states allow physicians, chiropractors, physician’s assistants, physical therapists and dentists to practice acupuncture with only 300 hours of training. This is a relic of 1974, when little was known about acupuncture practice and education. The 300-hour course for MD’s was designed to give medical researchers the appropriate background necessary to develop and interpret studies on a...

House calls always bring me the most unexpected and alarming assignments. The woman who had sounded so old and feeble over the phone was actually quite young — in her early thirties. She was in such a weakened state that she could barely walk to answer the door when I arrived.  “I can’t talk much because I’ll lose my breath,” she told me in a scarcely audible voice. ...

Your doctor, chiropractor, physician’s assistant or even physical therapist may say to you, “I do acupuncture”.  What they really mean is that they do neuromodulation (referring to the technique’s reputed ability to modulate, enhance or diminish, the effect of neurotransmitters) or trigger point needling (needling local points of nerve pain in muscles).  Often these practitioners will ca...

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....

It’s unconstitutional to pay the hobbyist MD’s and not licensed acupuncturists! In NY, the state prescribes training and licenses acupuncturists; both real acupuncturists (L. Ac.) and hobbyist acupuncturists (Cert. Ac, means medical doctors). There is an equal protection issue under federal law. The state may not lawfully pay allopathic doctors (MD’s) for acupuncture with ANY type of...

Although pneumothorax is reported to be a highly rare adverse effect relating to acupuncture, it is higher for those practicing medical acupuncture versus traditional or Chinese acupuncture (L.Ac.) It is not rude to question the qualification of the person who intends to treat you for a physical ailment, especially if they offer to perform a treatment secondary to their advertised expertise. Ask y...

Japanese researchers from the ophthalmology department at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine have demonstrated that acupuncture applied to various hand points can improve blood flow to the retinal artery. The retinal blood flow increased significantly in volume, velocity and in number of blood cells. ...

And what’s the difference between Medical Acupuncture and Traditional or Chinese Acupuncture? As more and more people are looking into receiving acupuncture for their health complaints, it has become that much more important to know what type of acupuncturists are in practice and what type of qualifications they have. Acupuncture is a component of a complete medical system called Traditiona...