Acupuncture: Once an Alternative Now an Accepted Treatment Option!

Acupuncture has become a vibrant part of the nation’s healthcare system and is more commonly being used in conjunction with conventional medical treatment. Healthcare providers frequently recommend acupuncture as part of a treatment protocol for acute and chronic pain; behavioral health, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression; women’s health issues; and as part of integrated cancer care. The Joint Commission, the nation’s largest healthcare accrediting body with nearly 21,000 healthcare organizations and programs in the U.S., lists acupuncture as standard nonpharmacological treatment for pain and also for behavioral health. Increasingly, hospitals and specialty clinics are offering acupuncture as part of their standard model of care.

            A published Archives of Internal Medicine review of studies looking at acupuncture for the treatment of chronic pain that involved almost 18,000 people found acupuncture effective and a reasonable referral option. New treatment guidelines from the American College of Physicians recommends acupuncture therapy as a nondrug therapy to be used as a first line of treatment for both acute and chronic back pain prior to using medications.

            For PMS (premenstrual syndrome), anxiety and depression, acupuncture is a valuable treatment resource. Behavioral and mental health programs are more frequently offering acupuncture as part of their treatment. Harvard Medical School and the Advanced Integrative Rehabilitation and Pain Center found “high-level evidence to support the use of acupuncture for treating major depressive disorder in pregnancy.” Research at the University of Arizona concluded that “acupuncture can provide significant symptom relief in depression, at rates comparable to those of psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy.” Other studies have shown acupuncture enhancing antidepressant therapy and improving the quality of life in depressed patients undergoing medical treatment.

            Many major cancer care institutions, such as Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, offer acupuncture as part of their treatment or recommend its use. Research published in journals, such as Clinical Oncology, shows acupuncture effective for pain, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, peripheral neuropathy, hot flashes, and dry mouth and difficulty swallowing.

            For those in the Midlands interested in trying acupuncture, find a practitioner that has been licensed by the S.C. Board of Medical Examiners and that holds national board certification by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Although other health specialties are exploring variations of acupuncture-like treatment that might involve electricity, laser or dry needles, they have vastly different educational and practice standards than the acupuncture profession and, not surprisingly, very different clinical outcomes.

            Acupuncture has undergone an impressive transformation in the way that it has shifted from being an alternative to being a vibrant part of our healthcare system. It has earned that place by merit and by holding to the standards of care that the standard medical system demands.

For more information on the benefits of acupuncture therapy, contact me at 803-256-1000 or visit SCAcupuncture.com. The Acupuncture Clinic is conveniently located at 620 Sims Ave., in Columbia. Also, see our website for a complete record of my extensive academic and professional achievements accumulated over the past 42 years of practice. The list of my publications include contributing to six books related to acupuncture and pain management and numerous peer-reviewed publications related to research that I participated in at the University of South Carolina.