Acupuncture: New Hope from the Ancient Past
When I first came to Boulder in 1984 there were no MD’s practicing acupuncture and only a few acupuncturists in town. I had two sets of cards made up – one with my standard medical credentials and another that included my acupuncture training – for fear that my colleagues would be put off if they knew I practiced acupuncture. Many doctors are still hesitant to recommend acupuncture, but that doesn’t stop the millions of Americans who have discovered how well it works.
The very first patient I treated in Boulder was a woman who had been suffering from chronic upper back pain and was taking four to six Vicodin (a narcotic) every day for over a year. I thought to myself, “This isn’t going to work, she’s addicted to pain pills.” To my surprise she came back after her first treatment and reported that not only had the pain significantly improved, but for the first time in years, while taking a shower, she could actually feel the water spraying on her back!
I must admit, even after doing acupuncture all these years, every time it works, I am still amazed that such a simple technique can have so potent an effect. In 20 years I have witnessed many clinical successes, often in people who were told by their doctor that there was nothing more that could be done beyond continuing to take their pills and learning to live with the pain. This was the same message Janice* got from her neurologist. Despite taking a new anti-seizure medicine to control her migraine headaches, she was still having 4 – 7 attacks a month. But after just three acupuncture treatments, she was off medications and 50% improved. By her fifth treatment her headaches had all but vanished. Then there was Tom, who had suffered from low back pain for three years and had resigned himself to never again being able to hike in the mountains and enjoy the pleasures of an active outdoor life, until a friend convinced him to try acupuncture. To his amazement his pain literally melted away with acupuncture and in the process his posture improved, his breathing opened up and his whole outlook on life and career shifted from one of resignation to one of optimism and innovative plans for the future.
Mary was in her late sixties when she came down with shingles. Post-herpetic neuralgia (which frequently follows shingles) was already setting in by the time I saw her a few weeks later, but she responded well to acupuncture and is today pain free. There is also the occasional miracle as in the case of Debra who had Raynaud’s syndrome, a condition that caused her fingers to blanche painfully white from lack of circulation when exposed to cold. After two treatments it just went away and has never returned. In all of these cases it is important to understand that acupuncture alone, without additional self-help tools, nutrition, and healthy life-style changes would not have led to such dramatic healing. As is often the case, disease is the messenger that points our life in a healthier direction.
One last story is about a young man I’m treating for pain from a recent motor vehicle accident. Not only did his pain resolve, but to his surprise his depression lifted after years of trying an assortment of drugs. Many people don’t realize that acupuncture can effectively treat a wide range of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, addictions, and stress related conditions like insomnia and irritable bowel syndrome.
“But how does acupuncture work?” people often ask me. In spite of years of research done on both sides of the Pacific, no one really knows. Yes, it is true that acupuncture can turn on our body’s own pain relieving endorphins and modulate the immune system, but patients often have effects that appear 12 to 24 hours later which suggests important biochemical changes are taking place at the level of DNA synthesis. I still think the best explanation is the one I learned in China, that has been passed on generation after generation for over two thousand years. It is said that there are twelve main acupuncture meridians that course through the body, the jing-luo (literally irrigation channels and drainage ditches). When the energy flow in the channels become obstructed (as with silt in an irrigation ditch), stagnation occurs which leads to imbalances and disease in the body. The placement of acupuncture needles at specific points along these channels is a way to dredge them open, restoring flow and harmony to the system.
One thing is clear; effectiveness is related to the unique acupuncture sensation – warmth, tingling, fullness or mild discomfort – that spreads out from the needle along the acupuncture channel. It is a good sign if the spreading sensation reaches the symptomatic area. Another favorable sign is if the patient is relaxed after the treatment, which people sometimes describe as feeling “spaced out.” When I hear this, I like to point out that the pleasant, relaxed feeling is not being “spaced-out,” but more precisely, being “spaced-in.” The rest of the time they’re “spaced-out.” Optimal healing happens when we are in deep states of relaxation. Acupuncture and massage are wonderful ways to induce this nourishing, healing state.
This time of year in China at the change of seasons many people take an acupuncture treatment to boost their immune system as a preventative. For further information about Still Mountain, acupuncture, or a complete listing of the 41 disease conditions for which the World Health Organization recognizes acupuncture as effective treatment, please visit our web page at www.jiamd.com and click on FAQ.
*All names above have been changed to maintain privacy.
Be well and enjoy this blazing autumn,
Jia Gottlieb MD