Oriental Medicine Doctor Awarded Alberta Order of Excellence
Steven Aung, MD, PhD, OMD, FAAFP, was bestowed with the Alberta Order of Excellence at a ceremony in Edmonton on October 17. Dr. Aung received the honor for his work in helping to combine the best elements of Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, and for strengthening Canada's role in the field of integrative health care.
"Every medicine has their own approach, and we should use the best of all these for the patients," proffered Aung. "You have to help them the best you can."
A native of Pyinmana, Myanmar, Dr. Aung pursued his studies in traditional Chinese medicine and surgery in China and Myanmar before relocating to Canada. As chairman of the World Congress of Medical Acupuncture and Natural Medicine, he was instrumental in having Congress meetings held in Alberta in 1995 and 2000. He also developed Canada's first certificate program in medical acupuncture for the University of Alberta in 1991. He remains the program's chief instructor, examiner and curriculum consultant.
Dr. Aung's life and work are strongly rooted in the tenets of Buddhism and in the concepts of balance and harmony. He spends time everyday meditating and offering blessings for his patients, which he believes helps him to approach his work as a doctor in the spirit of love and compassion. He also practices - and teaches - qigong and traditional Chinese calligraphy.
"I carry the light of my grandfather's vision for balanced and integrated medicine," explained Aung. "Every time I teach someone, I pass that light on to another and they pass it on to someone else. I don't just teach techniques. I also try to teach and remind others of the vital importance of compassion in medicine."
In addition to his practice and teaching work in Edmonton, Dr. Aung holds visiting professorships with a number of universities and medical colleges throughout Canada and across the world. He is an active member of several national and international health care organizations. He serves as an advisor to Health Canada on acupuncture standards, and to the World Health Organization on acupuncture nomenclature, health food standards, cancer pain control and herbal medicine. He is also a fellow at the International College of Acupuncture and Electro-Therapeutics, the American College of Acupuncture and the Australian Medical Acupuncture College.
The Alberta Order of Excellence was established in 1979. According to a press release, the Order "is about recognizing Albertans who have made a difference, who have served Albertans with excellence and distinction, and whose contributions will stand the test of time."
Acupuncture, TCM Highlighted in Public Health, Kinesiology Journals
As acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine have grown in popularity, they are also being recognized by other members of the health care arena. The latest example of TCM's reach can be found in the October 2002 and Fall 2002 issues, respectively, of the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) and the International Journal of Applied Kinesiology and Kinesiologic Medicine (IJAK). Both publications highlight the benefits of acupuncture and other aspects of Chinese medicine, including interviews, case studies and randomized, controlled trials of TCM techniques and remedies.
The October issue of AJPH features six articles on acupuncture and herbal medicine, including a study on the effects of auricular acupuncture and smoking; acupuncture for urinary tract infections; and Chinese herbal medicine to treat hepatitis B, along with several stories related to alternative medicine. The Fall 2002 issue of IJAK features 10 articles that discuss acupuncture, including a biography of Richard Utt, LAc; an introduction to the nutritional aspects of Oriental medicine; and a review of the use of acupuncture in applied kinesiology.
Abstracts and links to the AJPH articles are available at www.ajph.org. At press time, IJAK's website did not have the current issue online, but readers are encouraged to visit www.kinmed.com for more information.
New Dean of Qigong at AOMA
Master Li Jun Feng has been named the new Dean of Qigong at the Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin in Texas. Master Li previously served as the head coach of the Beijing wushu team and the national wushu team of the People's Republic of China for 15 years. Under his leadership, the Beijing team won first-place prizes in wushu in national and international competitions for more than 12 years, elevating the standards and quality of wushu competition. In addition to his teachings, Master Li has achieved international fame as a martial arts actor and director, counting famed action star Jet Li among his students.
In addition to his role at AOMA, Master Li serves as an advisor to the World Academic Society of Medical Qigong and the Qigong Science Research Association of China. He has taught in more than 20 countries, and has helped bring his knowledge of qigong, particularly sheng zhen quji yuan qigong, to people worldwide.
Chronic pain afflicts over 20% of the adult population. Sadly, most MDs have essentially no education in treating pain, beyond offering a few toxic medications. Then they tend to steer people with pain away from those health practitioners who are trained. This puts the acupuncture community on the front lines for addressing this epidemic.
When the body is going through a stressful event, the sympathetic system is activated. This activation will help the body with a life-threatening situation. If this state is activated for prolonged periods of time, it starts to consume energy. These traumatic events that generate stressors in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) will eventually become internalized.
| Digital Exclusive
One of the things that makes acupuncture so difficult to measure is that the medicine actually does contain some esoteric aspects. There have been numerous studies that demonstrate the neurochemical reasoning behind why acupuncture points stimulate the autonomic nervous system to enact change However, not all the benefits of TCM can easily be measured by randomized, controlled trials. But does that make them fundamentally and definitively untrue?
| Digital Exclusive