Dongguk Royal to Provide Acupuncture Services at USC
After more than a year of negotiations, officials at Dongguk Royal University School of Oriental Medicine and the University of Southern California have reached an agreement on a new program that allows USC students, faculty and staff to receive free acupuncture treatments. The program began Nov. 3, and will operate out of the University Park Health Center located on the USC campus.
Andre Rafael, LAc, the Dean of Clinics at Dongguk Royal, will oversee the program. Treatments will be provided by interns from Dongguk Royal, who will work under Mr. Rafael's supervision. In addition to traditional acupuncture, tuina, cupping and electroacupuncture will also be provided. Each school benefits from the new program in different ways: Dongguk Royal interns get the opportunity to hone their skills in a well-known institute of higher learning that has a diverse patient base, while USC faculty and students learn about the benefits of Oriental medicine at no expense.
Many USC students have expressed an interest in acupuncture and other forms of Asian healing, or have witnessed its effects first-hand. In an article in the Daily Trojan, senior Carle Pierose related that his back "felt awesome" after receiving acupressure and a shiatsu massage last summer. "I prescribe to the possibility that (acupuncture) could work," he added.
For more information on the program, contact Mr. Rafael at (213) 487-0150, ext. 133.
Herbal Remedies, Acupuncture Help Niners Linebacker Recover
In September 2002, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Jamie Winborn injured his left knee in a football game when a player fell on it after he made a tackle. He tried to play through the pain, but the damage caused by the injury forced him to undergo an operation in December.
After being declared inactive for the rest of the season, Winborn spent the next eight months using a variety of methods - both Eastern and Western - to help bring his surgically repaired knee back to full strength. Among the therapies used by Winborn in the off-season was herbal medicine, which he applied directly to his leg to facilitate healing.
"I worked real hard this summer, saw doctors, and got any herbal medicines I could to rub on my leg," he said. "Ancient Japanese warriors used the stuff so they could rub it on their legs if their bodies were aching."
But Winborn didn't stop there. In addition to the herbal remedies, he received a series of auricular acupuncture treatments. In an interview with the Contra Costa Times, he explained that he chose ear acupuncture because "it (the ear) is shaped like a fetus, and there are certain parts of it that affect the leg."
Winborn's efforts appear to be paying off. Through the first seven games of the season, he ranked third on the team in quarterback sacks and sixth in tackles.
"He looks to be back to normal because he can run," observed head coach Dennis Erickson. "That's his biggest quality."
Acupuncture Ahoy!
Celebrity Cruises, a Miami-based cruise line, has announced the addition of acupuncture services on board the Infinity, one of its most luxurious ships. Cruises featuring the treatments began in September, and will continue through the remainder of the cruise season.
Treatments on the Infinity are provided by a group of licensed acupuncturists from Florida. Lectures on feng shui, nutrition and healing with herbs are included with treatment. Sessions last approximately one hour, and range from $100 to $250, depending on the quantity and length of services provided.
Currently, the Infinity is the only ship in the Celebrity line offering acupuncture services. If the treatments prove popular, however, they may be added to the list of amenities on other ships next year.
Oxford Offers CAM Therapies to Members
Oxford Health Plans, which provides health coverage to over 1.5 million people in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, has announced it will offer its members access to more than 2,200 credentialed complementary and alternative medicine practitioners, including acupuncturists. Services will be provided through the Carol and Morton Siegler Center for Integrative Medicine, part of the Saint Barnabas Ambulatory Care Center in Livingston, N.J.
"It is important for physicians to be aware of the complementary and alternative medicine therapies that their patients are receiving or using on their own, such as acupuncture and herbal supplements," said Dr. James Dillard, medical director of Oxford's complementary and alternative medicine program. "Through this program, Oxford members have the flexibility and choice to integrate conventional medicine and alternative therapies safely and effectively."
Under the program, Oxford members can access the Siegler Center's network of acupuncturists, massage therapists, chiropractors, nutritionists and yoga instructors. Members can select a provider, schedule an appointment, then pay the provider a fee, which is negotiated at the time of the visit. Depending on their health concerns and preferences, Oxford members also can meet with medical doctors and CAM practitioners to discuss integrating both therapies into a care plan.
For more information, visit www.oxfordhealth.com.
California Acupuncture Board Moves to New Location
Effective Nov. 17, 2003, the California Acupuncture Board (CAB) has relocated to a new office in Sacramento. The board also has new telephone and fax numbers.
The board's new address is:
California Acupuncture Board
444 North Third Street, Suite 260
Sacramento, CA 95814
Tel: (916) 445-3021
Fax: (916) 445-3015
The board's Web site (www.acupuncture.ca.gov) and e-mail (acupuncture@dca.ca.gov) will remain unchanged.
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.
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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?
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