The Acupuncture Poll question for October 2004 was:
How many patients do you refer out to medical doctors or chiropractors each month?
Results:
These results are based upon 230 responses. As this is a voluntary, non-scientific survey, caution should be used in generalizing the results. Here is a sample of the comments made by those who took the survey and how they voted. Some comments have been edited for brevity.
Between 6 and 10: I get more referrals back from medical doctors and osteopaths as well as chiropractors - 13 this month so far.
Between 6 and 10: I typically get more referrals from chiropractors or medical doctors, since most of my patients have already tried anything else besides Oriental medicine first.
Less than 5: I don't refer many people to medical doctors. However, I frequently make referrals to a specific chiropractors who has a physical therapy orientation; also, to a psychologist I like, and to other acupuncturists with specific specialties.
To vote in the current Acupuncture Poll, or to review comments and responses to previous poll questions, visit acupuncturetoday.com/acupuncturepoll.
The most important relationship I seek to nurture in the treatment room is the one a patient has with their own body. We live in a culture that teaches us to override pain, defer to outside authority, and push through discomfort. Patients often arrive hoping I can “fix” them, but the truth is, we can’t do the work for them. We can offer guidance, insight and support, but healing requires their full participation.
In the U.S alone, approximately one in nine adults (11.1%) report experiencing subjective cognitive decline. A comparable percentage will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. As researchers and clinicians seek integrative solutions outside of conventional pharmacological approaches, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) emerges as a promising, multimodal strategy in the prevention and treatment of cognitive decline.
When we are in the grips of an anxious pattern, it dominates our brain and nervous system, and we lose our normal body-mind regulation. In this and subsequent articles, I present effective mindfulness-based method* via case study, that we can add to our acupuncture treatments to help clients consciously stop the dysregulating cascade of events and bring “distressed parts” into coherent body-mind-spirit integration.
