AOM Alliance and AAOM Talks Continue
The American Association of Oriental Medicine (AAOM) and the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance (Alliance) are continuing their discussions on how to work in a more unified manner to advance the acupuncture profession. Following the initial meeting at the Alliance conference in Keystone, Colo., numerous teleconferences were held between members of the two organizations. Recently, members of both boards met at the AAOM conference held in Phoenix.
"There is a lot of common ground between the AAOM and the Alliance, and the sharing of our views has been a very enlightening process," said Will Morris, president of the AAOM.
"We are pleased with our conversations with the AAOM," added Leslie McGee, president of the Alliance. "There is a lot more trust now than before, and that will enable us to work more closely together."
The next meeting between the two organizations is scheduled for January 2007.
New Mexico AOM Board Allows for Reinstatement of Expired Licenses
The New Mexico Board of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NMBAOM) recently adopted a provision allowing a doctor of Oriental medicine (DOM) with a license that has been expired since 2001, a chance to restore his or her license. The provision, which is only in effect until July 31, 2007, was announced in a letter sent to all DOMs whose licenses expired in 2001. A detailed explanation of the applicable requirements and fees was included in the mailing. For more information, you can contact the NMBAOM office at (505) 476-4630 or via e-mail at Acuormedboard@state.nm.us.
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