A student stands over a patient, needle poised. They have a “perfect” prescription: a textbook combination of points harvested from a lecture slide on chronic lower back pain. But as the needle meets the skin, the student hesitates - the symptom of a quiet habit that has taken hold of our profession. We routinely say we “prescribe” points. It sounds efficient. It echoes the authority of biomedical culture and fits neatly into the insurance field. But vocabulary is never neutral; repeated long enough, it dictates behavior.
Brian Lau, AP, C. SMA
Brian Lau is certified in both sports medicine acupuncture and structural integration. He has been on faculty since 2013 with the Sports Medicine Acupuncture Certification (SMAC) program, where he teaches anatomy and physiology, assessment and treatment of the channel sinews (jingjin), and myofascial release. He leads regular dissection for students, both within SMAC and in other venues. Brian is also a veteran tai chi and qigong instructor, teaching local, regional and online classes. In addition to teaching, he owns and operates Ideal Balance Center for Sports Medicine Acupuncture in Tampa, Fla. For more information, visit https://www.sinewchannels.com/.