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.
Dustin Dillberg, DACM, LAc, PAS
Dustin Dillberg is a graduate of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. Dustin lives and works on the island of Kauai where he runs the Pain Free Kauai clinic. He is a speaker and consultant to many healthcare professionals on integrating posture-based exercise and functional medicine into practice. You can visit his website at www.painfreekauai.com.