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.
Michael Oliphant, DACM, LAc
Michael Oliphant is an acupuncturist and herbalist specializing in sports medicine and pain management in Chicago. He completed post-graduate training in Hong Kong, where he treated international rugby players competing in the Hong Kong Sevens tournament.