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.
Nick Olow, LAc
Nick Olow is a 2004 graduate of Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. He received a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1994 from National University. He may be contacted at olow0567@netscape.net or www.acumassagetherapy.com.