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.
Theodore Levarda, MS LAc Dipl OM
Theodore Levarda is the owner of Morningside Acupuncture, a leading acupuncture and dry needling clinic in New York City specializing in pain relief, sports injuries, and the treatment of physical symptoms of stress. To learn more, visit www.morningsideacupuncturenyc.com or email him at hello@morningsideacupuncturenyc.com.