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Introducing the Acupuncture Today Podcast
News / Profession

Introducing the Acupuncture Today Podcast

Your Profession. Your Voice. Now in Your Ears.

Acupuncture Today is excited to unveil a bold new way to stay informed, inspired, and ahead of the curve: the Acupuncture Today Podcast. All web articles in the April 2025 issue and later include this on-demand audio feature, giving you a new way to consume the content you care about – whether you’re commuting, between patients, or just prefer listening to reading.

Editorial Staff
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Women's Health
TCM for Women’s Health: Menstruum, Fertility, and Menopause
TCM for Women’s Health: Menstruum, Fertility, and Menopause

Because traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) views the human body as an interconnected network of energy (qi) and seeks to restore balance and harmony, ensuring the smooth flow of qi and blood is crucial to nourish and regulate the reproductive system. TCM treatment aims to regulate menstruation, reduce anovulatory menstruation, help ovulation, improve egg quality, stabilize progesterone, and provide a good endometrium environment for successful implantation and pregnancy.

Christine Chang, DAOM, LAc, Dipl. OM
Politics / Government / Legislation
Let's Help Make Acupuncturists Medicare Providers
Acupuncture in Medicare: Critical Legislation Reintroduced

U.S. Representatives Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) have reintroduced the Acupuncture for Our Seniors Act (now H.R. 1667) in the 119th Congress. As with previous iterations of the legislation, H.R. 1667 would authorize the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to recognize qualified acupuncturists as Medicare providers. The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) and American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) both weigh in on the importance of the legislation.

Editorial Staff
Your Practice / Business
Foundations of Patient Success: OPQRST(L)
Foundations of Patient Success: OPQRST(L)

What’s the single most important thing to ensure your patient gets better? The key is patient education and scheduling appropriately. But how do you do that in a clinically relevant way that is representative of a medical professional? The answer lies in the most fundamental aspect of our intakes: OPQRST(L).

John Rybak, DAc
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Herbal Medicine
Spring Liver Support
Spring Liver Support

There are many effective herbal formulas / patent medicines in Chinese medicine targeting specific issues with the liver organ / meridian and its complex role in the flow and regulation of qi throughout the body. Let’s focus on two specific formulas / patent medicines I use for issues in which the flow of liver qi plays a significant role; as well as some adjunctive ways to improve the efficacy of our various treatment protocols.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
Acupuncture Techniques
Treat TMDs Using Scalp Acupuncture, Facial Motor Points, & Submuscular Needling (Pt. 2)
Treat TMDs Using Scalp Acupuncture, Facial Motor Points, & Submuscular Needling
Advanced Techniques for TMJ Disorders: A Comprehensive TCM Treatment Approach

TMJ disorders are complex and often multifactorial, requiring an integrative strategy to address the structural, neurological, and muscular components. By combining scalp acupuncture, facial motor points, and submuscular needling, practitioners can provide imediate symptom relief while addressing underlying imbalances.

Michelle Gellis, AP, Dipl. Ac.
Lasers & Tens
Modulating the Gut-Brain Axis With Low-Level Laser Therapy (Pt. 1)
Modulating the Gut-Brain Axis With Low-Level Laser Therapy
An Integrative Zang-Fu Perspective

The gut-brain axis (GBA) represents a critical bidirectional communication network linking the gastrointestinal and central nervous systems, a concept increasingly explored in contemporary biomedical research. Multiple recent studies have shown low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is efficacious in modulating the GBA and related mechanisms. Acupuncture and TCM herbal treatments have also been shown to influence many of these pathways and positively impact the GBA.

Dustin Dillberg, DACM, LAc, PAS
Featured

Acupuncture and Neuroplasticity: A Promising Treatment for PTSD

Interestingly, although lots of attention has recently been given to the role psychedelic medicines employed in therapy could play in healing PTSD and trauma generally, new research has just been published showing acupuncture can also be of significant help in alleviating this widespread disorder, and may act similarly to psychedelics on a particular quality of our brains to heal and remodel themselves: neuroplasticity.

Benjamin Hawes, DAcCHM, LAc, Dipl. OM
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Your Practice / Business
Revolutionizing Patient Communication
Revolutionizing Patient Communication
Reach Patients Where They Are With Mobile Marketing

If you find yourself increasingly frustrated with the impersonal nature of patient interactions, you are not alone. Patients come to you vulnerable and needing your medical expertise. They need reassurance, empathy, and a personal touch. Believe it or not, mobile marketing strategies could be the solution to fostering a deeper connection with your patients.

Antonio Arias
Pain Relief / Prevention
A Closer Look at the Etiology of Chronic Pain
A Closer Look at the Etiology of Chronic Pain
You Could Be Missing the Root for the Branch in Your Treatment Approach

When a patient comes into your clinic with a chief complaint of chronic pain, there are arguably many viable approaches to treatment. But would you ask this patient about their emotional state and their satisfaction level with their family, personal and professional relationships, noting any temporal correlation between emotional shifts and onset of symptoms?

Heather Noemi, DACM, Dipl. OM, LAc
Anti Aging / Healthy Aging
Why Every Acupuncturist Should Practice Qigong (Pt. 4)
Why Every Acupuncturist Should Practice Qigong

It’s hard to say why qigong tends to have such a low profile, even among acupuncturists, although I can suggest a few possible reasons. Beginners quite commonly report feelings of frustration and discomfort when asked to stand silently or perform movements coordinated with deep, slow breathing. It is also true that qigong practice can trigger other, powerful emotional responses.

Peter Deadman
Chinese & Asian Medicine
Heat and Depression: Cooling Combinations
Heat and Depression: Cooling Combinations

“Is this the reason I was depressed? Is this why you are always talking about heat?” One of my recent patients brought these questions to me during their recent acupuncture session. My patient was discussing recent research on the link between body temperature and depression, which suggests that individuals with depression have higher body temperatures and may benefit from cooling therapies.

Craig Williams, LAc, AHG
Diagnosis
Exploring the ART in ChARTing
Exploring the ART in ChARTing

Do you ever wince at some of those bland intake forms (paper or tablet) you have to complete at various medical, therapy or dental offices? How about those martian-like figures where you have to shade in areas of pain for a physical therapist to try to figure out your problems? There’s a better way.

Pam Ferguson, Dipl. ABT (NCCAOM), AOBTA & GSD-CI, LMT
Sports Injuries
An Acupuncturist's Guide to Treating Tennis Elbow
An Acupuncturist's Guide to Treating Tennis Elbow
How It Develops, What to Look for and the Best Ways to Treat It

Tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis) is a common injury caused by overuse of the tendons and muscles in the elbow as a result of repetitive motion. Despite its name and the fact the term was originally coined in 1873 as “lawn tennis elbow,” the condition has been known to affect far more than just tennis and racket sport players.

Michael Zakko, LAc