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The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM) is excited to share a major milestone in our ongoing evolution. As part of our commitment to excellence, service, and alignment with the profession, we are in the process of updating our name from the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture…

The American Society of Acupuncturists (ASA) is proud to share the results from our 2025 Acupuncture for our Public Servants (AOPS) event that took place on Capitol Hill. On Monday, April 28, a team of 27 licensed acupuncturists and students from the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine provided acupuncture treatments…

High-impact sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts, football, rugby, and hockey are known for intense physical activity and placing significant stress, and damage, on the body. As a result, these athletes must keep their health at the forefront of their training regimens. Traditionally, these athletes relied mainly on strength…

To plateau and profit or release and replace is an ethical dilemma we clinicians will face sometime during our career. In work situations in which oversight ranges from limited to excessive, we navigate our practices, businesses and/or positions between the poles of profit and loss, moral and legal. The question…

Clayton

For over 20 years I have been treating stroke and neurological patients who have suffered severe neurological deficits – the kinds of difficult cases that make you tighten up with fear (and hope) before needling. Traditional modes of assessing, including pulse and tongue diagnosis, often came up short for me…

Hip pain due to osteoarthritis is an extremely common condition for an acupuncturist to encounter in a clinical setting. I see this condition quite frequently in my clinical practice and treat it typically with a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine, and physical therapies. In this article, let’s focus on acupuncture,…

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a leading cause of pain and disability, often managed with pharmacological and surgical interventions. However, acupuncture has long been used as a non-invasive treatment for knee pain, and recent research provides new insights into its underlying mechanisms.

Long COVID has challenged conventional medical paradigms. There is certainly a growing need for therapies that bridge traditional pharmacology with integrative strategies. Among the more unconventional options, nicotine – delivered via low-dose transdermal patches – has surfaced as a potential tool. While the idea may sound wacky, emerging evidence and…

Student athletes at George Washington University have access to acupuncture courtesy of a partnership with the Virginia University of Integrative Medicine. The program, which began in April, involves licensed VUIM clinicians and graduate students, with the former providing acupuncture to GWU student athletes, and the latter observing and assisting under…

The 2024 NCCAOM Job Analysis report offers a wealth of insights into the current state and future direction of acupuncture and herbal medicine practice. The report’s emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration, diversity of conditions treated, and the integration of complementary techniques highlights the holistic approach that is central to acupuncture and…

The gut-brain axis embodies a sophisticated network of organ interrelations, each playing a crucial role in maintaining physiological equilibrium. By integrating classical diagnostics with modern therapeutic modalities such as low-level laser therapy, acupuncture, and targeted herbal formulations, practitioners can optimize gut-brain homeostasis, fostering enhanced cognitive function, emotional resilience and digestive…

In the tradition of the Five Elements, the spirit leads us to the source of function or dysfunction. As a pelvic health specialist, I have found that the spirit of the points on the pelvis are particularly important in supporting our clients, as they connect deeply with the spirit. Working…

SAR

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…

Benjamin

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…

One of the drawbacks to surviving cancer is the constant fear that the disease will return. This is because conventional medical theory cannot figure out the root causes of cancer. The good news is that wellness coaching has a powerful tool in Chinese medical theory. Eight Principle-based concepts explain cancer…

As bowlegged individuals get older, the added compressive force accelerates the development of medial knee osteoarthritis. While canes, braces and posts represent extrinsic methods for lessening adductor moment arms, an intrinsic method for lessening the development of medial knee osteoarthritis occurs when the hip abductor musculature and the iliotibial band…

Studying TCM in the U.S. has unique advantages; however, the absence of in-depth study of classical texts such as the Huangdi Neijing or Shang Han Lun leaves some students without a clear grasp of why certain acupuncture points or herbs are chosen, or how to modify techniques and formulas effectively.…