Search Acupuncture Today

Biostimulation - life stimulation - and tissue regeneration 1 are the first effects of laser therapy 2 cited in much of the scientific literature. How many therapies or drugs can make such a claim? Are there ways these healing benefits might be enhanced?

By the time most patients decide to visit an acupuncturist or other CAM practitioner, they are past the acute stage of pain or illness. In fact, most patients visiting us have a history of chronic pain and/or illness that has not been well-alleviated with Western medicine. When a patient tells…

A female patient presents to your office. When you ask about her main complaint, she replies: “My shoulders are tense; there’s a lot of pain and stiffness. I’ve had it for almost two months. I don’t have any history of injury or arthritis. I checked with a doctor, and everything…

In the December 2005 issue, Acupuncture Today published an article by Lisajeanne Potyk entitled “Eliminating Waste in Practice: Dr. Tan’s Eight Magic Points for All Digestive Disorders.” The article contained a sentence which appear as, “She is not the mother of a healthy, contented newborn.” The sentence should have read,…

Realize the majority (if not all) of these denials are not because there are new codes, but that codes billed are being scrutinized more carefully for accuracy. The ICD9-CM ( International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision - Clinical Modification ) contains all the diagnoses currently billable under all insurance claims.…

The following technique is a method for relieving muscle spasms that are otherwise intractable and don’t respond to conventional needling or tuina . It’s based on the concept of muscle fiber fatigue. Although variations of this technique have appeared in print elsewhere, 1 this is, to the author’s knowledge, the…

I have a profound respect for all natural healing arts. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) positively affects the health of our patients on many levels, but what if I told you that there is something more you can do to enhance the therapeutic benefits for your patients while still keeping true…

I have learned tai chi , qi gong and qi theory, but during my four years of acupuncture school and five-plus years of practice, I have not seen qi in the clinical setting. I have worked with acupuncturists in offices throughout New York and Long Island and spoken with others…

Traditional Chinese medicine primarily is based on systems of correspondences, which reveal the relationships between the universe and the human body. Bridging the relationship between macrocosms and microcosms are classic Taoist cosmological diagrams, including the He Tu and Luo Shu . Each diagram has profound applications in the theory and…

The Acupuncture Poll’s question for November 2005 was: Do you support the Federal Acupuncture Coverage Act of 2005?

A few days ago,* Marilyn Allen stopped by the office with a giant tray of homemade cookies and seven-layer bars as a Christmas present. Being the generous soul that I am, I sent out a company-wide e-mail letting everyone at MPA know about Marilyn’s gift, and offering them a chance…

An Orange County Superior Court jury in Santa Ana, Calif., has found American Whole Health, a managed care company, liable for damages of $210,000 for the unauthorized taking and use of names and addresses of providers from the Web site of MPA Media, the publishers of Acupuncture Today . MPAmedia…

Tea is among the most widely consumed beverages in the world. While hundreds of varieties exist, nearly all teas are derived from three main categories (black, green and oolong). Black teas are made from fully fermented tea leaves; after being crushed and rolled, the leaves are oven-fired, creating a distinctive…

The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE), has voted to recommend that the Secretary of Education renew recognition of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for five years, the maximum period currently allowed by the DOE. The…

The beautiful, holistic, “microcosm within the macrocosm” view of nature so central to Chinese medicine is widely recognized as being inspired by early Taoist thought. Yet for many reasons, despite the fundamental role Taoist thinking played in the development of Chinese medical theories, little emphasis has been placed on the…

Outreach and education are the cornerstones of creating any program, in both the private and public sectors. All of the innovative programs we have written about in our column share a common characteristic: they have utilized the art of offering presentations to build constituency and support. We are dedicating this…

Like free energy and the Loch Ness Monster, the search for a cure to the common cold continues to bedevil mankind. Stroll through any supermarket, and one is likely to find an entire aisle packed floor to ceiling with an array of cold remedies, all promising to relieve the sneezing,…

I recently returned from volunteering with Acupuncturists Without Borders to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. It was a very rewarding, productive, proactive experience, which I strongly recommend that others pursue. We were housed in FEMA tents, and provided with hot meals, showers and laundry services -…

Many elite female athletes experience exercise-induced increases in intra-abdominal pressure, creating stress-induced urine leakage while participating in their selected sport. Many athletes do not mention this condition, as they consider it normal; others get embarrassed; and other athletes actually stop exercising due to the inconvenience and frustration. The integration of…

During my years of tutoring and teaching traditional Chinese medical students, one issue comes up repeatedly. Students always express frustration over their lack of knowledge of Western herbs and their inability to discern whether the Western herb a patient is taking will help or hinder their TCM treatment protocol. This…