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As acupuncture becomes integrated into the fabric of U.S. health care, opportunities for innovative partnerships with hospitals, outpatient clinics and rehabilitation centers are being developed. These creative programs promote increased access to acupuncture care and provide diverse examples of how treatment options can become meaningfully blended.

The Acupuncture Poll question for April 2005 was: What therapies do you use to treat female infertility patients?

The Maryland Acupuncture Society (MAS) elected three new board members at its most recent annual meeting, held Apr. 2 at the Holiday Inn BWI in Linthicum, Md. The society also announced the results of its annual membership campaign.

According to the National Institutes of Health, up to 80 percent of the general population in the United States will suffer an episode of low back pain during their lifetimes. 1 After respiratory ailments, low back pain is the most frequent reason Americans visit a medical doctor for treatment. It…

Qi is one of the most mysterious elements of Oriental medicine. It cannot be seen, touched, or smelled. Nevertheless, the curing of patients by acupuncture depends on and results from this invisible flow of qi . It is so elusive, yet so real. How, then, can one present it as…

Gentle, health-enhancing qigong exercises can easily become an integral aspect of an acupuncturist’s treatment strategy. The detoxification, qi cultivation, storage and refinement that result from qigong practice helps patients take charge of their healing process and increases the effectiveness of acupuncture treatments. It is a powerful self-healing tool that can…

“Beat the heat” this summer with green tea! The summer heat is almost upon us, affecting primarily our exterior upper body, as well as our lungs, pericardium, heart, liver and intestines. Green tea, known as lu cha , is very popular and is commonly drunk throughout China during this season…

After water, tea is the most frequently consumed beverage in the world. Reportedly discovered by a Chinese emperor more than 4,000 years ago, tea has become an integral component of traditional Chinese medicine. Over time, different varieties of tea (such as green, black and oolong) have been prescribed by herbalists…

In part one of this series, we introduced the theories of Septimus Piesse, who postulated correspondences between fragrance and musical tone. We also explored a rare neurological condition, synesthesia, which is characterized by a simultaneity of one or more of the senses, a phenomenon originating in the limbic, emotional region…

Before beginning this month’s column, I’d like to thank David Razo, who writes the “Student Scene” column for Acupuncture Today and recently graduated from the Southern California University of Health Sciences, for extending an invitation to me to attend the school’s first annual acupuncture and Oriental medicine symposium in April.…

When one thinks of India, the word “acupuncture” doesn’t exactly spring to mind. While living there for four months this past winter, however, I was quite moved to learn that acupuncture is becoming more widely practiced as the efficacy of the medicine gains recognition. The people of India are very…

As a practitioner of the Asian healing arts, I have been blessed with what most would consider a very successful practice. Of course, I realize success may be defined by a host of various attributes, depending on who is doing the defining. Some measure success simply by the amount of…

For many years, Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) could not be explained or understood from the Western medicine and pharmaceutical viewpoints and approaches. Because of this, Chinese herbal medicine has been labeled as unscientific, and regarded by some as a type of folk medicine.

Many elite-level athletes, both male and female, take steroids to increase their performance. The illegal use of steroids dates back to the late 1950s. However, performance-enhancing substances have been around for as long as athletes have competed.

“What Are My Choices?” is here to answer all of those questions - and more. What Are My Choices? is an occasional column that gives you the information you need straight from the experts: the companies themselves. This issue’s column focuses on software and computer supplies - items that are…

An example of the beauty of the ancient Chinese view of life is that it originates in a deep, integrated and cosmological understanding of the three treasures: heaven, humanity and earth. The ancients developed a natural system for humanity to study, understand and live life. This system is the Eight…

Sunshine, flowers and qi were all in full bloom over the weekend of March 11-13, 2005 for this year’s Southwest Symposium, held at the Omni Hotel Southpark in Austin, Texas. Over 250 participants came together for the meeting, titled “Integrating Qi .”

Ten million Americans over the age of 50 have osteoporosis; another 34 million are currently at risk of developing it. These statistics come from the U.S. Surgeon General, who recently issued his first-ever warning of the seriousness of rising cases of osteoporosis and bone disease in the United States. The…

My eight-year-old son is studying earthworms. His zealous third grade fellows eagerly race to their science class, crowd around Petri dishes, and subject the poor creatures to environmental influences that would kill an elephant. The worms are prodded (to determine if they have nerves), warmed (to determine levels of heat…

The Acupuncture Poll question for March 2005 was: What percentage of your practice consists of treating patients for infertility and related issues?