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Acupuncture Acupuncture: Understanding What It's All About Traditional Chinese medicine opines that Qi flows through numerous specific pathways called meridians, which connect to particular organs and glands, bringing nourishment to every cell, organ, gland, tissue and muscle in the body. When Qi is obstructed in one part of the body, the blockage affects the flow of life energy to other parts of the body resulting in illness, pain and disease. Too much or too little flow of Qi can be caused by physical and emotional trauma, stress, overexertion, poor diets, lack of exercise, accidents, seasonal changes or excessive activity. Since a person is constantly in a state of dynamic equilibrium, the diagnostic process of Chinese medicine relies on reading the patient's current state of balance and bringing the body, mind and spirit back into the center of this balance. One of the ways this can be achieved is by acupuncture, an ancient Chinese technique that stimulates certain points on the body by the insertion of fine needles. Points along the channels, called the meridians, are manipulated by piercing the channels at the proper points in order to correct the imbalances. Treatments are cumulative; as each treatment builds on the previous one to restore the patient back to health. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, states that American practices of acupuncture incorporate medical traditions from China, Japan, Korea and other countries. "Acupuncturists employ different tools and techniques like needles, lasers, electrical stimulation and acupressure to stimulate the points these days," said Dr. Kelly D. Chullen, certified chiropractor and acupuncturist in Herrin. Dr. Dennis McGuire, a chiropractor certified in acupuncture, sees between 80 to a 100 acupuncture patients every week at his Benton office. "Cold lasers are instruments that place a cold laser beam over an acupuncture point. It's an effective treatment option for those who are phobic to needles or young children who are afraid," said McGuire. "Knowing your anatomy and physiology really well, is important and necessary in order to get good results," she said. For first time acupuncture patients who are leery of needles, but interested in acupuncture, Li has some calming remarks. "I tell first time patients to let me try one needle and if it bothers them they can walk out of my clinic, at no charge," she said. "No one has ever walked out, since the fine needles don't hurt at all!" Chullen agrees, "The needles really feel like small mosquito bites and an 'Oh, is that all?' - is the classic reaction of all my first time patients, when I insert a needle into them and after that they are willing to go ahead with the full treatment." Since acupuncture can scare a lot of people away, Chullen recommends an initial consultation for those who are interested but afraid to come in. "It's at no charge and they can ask me questions, see the needles, and find out what the procedure entails. This will help clear up misconceptions and put their minds at ease," she said. Unlike the hollow hypodermic needles used in mainstream medicine to give injections or to draw blood, modern acupuncture needles are solid, fine and flexible; about as big in width as a single strand of hair or a piece of thread. "The needles vary in length and are between half an inch to several inches in length," she said. The width is called gauge and is extremely thin. "They all come packaged and sterilized and are disposed after use in bio-hazard containers," said Chullen. During the initial exam, an acupuncturist takes down the full medical history of the patient and asks them questions regarding their ailment. "I clear up any misconceptions they may have about acupuncture and only then proceed with treatment," said Chullen. Chullen treats a lot of older patients who typically suffer from arthritis, sinus problems, shoulder pain, lower back pain, wrist pain and fibromyalgia. "If it's an acute condition, it can be cured in one to two sittings," said Li. "If the condition is chronic, the number of sittings really depends on the individual problem."
Weight Loss and Smoking Cessation Li prefers to follow traditional Chinese acupuncture, using her fingers and needles to help patients quit smoking, lose weight or recover from any illness or disease. "Electro-acupuncture is a modern concept; I don't employ it, since I practice traditional Chinese acupuncture where I use my fingers and needles and spend an hour with each of my patients," she said. Recent trends indicate that many medical doctors are even using acupuncture to anesthetize their patients. Auriculotherapy "The entire body is represented in the ear and this treatment can be technically used for smoking cessation, pain management, weight loss and related conditions," said Swartzlander. Currently he only offers smoking cessation treatments at his clinic. "Since smokers will soon be paying higher premiums on their health insurance, two big employers in Salem and Centralia approached us and requested this service for their employees, to help them stop smoking." Having just worked on 50 employees at each of the companies, he has recently thrown open his doors to the general public. Priced at a competitive $75 for the first visit and $30 if a subsequent session is needed, this 20 minute treatment is a health care procedure in which stimulation of the auricle of the external ear is utilized to alleviate health conditions in other parts of the body. While originally based upon the ancient Chinese practices of acupuncture, the somatotopic correspondence of specific parts of the body to specific parts of the ear was first developed in France. "Nicotine stimulates certain neural circuits, resulting in heightened activity level through neural circuits to the brain," said Swartzlander. Auriculotherapy essentially resets the body's neural circuitry and makes a smoker lose the urge to smoke. "Withdrawal symptoms seem to decrease as well," he observed. Not a completely new treatment, auriculotherapy was used in the 80's by physical therapists for pain management. "It never really took off, since a different type of stimulation other than micro-currents was used then and it wasn't entirely comfortable for the patient," said Swartzlander. Though neuro-probes became popular and successful they also faded out by the 90's. "There is a new resurgence now with auriculotherapy being used for smoking cessation," said Swartzlander. Micro currents which substitute the acupuncture needle mimic the body's electrical current in auriculotherapy and since it is below the skin's threshold to feel the current, all a patient feels is the ear probes in his or her ear. "It is an extremely comfortable experience, since most patients feel nothing, while perhaps one out of ten may feel a wave or a pulse," said Swartzlander. Popularity and Effectiveness According to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey - the largest and most comprehensive survey of complementary and alternative medicine use by American adults to date - an estimated 8.2 million U.S. adults used acupuncture at some point in their lives, and an estimated 2.1 million U.S. adults used acupuncture in the previous year. "A safe, holistic, effective medical treatment that promotes natural healing, it has become the preferred choice in treatment for those who don't want chemicals and drugs in their bodies," said Li. "Surgery is so invasive and doesn't necessarily take care of the problem," said Chullen. "Drugs have side effects; hence more people are looking for an alternative to drugs and surgery these days." The World Health Organization recognizes the use of acupuncture in the treatment of a wide range of medical problems, including:
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