Spread the Word
— Michael Freedman, MD, FAAMA, Board of Directors
There are about 1.3 million medical doctors (MD/DO) in the United States, and there are approximately 1,000 members of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. Although it appears that what is accomplished in medical offices with acupuncture every day is of no interest to anyone other medical acupuncturists, it is more likely, just given the numbers, that there is a total lack of awareness of such a thing called Medical Acupuncture.
Medical acupuncturists need to create awareness amongst our colleagues that acupuncture is available for them to treat illness and pain for pennies in materials and a few dollars in time.
I recently saw a 68-year-old man who has been treating a recurring hemi cranial retro-orbital headache with a half quart of moonshine, Tylenol and Naproxen daily for a year. His optometrist ordered an MRI, which was normal. The optometrist then referred him for neurological consultation.
After taking a history and performing an exam, it was apparent the patient had a mix of cervicogenic headache, analgesic overuse, and sleep apnea contributing to his discomfort. Years ago, before integrating acupuncture into daily practice, I would have gone down the path of suggesting Depakote, gabapentin, pregabalin, topiramate, amitriptyline, etc. Instead, he was treated with five well-placed needles. His headache resolved in less than five minutes. For the first time in more than a year, the man was headache free. The equipment cost was less than $1 for materials. The evaluation and treatment were both accomplished during a time slot already allotted.
Another story amalgamated from many patients is that of an elderly patient with Parkinson’s. The man is a fall risk. He suffers with pain from chronic rotator cuff injuries and has limited pain-free range of motion in his shoulders. After starting carbidopa-levodopa therapy, he feels more energetic. To get a jar down from a kitchen cabinet, he steps on a stool to reach up. Because of shoulder pain, he leans back to lift one arm with the other, loses balance, falls to a hard floor, breaks one hip, and strikes his head on the floor and develops a subdural hematoma. His last days of life are spent in and out of consciousness, never leaving the ICU where he is ventilated, sedated and on opiates.
Alternative history — same patient, in a different reality where use of simple, safe, minimally invasive treatment is encouraged:
An elderly patient with Parkinson’s presents to his orthopedist. He is a fall risk. He has chronic bilateral shoulder pain related to rotator cuff injuries and just started on carbidopa-levodopa therapy. He is feeling more energetic. His orthopedist refers him for PT and requests updated MRIs of the shoulders. The orthopedist takes 60 extra seconds during the visit to needle LI-14 bilaterally. The man goes home with increased shoulder mobility and no pain for weeks. One day he goes to his cabinet and, while standing on the floor, reaches up and gets down the jar in which he keeps with spare change to hand to his grandchildren.
Decision-makers in medical systems are concerned with optics. They incessantly recite platitudes about integrative care, yet they do not allow such care to flourish. For Medical Acupuncture to become a tool available to all medical doctors in all settings, regardless of specialty, the level of awareness of Medical Acupuncture must be increased. As a society, the AAMA and its members must work to increase awareness.
