Is Acupuncture Part of Mainstream Medicine?
Jane Rohan, L. Ac, Dipl.Ac
As a new student in The New England School of Acupuncture in the 1990's, I had often heard of acupuncture referred to as "alternative medicine." At the time there was a real difference in mentality in our approach to health and wellness and that of the western medicine. Our class had two western medical doctors who took issue with the term "alternative medicine"' it seemed to put one school of thinking against the other and they were students of both. Instead, these doctors preferred the term "complimentary medicine", and I have used that same term ever since. Acupuncture doesn't seek to replace western medicine but is a compliment to it in cases where the patient can choose which method of healing works best for them. If a person is in pain but doesn't want to continue to take opioids, if surgery is on the table but not imperative, if they have found no relief from conditions such as tinnitus or sleep problems, acupuncture can be helpful.
Fast forward to 2022 where Time Magazine's headline reads "Why Acupuncture is Going Mainstream in Medicine" (April 29,2022). In it Dr. Medhat Mikael, a pain management specialist at Memorial Care Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, discusses his care of post operative patients and opioid use. Although he didn't expect to discontinue using opioids altogether, they work well for post surgical pain, he wanted to recommend a remedy that was safer and still effective long term. It turned out to be acupuncture.
"Like any treatment, acupuncture doesn't work for everyone, but the majority of my patients who have tried it have found relief" he says. "When I started looking into studies. I discovered how much evidence there was behind this treatment, and that made me feel comfortable suggesting it as an alternative or a compliment to pain medication and other treatments" he says.
The combination of patient success stories and research backed results has caused a new attitude toward acupuncture from the traditional medical community. This new openness has driven the rise in popularity of acupuncture as a therapy. As evidence of effectiveness continues to mount, acupuncture can expect to be more well regarded both doctors and patients.
In June of 2015, the New England School Acupuncture was acquired by the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. I am glad to see the seismic shift in openness to acupuncture and hope it continues to grow as a wellness therapy.
Kevin Menard, a sports medicine acupuncturist in Sag Harbor NY, sums it up well when he says " At the end of the day, doctors want their patients to feel better, and many people are looking for non-pharmaceutical paths for wellness. Depending on the condition, those little needles can make a huge impact." (Time Magazine, April 29, 2022)