News of Interest

Acupuncture for Ford Motor Company Employees: Challenges in Mounting an Integrative Medicine Pilot Project - Ford Motor Company is offering acupuncture to a limited group of employees suffering from low back pain as part of a pilot project at their Kentucky Truck Plant.

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To Your Health

Sorely in Need of an Acupuncturist

The impact of pain, particularly chronic pain, is far-reaching. It can affect everything from one's day-to-day activities and quality of life to the level of employee productivity at America's most powerful corporations. According to a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), approximately one in ten adults suffers chronic pain lasting at least a year, and one in four reports suffering pain for at least an entire day during the previous month.

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To Your Health

Symptoms of Lumbago Relieved by Acupuncture

Lumbago is a painful condition that affects the muscles and tendons of the lower back. Although it occurs most often in young people and in those whose jobs require a great deal of physical activity, it can be experienced by people of all ages. Most cases of lumbago are treated either with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen; in some cases, surgery may be required. Both approaches are not without risks, however. Surgical procedures are expensive and may actually exacerbate, rather than cure, back pain; NSAIDs, meanwhile, may bring about unwanted side-effects and merely mask the pain without eliminating its source.

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NEWS OF INTEREST

Acupuncture Helps Back Pain Even if Skeptical

CNN.com March 29,2007

An initially dubious reporter found that the centuries-old technique was safe and effective.

If you've ever wondered whether or not acupuncture is actually effective, you'll want to read this first-hand account of a reporter's initial visit to an acupuncture clinic and integrative medical college in Berkeley, California for her sore back.

The first part of the treatment included examining the patient's tongue for a distinct discoloration (purple), which acupuncture experts identify as a sure sign of energy imbalances in the body.

Then came a battery of questions from acupuncture students about the overall state of the woman's health, including sleeping habits and appetite.

Soon after came the actual treatment with 14 needles inserted along treatment points from a fraction to an inch inside her skin. After a 20-minute session, the reporter felt energetic, her back pain was relieved and she felt surprisingly relaxed.

The World Health Organization lists more than 40 conditions for which acupuncture is useful, including addictions, nausea and vomiting, asthma, digestive issues, sinusitis, osteoarthritis, allergies, infertility and pain relief.