By Rachel Rausch
Appleton Post-Crescent West
July 7, 2006
GREENVILLE- As one who performs acupuncture therapy, James Rodowca needs a steady hand.
Rodowca, a licensed acupuncturist, opened Acupuncture One, LLC in 2003 after receiving his Master of Science in Oriental Medicine degree from the Midwest College of Oriental Medicine and serving his internship with a Chinese doctor.
Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese practice that uses needles to reduce pain caused by numerous health conditions. Acupuncture improves the flow of Qi (chee), or life-force, in the body. The Chinese believe Qi flows through the body in regular pathways, called meridians. Each meridian corresponds to a particular physiological system or organ. The meridians connect with the surface of the body at locations called acupuncture points. By stimulating the points with needles, sensory nerves are triggered and blockages in energy flow can be released.
"I think people have a misconception that it’s mystical or weird," Rodowca said. "It’s actually a very logical system of health, but it’s different than Western medicine."
Acupuncture reduces muscle spasms, decreases inflammation, activates blood circulation, stimulates immune function, and accelerates healing.
Rodowca said that since the needles are small and unlike hypodermic needles, the treatments are painless.
"It feels like a mosquito bite and there are some places where you don’t feel it at all," he said adding that for "needlephobic" patients an electrical shock can be used instead. "We try to provide a very relaxed and soothing environment."
In some cases, Chinese herbal supplements, Chinese massage and heat therapy can accompany a patient’s treatment.
Rodowca said patients, who range in age from infants to the elderly, can benefit from the therapy sessions, which usually last about an hour.
"It (acupuncture) provides substantial relief," Rodowca said. "Many times people can cut out their medications."
Shiocton resident Carol Struck, who has been visiting Acupuncture One for a year-and-a-half, is one of Rodowca’s clients who has been able to discontinue taking her medications.
Struck, who suffered from fibromyalgia for 15 years, describes acupuncture therapy as a "life blessing."
"I lived in pain for all those years and now I live without pain," said Struck, who admits she was skeptical of the practice at first and tried it as a last resort.
"I didn’t like the idea of the needles but it’s not like a needle like a shot," she said.
Struck said she began seeing results after a few sessions and now goes to Rodowca every three or four weeks.
"It stays with you. It doesn’t just leave when you walk out of the office," she said, adding that she’s recommended Rodowca to others. "He’s very knowledgeable and he’s a great listener and he’s fun. He’s got a great sense of humor."
Rodowca said acupuncture also is considered a preventive form of medicine, giving this analogy:
"A Western doctor is like the mechanic that repairs or replaces and an acupuncturist is like a gardener where everything is interrelated. We look at the body as a whole and we try to prevent imbalances. The goal is to get the body back into homeostasis."
Labels: acupuncture, Alternative medicine acupuncture herbal, chinese, healing, herbal, History Chinese herbal medicine, History of acupuncture, massage, medical, needles, oriental, pain, rodowca, supplement
