Westerners getting the point of acupuncture
By Jeyling Chou
Jan. 20, 2003 9:00 p.m.
With a little help from ancient Far East remedies, the future of
medicine in the West is looking sharp.
Interest in traditional Chinese medicine and the art of
acupuncture has increased dramatically in the last decade. Now,
more than ever, Westerners are pointedly turning to these
5,000-year-old treatments.
A survey from the National Certification Commission for
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine found that 1 in 10 adults in the
U.S. have tried acupuncture.
“Almost one-fourth of the world’s population lives
in east Asia and a lot of them believe in ancient Chinese
medicine,” said Timothy Pan, staff physician at the UCLA
Center for East-West Medicine and clinical instructor at the David
Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA.
“What we consider alternative medicine in the U.S. is
already being used by 25 percent of the population.”
The theories behind traditional Chinese medicine describe the
human body and its complex processes as a condensation of a
fundamental flow of energy called Qi (pronounced
“chee”).
Like the thermodynamic variety of energy, Qi cannot be destroyed
or created. It can only be changed in form.
This universal energy consists of two opposite, yet
interdependent forces: yin and yang.
Yin, dark and cold, is associated with female attributes. The
male counterpart, Yang, represents light, activity and warmth.
Health comes from a peaceful flow of Qi and a harmonious balance
of yin and yang.
“Yin, yang and Qi are like a computer language to describe
the human circulation system,” said San Francisco Bay Area
acupuncturist Andrew Wu.
In the human body, Qi flows along currents called meridians.
There are 14 main meridians which interconnect organs in the body
in a systematic network.
Acupuncture points, numbering a total of 365, lie along these
meridians where the current comes closest to the surface of the
body. A disruption or blockage of Qi results in disease or
illness.
The goal of acupuncture is to restore the balanced flow by
applying needles to areas along the imbalanced meridian.
Acupuncture needles range from one-fourth of an inch to several
inches in length, and are usually made of stainless steel.
These healing needles may not be as distant and foreign as one
might imagine.
UCLA students can receive acupuncture treatments at the Arthur
Ashe Center for $18 a visit.
This little-known service, part of the Ashe Center MindBody
Program, has been available since 2000 when UCLA became the first
UC student health center to offer on-campus acupuncture.
Three times a week, students-in-training and graduates of the
Emperor’s College of Traditional Medicine in Santa Monica
deliver the treatment under the supervision of certified
instructors.
“We’re trying to allow our patients to see how
mental effects are related to physical effects,” said Javier
Tiscareno, nurse practitioner and liaison between the
Emperor’s College and the Ashe Center.
Patients can be self-referred for acupuncture, or referred by
Ashe Center clinicians.
On average, the Ashe Center sees about 800 patients a year for
acupuncture.
The ultimate goal of the MindBody Program is to form an alliance
between eastern and western medicine by providing weekly nutrition
workshops and Qi classes.
“The fact that the program is even here at all is
indicative that the two types of medicine are integrating,”
said Loni Anderson, an Emperor’s College student who treats
students at the Ashe Center.
Stress is the most common ailment treated by acupuncture at the
Ashe Center. Back and shoulder pains follow in a close second.
“Acupuncture is amazing,” said Jean Libonate, a
clinic supervisor employed by Emperor’s College.
“It doesn’t work on just one part of the body, it
works on the whole body and helps the body to heal and balance
itself.”
For example, western medicine would treat an eye infection by
examining the eye itself.
Eastern medicine takes a more holistic approach and treats the
eye infection through stimulation to the liver meridian, which runs
through the liver.
Other efforts have been made to ally the two worlds.
The UCLA Center for East-West Medicine, established in 1993,
uses a combination of Western and Eastern techniques to treat
patients.
The clinic-based center, made up of four doctors with
western-based training and three doctors of Chinese medicine,
receives 30 to 40 patients daily.
“We use a combination of therapies to treat them,”
Pan said. “Ninety percent of our patients receive
acupuncture.”
According to Libonate, traditional Chinese medicine treatment is
tailored to each individual and their specific Qi imbalances,
unlike the broad western prescription of antibiotics.
“I think we’ve had a lot of happy students who
continue to come back and refer their friends,” said
Libonate. “They wouldn’t do that if it didn’t
work.”
Chad Amsel, a third-year theater student and former Tae Kwon Do
champion, has had two acupuncture treatments at the Ashe Center and
has been extremely happy with the results.
“Western medicine can’t really correct soft-tissue
problems ““ which are what I have,” he said.
“The East really has an understanding of the muscle and
the bones they wrap around.”
With the medical bridging of East and West proves once again
that two heads ““ and two stethoscopes ““ are better than
one.
