Abstract Today’s medical advancement has found cures for disease that many never thought would happen years ago. However, with all the advanced medical treatments available, many people are depending on Holistic medicine to heal their mind, body and spirits and Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to heal their pain and disease. One of the most practiced CAM today is Acupuncture, which is a practice used by the Chinese since the Shang Dynasty 1600 (BCE) to heal qi using ying and yang.
While acupuncture was originated by the Chinese hundreds of years ago, this practice has spread worldwide and is still being used today to cure patients of many ailments. Acupuncture and Complimentary Alternative Medicine Conventional medicine is the general course of healing done by Medical Doctors (MD) as the norm in today’s society. The advancements over the last hundred years are astonishing with the technology and advanced treatment for many diseases and disorders. However, Complimentary Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Holistic practices have been around for thousands of years ranging from the Chinese to the Romans.
These alternatives have not changed much with technology or research and yet they are still successful in curing many ailments. “Acupuncture is one of the key components of traditional Chinese medicine, and is among the oldest healing practices in the world. ” (www. nccam. nih. gov) Alternative Medicine Alternative medicine is categorized into two separate fields; CAM and Holistic medicine. While they are categorized separately they both consist of similar forms of treatment and rarely if ever use prescription medications.
They consist more of a natural hands on treatment using your mind and body to heal. Holistic Medicine Native Americans have been using Holistic medicine throughout history by using herbal remedies to treat the entire person, to include mind, body and spirit. “Native American medical interventions, such as medical herbs and healing plants, have had a significant impact on modern society. In fact, 7 out of the 10 top-selling herbal remedies in the U. S. today were originally used by Native American tribes. ” (www. medius.com) Ayurveda is the oldest holistic system of medicine now being practiced.
Its philosophy, originating in India, is based on how the five elements, ether, air, fire, water and earth combine with each individual’s soul and how that combination influences or controls the myriad functions of the body. In addition, Reiki originated in Japan basing health on the earths vibrations. Homeopathy is based on what gives a well person symptoms will cure someone else who is ill with those symptoms. In osteopathy they practice manipulating the musculoskeletal system, the circulatory and digestive system.
Osteopathy is based on the belief that improper alignment can lead to impairment or damage of the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis or balance of the body. Complimentary Alternative Medicine Similar to conventional medicine, CAM has several categories of healing methods and many works in conjunction with conventional medicine as alternatives to prescription pain relief. Natural (herbal), Mind and Body, Manipulation and Body Based and Movement Therapies are the basic categories of CAM, however there are hundreds of methods that have been around for centuries and are still being practiced today.
Natural medicine uses herbs and natural resources to cure certain ailments. Mind and Body medicine focuses on using the body to regain homeostasis to cure the body. This is accomplished by meditation, acupuncture and yoga. Massage therapy and spinal manipulation are part of Manipulation and Body based medicine and a select number of movement therapies are available by CAM practitioners and are currently being used in pediatrics today. Many of CAM practices have been used for centuries from the Romans to the Chinese. The most significant contribution made by the Chinese to modern healing is Acupuncture.
The Chinese believe that all of creation is born from the marriage of two polar principles, Yin and Yang: Earth and Heaven, winter and summer, night and day, cold and hot, wet and dry, inner and outer, body and mind. Harmony of this union means health, good weather and good fortune while disharmony leads to disease, disaster, and bad luck. (Carteret) The Strategy of Chinese medicine is to restore harmony. Acupuncture has history going back 5,000 years and many variations are practiced today in the United States for treating and preventing disease and other disorders of the human body.
There are several cultures from which acupuncture comes as it is practiced in the United States today and the practice has a different name in each culture. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and new acupuncture came from China; Tong Family Style came from Taiwan, Eight Constitutions from Korea, Meridian Therapy (MT) from Japan, Leamington Acupuncture (LA) known as 5 element acupuncture Ryodoraku from Japan and Auriculotherapy from France, Electroacupuncture according to Voll-EAV from Germany. Acupuncture in the United States.
Many believe that when acupuncture came to the United States (US) when President Nixon’s Secretary of State, Henry A. Kissinger, traveled to China accompanied by a journalist for the New York Times named James Reston. Reston ended up in a Chinese hospital requiring an emergency appendectomy. To relieve his pain doctors used acupuncture. Impressed with the experience with acupuncture, James Reston wrote about his hospitalization and acupuncture treatment in the New York Times, brining acupuncture to light for many Americans for the first time.
However, that was not the first Americans were introduced to acupuncture. In 1966, Miriam Lee immigrated to California from China. In China, she was a midwife, nurse and an acupuncturist in China and immigrated after the Japanese Invasion and World War II. When she arrived in California, she began working in a factory where many other workers had been complaining of any different variations of pain and illness. Lee began treating them in her home, because acupuncture was illegal in California. In a short time, she was treating up to 80 people a day.
In 1974, she was arrested for practicing medicine without a license. At the trial many of her patients attended the trial demanding that they had the right to receive acupuncture because it had helped them. Governor Reagan intervened and arranged to allow Lee to work under the auspices of San Francisco University with acupuncture being considered “an experimental procedure. ” In 1976 California legalized acupuncture. (Lee, 1992) “According to the 2007 National Health Interview Survey, which included a comprehensive survey of CAM use by Americans, an estimated 3. 1 million U.
S. adults and 150,000 children had used acupuncture in the previous year. Between the 2002 and 2007 NHIS, acupuncture use among adults increased by approximately 1 million people. ” (www. nccam. nih. gov) I had never known about acupuncture, nor did I have an interest in learning anything out of the norm of western medicine but that changed in 2005. My daughter was a teenager who played competitive softball year round. Her junior year in high school she developed bursitis in her shoulder and was in extreme pain for weeks and could not throw the ball without further pain.
We visited the best orthopedic physicians who had scheduled her for 13 weeks of physical therapy, 4 times a week. We religiously attended these physical therapy sessions with no relief of the pain. Her dreams of getting a scholarship to college were ending because she was not able to play the game. A friend suggested acupuncture because he had success with it after his knee surgery. I was a little apprehensive at first because I didn’t understand how needles could fix this problem but we were desperate to find anything besides cortisone injections to relieve her pain.
After an initial evaluation and treatment, she was required to attend two more treatments over the next 10 days. Within 2 weeks, she was playing again without pain. Our treatment included follow up appointments for the next 6 weeks at one treatment per week. My daughter went on to receive a scholarship and played in college without ever having another problem with bursitis. That led me to research more into acupuncture because I suffered severe migraine headaches that would cripple me for days and occurred at least five times a year.
I returned to the same acupuncturist for treatment and have continued bi-annual treatments and I have been migraine free for six years. My only problem with acupuncture is that it was an out of pocket expense not covered by medical insurance. I thought this was odd because it had been much less expensive than all the physical therapy that did not work and it cured my daughter’s bursitis. After several arguments with the insurance company, I lost the battle for reimbursement because it was considered alternative medicine. Who is it alternative to?
Is western medicine alternative to Chinese who have been using this treatment as pain relief as standard “normal” medicine? Will the Chinese get rejected for reimbursement of standard western medicine because it’s alternative to them? In the past decade, many physicians have come to realize that acupuncture and other forms of alternative medicine have a true value to treatment of many medical conditions from pain management without prescriptions to treating cancer and AIDS. “But insurers have been reluctant to cover acupuncture.
And even in the relatively rare instances when insurers do, they might pay for only a few visits or a specific condition. ” (Alderman, 2010) Conclusion When we look at cultures and diversity, we are spending the majority of the time discussing it as an issue at work or school. While it is great to have a harmonious and successful company, we cannot limit our need for understanding culture and diversity to these locations. There are many Americans who come from different backgrounds, different beliefs and religions who are limited on their medical care because of what the insurance companies call “alternative” medicine.
To many who have immigrated here whether long ago or recent, they have culture and beliefs in medical care that may not be the same as traditional western medicine. The insurance companies need to recognize these alternatives to western medicine and cover the costs. In addition, we need to open our minds and look into more alternative types of medicine that can produce a positive effect in today’s healthcare. Whether it is acupuncture, herbal remedies, massage therapy or body manipulation, we need to explore all treatments and learn from those who have practiced these techniques for thousands of years.
If we open our minds and learn from others, we will have a more open and educated medical system. References What Is Complementary and Alternative Medicine? | NCCAM”Home Page | NCCAM . N. p. , n. d. Web. 23 Dec. 2012. <http://nccam. nih. gov/health/whatiscam>. Alderman, L. (2010, May 7). Acupuncture Is Popular, but You’ll Need to Pay. NY Times, pp. 23-24. Carteret, M. (n. d. ). Traditional Asian Health Beliefs and Healing Practices. www. dimensionsofculture. com.
Retrieved January 4, 2013, from http://www. dimensionsofculture.com/2010/10/traditional-asian-health-beliefs-healing-practices/ Lee, M. (20011992). Introduction. Insights of a Senior Acupuncturist (pp. 11-27). Boulder, CO: Blue Poppy Press. The History of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States and Beyond. Welcome to Medaus Compounding Pharmacy. Retrieved January 16, 2013, from http://www. medaus. com/index. php? view=article&catid=2%3Atest-area-2&id=23%3Athe-history-of-complementary-and-alternative-medicine-in-the-united-states-and-beyond-&option=com_content&Itemid=24.