It seems lately there is a “day” for everything.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a National Log Cabin Interior Designers Day or a National Poodle Owners Born in the Month of June Day.  Well, in case you didn’t know, today is National Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day (National AOM Day).

AOM Day is a “day” that I think actually deserves to be recognized. Why?  Well, the point of these “days” is usually to raise awareness, usually about something that will benefit people.  Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine definitely fits into that category.  According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a federal office that conducts research on medicine outside of the allopathic realm, visits to acupuncturists almost tripled in the years from 1997 to 2007.  See a an article about the study here.

People are definitely using this medicine, and there is definitely a reason why.  It works!  Here are a few tidbits about Oriental Medicine:

It’s Been Around This Country Longer Than You Think: Many Chinese immigrants in the 1800’s who came to the Western United States brought the medicine of China here with them.  First they treated patients in the Chinese community only, but when news of their amazing healing powers began to spread, their methods became popular in the white community as well.  These “China Doctors” practiced unthreatened until American doctors began to move west and found they had to compete with Chinese doctors for patients.  First these Chinese doctors were sued for practicing medicine without a license, but no jury would convict them since the entire community wanted to continue to receive Oriental medical treatment.  Subsequent laws were passed making it illegal for the Chinese to practice their traditional medicine in the US, which didn’t change until the early 1970’s.  If you are interested in learning more about the history of Chinese Medicine in the U.S., pick up the book China Doctor or John Day, about a very well known Chinese herbalist practicing in the frontier town of John Day, Oregon in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.

It’s More Than Just Acupuncture: In the United States most people think Acupuncturists only practice acupuncture (it can be a misleading title).  However, Oriental Medicine revolves around “5 pillars,” or treatment methods, for restoring health.  They are:

1.)   Acupuncture

2.)   Herbal Medicine

3.)   Nutrition and Dietary Therapy

4.)   Bodywork and Massage

5.)   Qigong or other physical exercise

In many states, acupuncturists have a wide scope of practice to include all of these things or more.  Acupuncture is great and it works wonders, but when combined with some of these other healing modalities it can sometimes work miracles and have you feeling fantastic!  Your acupuncturist will be able to work with you on many levels, from making positive lifestyle changes to giving you exercises to do at home to release stress.

It Doesn’t Hurt: Okay, now we are talking about acupuncture again.  If I had to hazard a guess, I would imagine the biggest reason most people don’t want to try acupuncture is they think it will hurt.  In my opinion, it absolutely doesn’t!  In fact, I find it extremely relaxing.  Acupuncture needles are hair-thin.  That’s right, they would actually fit through the center of one of those nasty hypodermic needles they use to give you vaccines.  There are also different styles of acupuncture, some gentler than others.  If you are an acupuncture newbie, ask around to your friends to see who they go to, or do an internet or yellow pages search to find a Licensed Acupuncturist in your area.  Call the practitioner up, tell them that you are new to acupuncture.  They should be more than willing to discuss the procedure with you and allay your fears about any pain.  If they don’t seem willing to talk to you about your concerns, try a different acupuncturist!

The truth is AOM is starting to boom.  Hospitals are starting to hire acupuncturists.  More and more insurance companies are covering acupuncture treatments.  Hey, even my grandma tried acupuncture!  So what are you waiting for?

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