Stillpoint Acupuncture & Craniosacral Therapy – Victoria BC

A friend of mine asked this question the other day:

“I don’t understand how it is that a double-blind study of acupuncture can’t be performed. People (like Dr. Paul Encke) keep saying it’s impossible, but I say, a device which hides whether or not the needle actually penetrates the skin might at least be a step in that direction! Then the practitioner wouldn’t know either, right?”

It’s a great question, and one that anyone who is studying acupuncture struggles with all the time. Scientists have indeed made steps towards this device but the truth is, this question actually misses the point of what makes an effective acupuncture treatment and how differently Chinese medicine and western science view the body.

The people studying the acupuncture response generally have an unspoken premise that disease can be treated using the same set of acupoints in all people studied, whether mock or real acupoints used makes no difference. The individual and the disease are seen as distinct and the focus tends to be on the disease. But acupuncture is not like a drug, acupuncture neither adds nor subtracts molecules to the person nor directly changes disease. Needles are simply inert bits of stainless steel, after all.

The biggest problem with attempting a double blind study in my view, however, is that for an effective treatment to be given there must be some form of contact with the patient. Ie., the needle gets inserted, and then it gets moved slightly (up and down, and/or with a small twisting motion) until the patient indicates that they can feel ‘de qi’. De qi means ‘the arrival of qi at the acupoint,’ and is characterized by a feeling of achiness, numbness, pressure etc. In many of the studies that I have read about, the practitioner is strictly not allowed to speak to the patient, and is not allowed to stimulate the needle in any way. This eliminates a big part of what has always constituted an effective treatment, and from my point of view really negates the effectiveness of the study.

If a drug company wanted to study the effects of 100mg/dose of their drug, but were only allowed to use 50mg per treatment, what would they say about that study? How can anyone look at an acupuncture study wherein half of the treatment is disallowed, and say that it is a fair study?

The inconvenient truth for all of us on either side of the equation is that a reductionist model of scientific inquiry will likely never come to an understanding of how acupuncture works, simply because acupuncture, and Chinese medicine is not reductionist. It is in the very true sense of the word, holistic. Patient-practitioner interaction, stimulation of the needles at the acupoints, the four methods of inquiry (asking, palpating, listening, smelling), all of these are integral to an effective acupuncture treatment, and by their very nature cannot be allowed in a reductionist, double-blind study. What cannot be quantified by science, and what any practitioner will tell you, is that the acupuncturist is an integral part of the healing process, and cannot be separated out from the treatment! And neither, I might add, can the patient be separated from the disease.

The whole reason behind a double blind study is to eliminate the so-called ‘placebo effect’ which is a vague and not well understood function of patient’s own belief system on the results of the treatment. If you were studying the effects of a chemical, then of course eliminating the placebo effect would be paramount. But what if you were treating someone as a whole entity, mind and body together? If your treatments include mind and the effects of mind on the treatment, then why would you want to eliminate the mind from the study? Acupuncturists are not introducing an reactive element into the body that can be measured the way 2 mg of Lorazepam can be measured. So what then, are they doing?

Mind is body, body is mind. We have been sold a bill of goods by the pharmaceutical and medical establishment that the only way one can overcome a disease is by adding something tangible to the body, whether it be chemicals, radiation or a surgeon’s knife. Acupuncture represents a completely divergent method of healing from this view. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine are firm in their belief, borne out over thousands of years, that the mind and the body when aligned, can heal itself of a great many ailments. Amazing, isn’t it, the thought that perhaps, just maybe, given the right nudge we have the power to heal ourselves?

Call it placebo. Call it witchcraft. Call it whatever you like.

I’ll be in my clinic helping people get better.

A recent A-Channel Segment (see below) talked about a study done in Hong Kong regarding the safety of acupuncture. The study claims that acupuncture is a vehicle for AIDS, Hepatitis, and as Arlo Guthrie would say, “all kinds of mean and nasty things.”

While it is true that anything that penetrates the skin could potentially be a carrier of disease, in actuality acupuncture as it is practiced in North America is extremely safe.

Past Tense

In the past it was not uncommon for practitioners to sterilize and re-use needles, as it was more cost effective to do this. However, these days when even the more expensive needles are less than $0.10/needle, there is no reason at all to re-use them.

Strongly Regulated

As well, in any state or province in North America that has a governing body for acupuncturists there is a requirement to adhere to strict clean needling protocols. This includes swabbing the acupoint with alcohol before insertion, and using disposable needles, among other common sense practices, such as washing one’s hands before handling needles.

Not In Our Backyard

Perhaps in parts of the world where regulations are not as tightly enforced, and in very rare occasions where a practitioner fails to follow the most basic of clean needle standards there is the potential for contamination. However, it is very safe to say that acupuncture in North America is very safe.

Speak Up!

If you are ever in doubt, don’t hesitate to ask questions! Any practitioner worth his or her salt would welcome a patient’s inquiries as to the safety and efficacy of the treatment they are about to receive.

A-Channel segment on “unsafe acupuncture”

I am seriously considering adding a Community Acupuncture clinic to the services I provide as an acupuncturist. Since I graduated from college, the cost of acupuncture has always been a sticking point for me. How can I make acupuncture available to the widest demographic, but still make a livable wage?

The Community Acupuncture model seeks to make acupuncture more affordable, as well as more effective, while providing a livable wage to the practitioner. This survey is designed to get your thoughts on this style of acupuncture. Thank you for taking the time to complete it.

Your visit to a Community Acupuncture clinic might look like:

You come into the clinic, pay for your treatment on a sliding scale ($15-$45), which is based on what you decide you can afford, and book your next treatment. You then consult with the acupuncturist in a private setting before entering a larger room, which contains a number (4-8) of easy chair recliners. The room is dimly lit, and there may be others in the room, relaxing on the chairs. There is quiet music playing. There may be privacy dividers between the chairs.
You settle yourself in an easy chair, and roll up your sleeves and/or pant legs up the knees. There is a blanket beside the chair to place on you, if you need it. The acupuncturist comes in and proceeds with the treatment, and then leaves you to relax. Other people may be entering and leaving the room quietly during your treatment. When you are ready to go, or at a pre-designated time, you signal the acupuncturist, who then removes the needles.
Having already paid for your treatment, and booked your next visit, you are free to leave the clinic.

Quick Survey

Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this survey! If you would like to be informed of any developments towards providing a community acupuncture clinic, you will have a chance to enter your email address after you hit ‘Submit’. I promise not to share your email address with anyone.

As an acupuncturist I get asked this a lot.

The answer is a difficult and involved one. In actual fact, to answer the question of whether acupuncture works really rests on another question: does acupuncture work for your issue?

The answer, if I’m to be truthful, is maybe. Many people find acupuncture effective for them for a wide range of issues and disorders. A number of people find that acupuncture does not work for them, and their health issue does not improve from acupuncture treatments. An acupuncturist who does not admit to his or her failures isn’t one who I’d be inclined to refer to, personally. As an acupuncturist it is important to know when acupuncture is not working for your patient, and when to refer them to another practitioner or modality.

In my practice, eight treatments constitutes a course of treatments, but usually by four treatments both I and the patient can tell whether acupuncture is for them. Often it is, and we continue until the desired results are obtained. However, if the condition hasn’t improved after four treatments, I give the patient the option to continue and see what happens, or we can explore other options.

So the answer to the question of whether acupuncture works can only be answered by really giving acupuncture a good try, which is what any health professional would suggest, medical doctors included. You are always welcome to send me an email for a free consultation.

Think acupuncture hurts?

Here is a list of 18 Things That Hurt MORE Than Acupuncture:

1. biting your tongue
2. a mosquito bite
3. a hypodermic needle injection
4. stubbing your toe
5. a paper cut
6. going through “security” at the airport
7. hitting your funny bone
8. a cat’s scratch
9. being pinched by your little sister
10. your average sore throat
11. ‘pins and needles’ from your arm falling asleep
12. falling down
13. getting a parking ticket
14. being slapped
15. waxing the hair from ANY part of your body
16. having to listen to advice from your parents
17. an eyelash in your eyeball
18. a bee sting

So what are you waiting for?

• Tags: Acupuncture, Allergies Asthma, Personal Experience 
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