The Status and Activity of Acupuncture in Denmark

Abstract

For more than 10 years I have been the president of the Danish Medical Association of Acupuncture with 850 members, an undertaking that I with some relief left last spring after having fought - and partly won — a small war about the recognition of medical acupuncture in my home country. This has also given me much more time for reading the newest medical literature about acupuncture and to take care of my quite large practice as a neurologist.

Some of you may remember the fairy tale The Ugly Duckling published by our Danish national poet Hans Christian Andersen in 1843. Its moral teaching is that the inner virtues will eventually overshadow physical appearance.

In Denmark acupuncture was in the last century in many ways comparable to the ugly grey duckling: the entire barnyard - that is my colleagues working at hospitals, The National Board of Health, the opinion leaders at the medical schools made quite an effort to assure at that time that the small community of medical doctors who had learned and practised medical acupuncture - that this did not belong amongst effective and recognized treatments.

We - that is the growing group of members of the Danish Medical Association of Acupuncture did, however, not loose our enthusiasm and fled the barnyard like the ugly duckling. It is probably exaggerated that our society of medical acupuncture turned into a beautiful white swan. But we did get an enormous welcome like the ugly duckling got from other swans in spring when he himself had turned into a swan - and this welcome was from our patients and their friends and families.

Danes have recognized medical acupuncture in an almost amazing way. Recognition of this effective treatment without side effects has simply spread by mouth-to-mouth method, a really effective way.

Around the beginning of this century the conditions for acupuncture has really changed: More than half of Danish general practitioners have learned and now use acupuncture in their daily work, and the effective needles have also been victorious at hospitals specially in cancer wards as treatment against nausea, in post operational treatment against nausea, at most maternity wards - and many other departments at other hospitals. We have several ongoing trials regarding acupuncture at several hospitals as well the growing number of for example private fertility clinics.

You probably wonder: Are there any stubborn ducklings left? Of course, there is quite a lot in the so called medical establishment. But in between we do get a visit from these colleagues who very discretely ask if some needles might cure their pains.

As president of the Danish Medical Association of Acupuncture I have attended courses and congresses all over the world from China, Japan, Australia and Korea in the East, to Washington and Sao Paulo in the West.

One of my major tasks as president and editor of our Danish magazine AKUPUNKTUR has been to inform Danish doctors about the latest experience and knowledge concerning acupuncture and to explain why we cannot compare acupuncture and trials regarding acupuncture to traditional double blind trials.

In our society Danish Medical Association of Acupuncture we offer many different courses with invited speakers from Denmark and other countries. The diploma of Danish Medical Association of Acupuncture is composed of 120 hours education in different acupuncture - techniques, TCM and practical lessons.

In cooperation with a journalist Marianne Scheele I made a booklet to members of our society and all health-politicians in Denmark to tell about our society and Acupuncture, and I think that this booklet and many smaller articles concerning use of acupuncture is the reason why acupuncture has been accepted as a recognized in Denmark.

Acupuncture treatment is free for the patients at fx rheumatologists and anaesthesiologists, and also at general practitioners who gets a payment of 25 dollars pr treatment of the state.

Our national board of health has approved that anybody with needles and preferably clean hands can offer acupuncture to any patient The board does not find that acupuncture can do any harm. The result of this decision seems to be a greater demand both for medical acupuncture and seemingly also for the kind of acupuncture offered by non-medical acupuncturists.