Abstract
Acupuncture is an ancient healing medical art, which flourished in China for more than twenty-five centuries. Acupuncture involves the stimulation of certain meridian or extrameridian points on or near the surface of the human body by the insertion of needles to prevent or modify the perception of pain and to normalize physiological functions. The history of acupuncture treatment can be traced as far back as the Stone Age, when stone knives and sharp tools were invented to meet the needs of instrument production. As we all are aware of, acupuncture points are loci on the skin area with a low electrical resistance or a high electrical conductivity.
In the United States, acupuncture was first introduced by Franklin Bache in 1825. Unfortunately, the interest in the use of acupuncture declined by 1860, mainly because of infection due to the lack of aseptic techniques. Its most recent resurrection to become widely known was in 1971. Before 1971, acupuncture in the United States was largely confined to the Oriental enclaves of major cities. In July of 1971 New York Times senior correspondent James Reston was traveling in China in advance of President Richard Nixon. While there, he witnessed operations that were performed while the patient was conscious, but had a long needle inserted into a point on the shoulder. There were no gas anesthestic agents nor were injections used. While in Peking, Reston had the opportunity to experience acupuncture for the relief of postsurgical pain and distention after undergoing an emergency appendectomy. Astonished and grateful, he reported his experience of what to him was a remarkable and unlikely therapy. Soon delegations of doctors and research people were touring Chinese hospitals to witness how Oriental medicine and Western medicine were being used in a complementary and collaborative way. Since then, the development of acupuncture in the United States has been substantial. Americans in greater numbers have sought to study acupuncture, and schools of acupuncture have been established in various parts of the country. More and more people recognize the medical and therapeutic value of acupuncture. Research has been done at many medical centers. The gate control theory of pain, the discovery of “endorphin”, and their receptors gave a scientific basis of the explanations for the pain relief given by acupuncture. With the skeptical and hostile reactions by some groups of people, the legality of acupuncture practice and treatment has been challenged. In 1980, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas made the point eloquently while affirming the right of Americans to seek acupuncture:
“Acupuncture has been practiced for 2,000 to 5,000 years. It is no more experimental as a mode of medical treatment than is the Chinese language a mode of communication. What is experimental is not acupuncture, but Westerner”s understanding of it and their ability to utilize it properly.
“Since then, legal practice of acupuncture in the United States spread widely and many states passed laws. At the present time the license status in practice of acupuncture are the following:
1) States require a certain number of hours of acupuncture training or pass a test for licensed physicians before they can practice acupuncture are California, District of Columbia, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, New York, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
2) States in which acupuncture is considered the practice of medicine and is restricted to licensed physicians are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming.
3) States which independently license or register acupuncturists are California, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington
*some sort of medical supervision required
4) States which allow acupuncturists to practice under supervision are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maine, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin.
5) States which do not fit into any of the above categories are Minnesota, Oklahoma and South Carolina.
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