There are still skeptics out there!

Even though the World Health Organisation, the American Medical Association and the countless research studies all say Acupuncture works!  We still meet the naysayers…

Here are the top 3 reasons, people stay away from us!

“I’m afraid of NEEDLES!”

People are traumatised as young children around needles, I get it.  Here’s the great news that will help release your fears, acupuncture needles are about the size of one hair on your head and are NOT hollow, just solid, we aren’t taking anything our or putting anything in to your body.  AND we avoid things like veins, arteries and nerves, that’s why we have degrees in Chinese medicine, we study the body deeply to avoid coming into contact with these structures in the body.  True we are piercing the skin, but usually only going into the fat and muscle layer.  Patients usually report that needle insertion feels like a little mosquito bite or nothing at all.

“I don’t understand it/I don’t believe in it”

I joke with friends, family, and patients about the “woo-woo” factor of acupuncture. The reality is that Chinese medicine is not commonplace or well understood in our culture.  It’s foreign to us, and many people are uncomfortable with that. This is only exacerbated by the fact that Chinese Medicine practitioners talk about Chinese medicine in strange, foreign terms.  But that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t work!

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine is based on classical Chinese texts that are thousands of years old. These were written based on medical theory that was developed and passed down for many years. This medical theory was translated into English as an “energetic system.” I’m not denying that energy is a crucial component of our health and wellbeing (go back to your first biology course to re-learn how important ATP is, or the significance of an electrical synapse between neurons), but I am arguing that there is a lot more going on!  The language that we use to discuss Chinese medical theory is sort of like a code, that organises our system of diagnosis and treatment.

In fact, when Western medicine was first created, it was very different.  The terminology and words they used were more similar in nature to Chinese medicine, they spoke about black bile, humours, body fluids and they took the seasons into consideration.  Then the plague hit Eastern Europe and Western medical doctors were called upon to save the dying. This shifted the whole Western medicine paradigm. This was the moment Western medicine became a medicine that SAVES LIVES. The problem is most of us when looking for an appointment with our doctor are not ‘dying’, if we were we’d be going to the Emergency Room.  Chinese medicine, on the other hand, is and always has been a medicine that keeps you HEALTHY, so is most times more appropriate for any symptom that comes up for us in our day to day.  Both medicines are miraculous and useful and both deserve a place in our lives.

“I went once and it didn’t work”

This one may top them all as my least favourite reason.. There are three components at play here:

The first being that going to one acupuncture appointment is not trying acupuncture at all. Trying acupuncture means that you’re committing to an acupuncture treatment plan as designated by your practitioner.  The frequency and duration of this treatment plan will vary depending on several factors including how bad your condition is, how long you’ve been experiencing it, and your overall health.  The reality is that there is no one-shot one-pill cure-all that you can take or do once to fix a problem that’s been bothering you for years. While many people feel better after one treatment, it will likely take several more to making a significant lasting change.  The good news is that acupuncture treatments build upon each other, and with lifestyle modifications (to avoid the scenario that brought upon your condition in the first place) this cumulative effect can create wonderful changes in people’s health and lives.

The second flaw with this reasoning is that not all acupuncturists are the same. There are many different styles of acupuncture used by many different types of acupuncturists. All forms of acupuncture are rooted in the same classical Chinese texts, but this underlying theory has been interpreted in different ways by different groups of practitioners. The beauty of it is that all of these styles work, but some are better suited for certain types of people and conditions.  I use different components of my training depending on how each individual patient presents.

Not only are there different styles of acupuncture treatments, but there are also different types of acupuncturists. We’re all very different, and you’re going to have a different treatment and experience overall with each one of us. Have you ever had a doctor that just rubbed you the wrong way? Or had poor bedside manner? I sure have! I did not return to them, but I also did not swear off all Western/Allopathic medicine. I tried other GPs until I found one that I connected with better. Likewise, I have had bad experiences with acupuncture, too, with acupuncturists to whom I would not return.  Medicine is an art.  Trust, compassion, and connection are important factors in a healing relationship that cannot be ignored.  Trust your instincts, and you will find an effective practitioner that is the right fit for you.