Acupuncture for the Masses

  • Some consumers choose alternative treatments, like acupuncture, because they want a smaller environmental footprint from their medical care. (Photo courtesy of the National Institutes of Health)

Acupuncture has been used as a medical treatment in Asia for thousands of years. It’s catching on in this country, but it can be pricey. Now a new kind of low-cost acupuncture clinic is springing up with a goal of bringing acupuncture to the masses. As Ann Dornfeld reports, this new type of clinic might just be healthy for the planet, too:

Transcript

Acupuncture has been used as a medical treatment in Asia for thousands of years. It’s catching on in this country, but it can be pricey. Now a new kind of low-cost acupuncture clinic is springing up with a goal of bringing acupuncture to the masses. As Ann Dornfeld reports, this new type of clinic might just be healthy for the planet, too:

Esther “Little Dove” John is lying on a treatment table with the same blissful smile as someone who’s just had a massage. Except she’s about to get stuck with a couple dozen needles.

“Anything in particular you want to focus on today?”

“I have tingling in my fingers and numbness in the toes.”

Acupuncturist Jordan Van Voast taps fine steel needles into John’s hands; then her stomach, her legs, and her ears.

“All of a sudden, my body just relaxed.”

This would be a typical scene from an acupuncture clinic. Except the recliner that serves as John’s treatment table is just one in a circle of ten. It’s a treatment model called “community acupuncture.”

Jacque Larrainzar is getting treated in a chair across from John. She used to go to a standard acupuncture clinic with private rooms. But she prefers the communal style of this Seattle clinic, called – wait for it – “CommuniChi.”

“The feeling is very different. Seeing other people relax and just giving themselves the opportunity to heal is, in itself– I think it helps you to focus on yourself and heal.”

Community acupuncture clinics are designed to make acupuncture affordable to people at all income levels, regardless of insurance. Patients pay a sliding scale fee – as little as 15 dollars per treatment. It’s 60 dollars or more at a standard acupuncture clinic. Community acupuncture keeps costs down through low overhead: using one treatment room and recliners cuts down on electricity and laundry costs. And CommuniChi co-owner Serena Sundaram says that also means a smaller environmental footprint.

“All of those things are really different even than a regular acupuncture clinic, which is already a smaller footprint than a Western practice.”

You don’t need big, high-tech equipment for acupuncture or even electricity — just a place to lie down and a handful of tiny needles.

Patient Esther “Little Dove” John says she’s glad that acupuncture doesn’t involve pharmaceuticals.

“If I were using the mainstream treatment for my condition, I’d be expelling those chemicals into the environment and the fish would be taking it and the birds would be drinking it.”

Scientists have found high levels of pharmaceuticals in the water downstream from water treatment plants. They’re worried about the effect on fish.

Emily Wong is a physician at the University of Washington Medical Center. She practices Western medicine, but also studied acupuncture. Wong says there’s extensive evidence that acupuncture helps with a lot of health problems where Western medicine falls short, like headaches, back aches, and nausea.

But, she says acupuncture is no panacea. She says some acupuncturists claim to be able to treat conditions like kidney stones without scientific evidence to support their claims.

“I see it as being more similar to, for example, physical therapy as a modality that treats many conditions quite well, and as an alternative to a surgical approach or perhaps a pharmacological approach to some conditions.”

If acupuncture works as well or better than a stay at the hospital or a prescription of drugs, it could have a lot lower impact on the environment. And if the new community clinics bring more people to acupuncture, it’s possible the earth will get a little relief too.

For The Environment Report, I’m Ann Dornfeld.

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