Six months ago, my seventy-eight year old grandmother was quickly losing
her independence.
Severe arthritis in both knees hampered her ability to take care of
herself.
Shopping, getting around the neighborhood, even walking down her
front steps was becoming almost impossible.
Pain medications helped somewhat, but the side-effects created
their own problems.
Then her doctor suggested acupuncture.
My grandmother was skeptical at first but she was willing to try just
about anything.
She did and the results were miraculous.
After six weeks, her pain and stiffness were significantly reduced.
She was able to take care of her apartment again.
She could get on her own to go shopping, to visit friends and family,
and to do the other things that her arthritis had prevented in the past.
Acupuncture restored her quality of life and her independence.
My grandmother's story is not unique.
Performed for well over two thousand years in China and other
parts of Asia, acupuncture is becoming more and more popular in
the U.S. and other western countries for one simple reason: it works.
Impressed by my grandmother's experience, I began acupuncture
treatments for my migraine headaches and now my headaches
are completely gone.
Not surprisingly, I wanted to learn more about this treatment that
produced such miraculous results for both my grandmother and myself.
Today I will share part of what I have learned by explaining what
happens when you receive an acupuncture treatment, how
acupuncture works, the kinds of medical conditions that can be
treated by acupuncture, and the growing use of acupuncture in
combination with western medical techniques.
Let's start by looking at a typical acupuncture treatment.
Acupuncture is the insertion of needles into the skin to achieve a
balanced flow of energy which in turn restores and preserves health.
To prevent a chance of contamination from one person to
another, acupuncturists in the U.S. use sterilized needles that are
individually packaged and are disposed of after a single use.
I realize that the notion of having needles stuck into you may seem
frightening, but the needles are so thin that the process is painless.
Acupuncture needles are much smaller than the needles used for
drawing blood or getting shots.
Here are some needles that I received from my acupuncturist.
After my speech I'll pass them around so that you can see how
incredibly light and small they are.
They're so thin, about the thickness of a human hair, that you can hardly
tell when they're inserted and there's usually no sensation other
than pain relief once they have been inserted.
After being left in for twenty or thirty minutes while you lie in a darkened
room, the needles are removed and the treatment is over.
Now that you know what happens when you're treated by an
acupuncturist, you're probably wondering how acupuncture works.
The process is explained by Dr. Felix Mann, president of the Medical
Acupuncturist Society in his book Acupuncture: The Ancient Chinese Art
of Healing and How it Works Scientifically, "According to traditional
Chinese medicine, every life process is based on the flow of vital
energy through the body.
This energy is known in Chinese as xi and flows along channels or
pathways called meridians."
These meridians are shown in this visual aid.
As you can see, they cover the entire body, running from the top of
the head to the bottom of the feet and down both arms.
When the freeflow of energy through these meridians is blocked,
the result is pain, illness, disease or other physical problems.
The aim of acupuncture is to restore the open flow of energy
through these meridians.
This is done by placing needles at specific points on the meridians.
Altogether, there are more than one thousand acupuncture points on the
meridians.
These points have been mapped out over the centuries with scientific
precision.
In China, there is a saying, "There is no pain if there is freeflow. If
there is pain, there is no freeflow."
Although acupuncture is based on different view of the body from that
held by western doctors, the evidence is clear that it works in
treating a wide range of medical conditions.
The World Health Organization lists more than forty conditions that can
be effectively treated with acupuncture, including ear, nose and
throat ailments, asthma and other respiratory problems and nervous
system and muscular disorders.
A study in the Annals of Internal Medicine confirms that acupuncture
can relieve low back pain while the American Cancer Society reports that
acupuncture may even help smokers kick the habit.
People also use acupuncture to build immune system, to control
allergies and to combat depression and anxiety.
Of course you can't use acupuncture to heal a broken arm,
but people in Asia often use acupuncture during surgery instead
of western anesthesia and it can speed recovery time after surgery.
In light of all of this, it is not surprising that a number of clinics
and hospitals are combining acupuncture with western medicine
in an effort to provide the patients the benefits of both.
For example, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the third
oldest hospital in the U.S., has added acupuncture to its wellness center.
Positive results have also been seen at the Mattel Children's Hospital
at UCLA.
Dr. Lani Zeltzer, director of the hospital's pediatric pain program
confirms that acupuncture really does help.
Most children accept acupuncture and in fact really feel good about it.
Another example of the integration of acupuncture with western
medicine is at the Wasser Pain Management Center at Mt. Sinai
Hospital in Toronto, Canada.
Neurologist Alan Gordon, director of the center, says that "introducing
acupuncture into the hospital expands the treatment available to
chronic pain sufferers and provides multiple options of care to our patients."
The National Institutes for Health report that more than eight million
Americans have tried acupuncture and its use throughout the rest of the
western world is growing fast.
Today we have learned what happens during an acupuncture
treatment, how acupuncture works, some of the illnesses that can be
treated with acupuncture, and the growing integration of acupuncture
with western approaches to medicine.
I hope that you now know more about this ancient medical practice
and the benefits that it can provide.
After years of skepticism about acupuncture, the west is finally
beginning to recognize that acupuncture is a highly effective way
to improve health and reduce pain and suffering.
Just ask my grandmother.
[Applause]