Keeping Tabs on Public Perception of AOM
We have been compiling field-related articles, gathered far and wide, on AOM for the benefit of AAAOM members. Recent mainstream articles bring into focus an aggregated picture of how the media presents alternative medicine. We ignore this at our peril. We may also consider these articles a barometer of public understanding and acceptance of alternative modalities, in America and beyond.
Each month we will investigate one topic of choice and then provide links to recent articles that characterize perception and research. This week bring you a general inquiry into Kampo medicines to help us consider just how far we can seek to move the alternative toward the center.
Kampo Medicines: A Case Study
When contemplating public understanding of herbal medicine, for example, one may consider the lesson in contrast between the United States and Japan. Let’s consider the universal acceptance of the TCM-rooted Kampo medicines in Japan to bring this distance into a clearer perspective.
What first world country may serve as an example of how integrated approaches might exist in the United States? In Japan, TCM medicines have been standardized and fully implemented into health care, on all levels.
“Extensive modern scientific research in Japan has validated the effectiveness of kampo medicines. In October 2000, a nationwide study reported that 72% of registered allopathic doctors prescribe kampo medicines.” (WHO study on Alternative Medicines Worldwide, 2001. Source: Wikipedia)
Insurance covers prescription of Kampo medicine in Japan. Allopathic doctors prescribe them routinely, and their patients use them with confidence.
Contrast this widespread acceptance and level of organization with the “alternative” status of herbal medicine in the U.S. We have been curious as to why this gulf exists, what its terms are and how we can diminish the knowledge gap between our members and the public they seek to serve. It’s a big job! We need your help.
For those of you who practice acupuncture and understand it thoroughly, please take some time to read the articles you find in the mainstream media. You can get them delivered conveniently to your inbox through Google or Yahoo alerts.
http://www.google.com/alerts
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You will begin to recognize a Golly-gosh-Gee-whiz approach to acupuncture in the mainstream media that undermines the seriousness of the profession while simultaneously appearing to objectively introduce AOM to the public. It’s up to you, the card-carrying members of our profession, to defend what you do against the bountiful misinformation to be found. Please consider spending some of your free time posting on blogs and public forums, to clarify what you do. Someone has to defend the integrity of AOM when misinformation undermines public understand, and even more precious—public trust.
Then, after you have created the cultural conditions in which AOM is understood, a universally insured public will embrace what you do. Japan won’t be the only country that insures all its citizens and cares for them through impeccable organization and TCM...
The following section features recent article descriptions and links to the originals, all of which hinge on public perception and/or recent research. Enjoy!
How to Beat Arthritis Naturally With Acupuncture, Turmeric
“A pair of studies in the same journal (Arthritis and Rheumatism) suggest that acupuncture and an extract of turmeric (a spice found in curry) may both offer significant pain relief to arthritis patients. A German research team found that a combination of acupuncture and conventional medicine can increase the quality of life of osteoarthritis patients.”
More: http://www.afpafitness.com/articles/?page_id=386
One Sixth of the National U.S. Income Spent on Medicine
The Cato Institute: Robin Hanson “Cut Medicine in Half”
“The U.S. spends one sixth of national income on medicine, more than on all manufacturing. Car inspections and repairs take a small fraction of our total spending on cars, gas, roads, and parking. But imagine that we were so terrified of accidents due to faulty cars that we spent most of our automotive budget having our cars inspected and adjusted every week by Ph.D. car experts. Obsessed by the fear of not finding a defect that might cause an accident, imagine we made sure inspections were heavily regulated and subsidized by government. To feed this obsession, imagine we skimped on spending to make safer roads, cars, and driving patterns, and our constant disassembling and reassembling of cars introduced nearly as many defects as it eliminated.”
More: http://www.cato-unbound.org/2007/09/10/robin-hanson/cut-medicine-in-half/
Herbal Medicine Study Compares Herbs Used to Alzheimer’s and Dementia:
Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Volume 113, Issue 3, 25 September 2007, Pages 363-381
“In traditional herbal medicine, numerous plants have been used to treat age related cognitive disorders. In this review we compiled available literature from four Swiss university libraries, scientific journals and online database query's on plants and remedies used in traditional medicinal systems for such diseases. Over 150 plant species in various preparations and mixtures were found. European herbals from the 16th and 17th century alongside traditional Chinese and Indian medicinal works were the most prolific sources. The information is organized into geographic regions and when available the findings are discussed in the light of more recent scientific findings concerning their secondary metabolites and in vitro and in vivo activities relevant to dementia and Alzheimer's disease.”
More: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03788741/
Laser Therapy Employs Acupuncture Precepts:
“The American Cancer Society describes low-level laser therapy, or cold-laser therapy, as ‘the use of low-intensity or low levels of laser light.’ The technique uses cold lasers in an acupuncture-like practice where the beams of the laser are supposed to stimulate certain acupoints on the body. When these acupoints are stimulated, the smoker allegedly releases endorphins and becomes relaxed. The release of the endorphins acts to simulate the effect nicotine typically has on the brain and relieve addiction traits. The treatment is recommended to patients who want the results that acupuncture has on the body's acupoints without the pain of needles.”
Harvard Scientist Asserts Preeminence of Acupuncture and Healing
Besides affecting the skin energetics, needles can also impact the plexus of nerve, blood vessel and fascia, allowing relaxation of internal spasm and greater flow of internal nerve and blood function. This is the basis for medical acupuncture. Bruce Pomerantz, MD, Ph.D., the Harvard trained scientist who discovered the relationship of acupuncture to endorphin release in 1975, has said, “I have spent the last 25 years proving that acupuncture treats pain. I shall spend the next 25 years proving that acupuncture promotes healing.” (emphasis mine)
More: http://www.acupuncture-schools.us/styles-of-acupuncture.cfm
Wall Street Journal Monitors CAM rise in numbers:
“Interest in complementary and alternative medicine is on the rise worldwide, and China is eager to partake in the growing market. In the U.S. alone, sales of alternative remedies reached approximately $5 billion in 2005, according to a market study by Mintel research. Nearly 62% of American adults have used some sort of alternative medicine, which respondents "felt to overall be safer and have fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals," according to the study.”
From: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118971914846626834.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Large-scale Acupuncture Back Pain Study in Germany Receives Wide and Varying Press in the U.S.
“’We don't understand the mechanisms of these so-called alternative treatments, but that doesn't mean they don't work,’ said Dr. James Young of Chicago's Rush University Medical Center, who wasn't involved in the research. Young often treats low back pain with acupuncture, combined with exercises and stretches.”
From: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gqRdg8uF1H0K-fXkBKHp8TPqZKbA
http://aftermathnews.wordpress.com/2007/09/24/acupuncture-tops-conventional-therapy-for-low-back-pain/
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Truemors - http://truemors.com
More Research Links Acupuncture with Increased Fertilization Rates
“Women undergoing fertility treatment could have their chances of success shooting up with acupuncture. German researchers said they have increased success rates by almost 50% in women having in vitro fertilization (IVF).”
More: http://therotundaramblings.blogspot.com/2007/09/acupuncture-shoots-up-ivf-success-rates.html
“The practice of cultural amnesia is in no one’s long term interest.”
James A. Joseph Remaking America (Jossey-Bass Books)
“To live an authentic life, take your wisdom from your own experience. Because in thinking, the majority is always wrong."
Joseph Campbell