July's National Links
Tufts Health Plan Foundation announced today that it has awarded more than $1M in grants to 35 non-profit organizations based in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, including one in Framingham. This is the foundation’s first round of funding under its new focus on improving the lives and health of adults over age 60.
One Framingham-based program, Veterans Acupuncture Care, met the new criteria of helping older adults live longer, healthier lives.
Veterans Acupuncture Care received $5,000 to fund a free acupuncture treatment program for veterans, allowing VAC to serve 800-1000 patients in 2009-2010 from the 400-500 served in 2008-2009. Outreach will be conducted and transportation provided for veterans from Massachusetts Veterans, a homeless shelter in Worcester.
www.metrowestdailynews.com
Exercise and electro-acupuncture treatments can reduce sympathetic nerve activity in women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), according to a new study. The finding is important because women with PCOS often have elevated sympathetic nerve activity, which plays a role in hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, obesity and cardiovascular disease
The study also found that the electro-acupuncture treatments led to more regular menstrual cycles, reduced testosterone levels and reduced waist circumference.
Exercise had no effect on the irregular or non-existent menstrual cycles that are common among women with PCOS, nor did it reduce waist circumference. However, exercise did lead to reductions in weight and body mass index.
"The findings that low-frequency electro-acupuncture and exercise decrease sympathetic nerve activity in women with PCOS indicates a possible alternative non-pharmacologic approach to reduce cardiovascular risk in these patients," said one of the researchers, Dr. Elisabet Stener-Victorin of the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. The findings regarding menstrual cycles and decrease in testosterone levels in the low-frequency electro-acupuncture are also of interest, according to the researcher.
The study, "Low-frequency electro-acupuncture and physical exercise decrease high muscle sympathetic nerve activity in polycystic ovary syndrome" was conducted by Elisabet Stener-Victorin, Elizabeth Jedel, Per Olof Janson and Vrsa Bergmann Sverrisdottir, all of the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden and the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. The study is in the online edition of the American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, published by The American Physiological Society.
www.genengnews.com
Boise, ID (PRWEB) -- In the United States, approximately 38 percent of adults (about 4 in 10) and approximately 12 percent of children (about 1 in 9) are using some form of complementary and alternative medicine. Therapies which are classified as complementary and alternative medicine (often abbreviated as CAM) include acupuncture treatment, chiropractic care, massage therapy, and naturopathic medicine, among others.
Due to the increasing popularity and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine, more and more insurance companies are offering full or partial coverage for various CAM therapies. However, many small-business, private-practice CAM practitioners are finding that billing insurance is such a time-consuming and laborious process, that they are not "accepting" insurance. That is, they do not actually prepare all of the required paperwork and submit the claim. Instead, they receive payment at the time of service and provide patients with the necessary information to submit claims themselves.
Acupuncture West LLC, an acupuncture clinic located in Boise, Idaho, operated under this business model until recently. "We started meeting prospective patients that wanted acupuncture treatment, had acupuncture as a covered benefit, and couldn't find an acupuncturist that would accept insurance," said Peter Games, co-owner of the busy acupuncture center. "Considering the current economic situation, it's understandable that patients don't want to pay up-front for medical services if they don't have to. We saw this as a great opportunity to develop our business and to make acupuncture more accessible to our community."
As a result, Acupuncture West LLC became credentialed with local insurance companies which do cover acupuncture services. "We began to see our business grow and our patients receive the care that they needed," explained Games. Although the number of insurance companies offering coverage for acupuncture treatment is increasing, there are still some large insurance companies that do not yet offer this type of coverage. "We look forward to the day when all insurance companies give their members the freedom to decide which health care modalities are best for their unique situations.”
www.prweb.com
While politicians are arguing over healthcare options and millions of Americans are struggling to pay their medical bills, some patients are receiving medical care without dealing with money at all.
The Rock Dove Collective, an alternative community health exchange in New York City, is encouraging patients and healthcare providers to exchange services instead of money in return for treatment. Rock Dove offers a network of healthcare providers who accept mutual aid, meaning that they allow patients to provide services instead of paying for healthcare. For example, a patient could walk the dog of an acupuncturist in exchange for an hour-long treatment. Some providers in the network accept sliding-scale payment, in which patients pay what they can afford.
Many of the providers in the network specialize in alternative therapies such as yoga, herbal medicine and mental health therapy, which are often not covered by insurance. Mutual aid enables patients, or “Seekers” as Rock Dove calls them, to receive healthcare even if they do not have much money or insurance.
nyc.indymedia.org
In an adjoining room, another woman lay on a recliner covered with a blanket, while other patients moved in and out of the small space as their treatments started and ended.
With its two rooms filled with reclining chairs that can be occupied by as many as seven patients at one time, The People's Acupuncture of Asheville, NC is not what most people think of when they imagine the technique. Instead of private, one-on-one sessions performed lying on a table, the clinic on Charlotte Street offers acupuncture in a community setting.
The model, which Soemardi refers to as “working class acupuncture,” allows the three practitioners to see more patients than in a traditional setting and offer acupuncture more affordably. Each session costs $15-$35 on a sliding scale fee, with an initial $10 charge for first time visits, compared to private sessions that typically start at $65.
www.citizen-times.com
TAMPA — Lucas Pacheco says he's "deathly afraid of needles." Similar phobias have kept others away from Hillsborough County's drug court, the only program in the Tampa Bay area and one of just a few in the state that includes acupuncture as part of its treatment. But Pacheco, 23, submitted to the daunting treatment and, surprising himself, felt calmer. "It's a nice stress relief," he said. That's the sort of positive anecdotal evidence that supporters have long relied on to vouch for acupuncture, a part of traditional Chinese medicine that has been a fixture of Hillsborough's drug court treatment since the program began in the early 1990s.
Not everyone is convinced that the costly and time-consuming treatment - a mandatory requirement to successfully complete drug court - is worthwhile for addicts. Even the judge assigned to drug court has asked if there are more useful treatment options, given the mixed reactions she's heard from defendants about acupuncture.
www.tampabay.com
There are 361 classical acupuncture pressure points and all are assigned to one of twelve “meridians” in the body, which coincide with specific organs or regions. For centuries, acupuncturists have inserted and manipulated needles at prescribed points to achieve therapeutic benefit, such as pain relief. Research reported in The Journal of Pain shows that ancient acupuncture meridians coincide with known myofacial trigger point regions, as described in the Trigger Point Manual, and may provide potential for novel approaches for treating chronic myofacial pain.
In the study, researchers from Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla., sought to determine whether physiologic evidence of the 12 principle acupuncture meridians can be demonstrated from myofacial trigger point regions. Trigger points are firmly anchored in the anatomy of the neural and muscular systems, while acupuncture points are based on the ancient concept of anatomically nonexistent meridians thought to carry energy and blood through the body in the healing process. The authors noted that previous studies comparing acupuncture meridians with known trigger points showed near-complete agreement in their distributions for 76 percent of anatomically corresponding points. These studies suggested that myofacial pain and acupuncture traditions are fundamentally similar in treating pain disorders.
In the Mayo Clinic Jacksonville study, the authors reported that myofacial pain data from the Trigger Point Manual provides independent, physiologic evidence of acupuncture meridians described in the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic more than 2,000 years ago. They concluded that sensations from acupuncture needling are analogous to referred-pain arising from myofacial trigger points. For treatment of pain disorders, the findings show that acupuncture’s extensive data should be explored to enhance clinical treatment of pain conditions.
www.newswise.com
What the main media is saying: John Stossel, ABC News: On top of that, politicians have mandated that all insurance plans in their states cover things like chiropractors, toupees and acupuncture. In fact, the 50 state legislatures have mandated a total 2,133 benefits. An insurance industry advocacy group says the mandates increase the cost of insurance by anywhere from 20 to as much as 50 percent.
It's hard to convince people that these mandates are a bad idea. After all, "free" toupees and "free" chiropractors sound great. So, politicians keep adding things that “ought” to be covered. It’s no surprise that health insurance costs keep rising.
blogs.abcnews.com
An effective and relatively quick method for zeroing in on the root of back pain coupled with new findings about acupuncture treatment could help clinicians better manage this common complaint from patients.
The Standardized Evaluation of Pain (StEP), a 10- to 15-minute assessment, uses six questions and 10 physical tests to discriminate between neuropathic and other causes of pain (PLoS Med. 2009;6: e1000047). While under development, StEP identified radicular pain patients with 92% sensitivity and 97% specificity.
“The treatments for neuropathic and non-neuropathic pain are quite different,” explains lead author Joachim Scholz, MD, assistant professor of anesthesia at Harvard Medical School in Boston. “If a diagnosis is wrong, patients may receive treatment that does not improve their pain. We showed that StEP is a valuable diagnostic tool for low back pain.”
www.clinicaladvisor.com
(NBC/WRCB) – Louisville, KY: After a bout with shingles last fall, Kennedy Williams has experienced lingering neuralgia, or nerve pain.
"First we tried medicine, and then we tried a cream and heat, but those helped some but they didn't take away all of the pain," said Kennedy .
She missed 50 days of her 7th grade year. Her doctors at Riley Hospital for Children suggested acupuncture.
"I kind of needed convincing," said Kennedy.
"That is the biggest concern for kids is the fear of needles," said Dr. Chan Saysana, an Anesthesiologist. But Kennedy, tired of pain, agreed, and now is getting her second treatment, which is five tiny needles with one even in the ear.
"Inserting needles at certain points in the body, the acupuncture points do illicit some activity," said Saysana. Saysana believes key points stimulate the nervous system to release the body's own weapons or hormones to fight pain.
"I was kind of scared at first because it is needles, and I thought the needles were going to be bigger but they are actually pretty small," said Kennedy.
If the aversion to needles and acupuncture is too great, there is another option - acupressure. With small pads and gold balls you apply to the spot and the patient periodically rubs. There are facilities in our area that do procedures of acupuncture with kids.
Miriam Lee, a prominent acupuncturist who pushed for licensing the practice in California and treated patients for two decades in Palo Alto, died June 23. She was 82. Lee suffered a severe stroke in recent weeks and died June 24 in Southern California, where she lived after retiring in 1997, said Susan Johnson, a former student and longtime friend.
Lee's 1974 arrest in Palo Alto for practicing medicine without a license made her an icon for the movement to allow acupuncture to be legalized in the United States, Johnson said. She also had a lifelong desire to learn, traveling across the world to pick up new skills and passing on her knowledge to many of her students.
"She was an extraordinary practitioner, a one-of-a-kind pioneer in terms of techniques and teaching," said Johnson, who was an intern under Lee in 1982.
www.mercurynews.com