| Developed in China over
2,500 years ago, acupuncture is part of a system of medicine
that seeks to establish the free and balanced flow of
energy (or chi) by the insertion of needles on specific
points along the energy pathways of the body. It is based
on the idea that blocked chi is the cause of disharmony
in the body/mind, and therefore disease. |
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Alliance (acupuncturealliance.org)
This site provides a referral service to help people locate acupuncture or Oriental medicine practitioners in the US. It contains over 8,000 practitioners who have been verified as state licensed or national board certified in acupuncture or Oriental medicine with the appropriate state agency or national certification commission. Searches can be done by practitioner’s last name, zip code, city, area code or state.
American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (medicalacupuncture.org)
A physician-only professional acupuncture society. Their site provides a medical acupuncturist referral service located by state or area code as well as general information and research on acupuncture.
RESEARCH: Avants SK. Margolin
A. Holford TR. Kosten TR. “A randomized controlled trial
of auricular acupuncture for cocaine dependence.” Archives
of Internal Medicine. 160(15):2305-12, 2000. This study was
undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of auricular acupuncture
for the treatment of cocaine addiction. Patients who received
acupuncture in this study were significantly more likely to
test free of cocaine at the end of the eight week treatment
period. Researchers concluded that acupuncture shows promise
for the treatment of cocaine abuse and should be further studied.
Acupuncture is currently used in many drug treatment facilities
or can be part of a self-help program for recovery.
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Updated ::June 11, 2009