MD puncture

[Guest guest]

(the reference to French Energetic acupuncture likely means they went

through the Helms class- doug)

 

 

 

A comparison of physician and nonphysician acupuncture treatment

for chronic low back pain.

 

* Kalauokalani D,

* Cherkin DC,

* Sherman KJ.

 

Department of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, University of

California, Davis Medical Center, Sacramento, California 95817, USA.

dkalauokalani

 

BACKGROUND: Although up to a third of the 10,000 acupuncturists in

the United States are medical doctors, little is known about the

acupuncture techniques they use or how their practices compare with

those of nonphysician licensed acupuncturists. This is the first study

providing descriptive data on physician acupuncture and comparison to

nonphysician acupuncture. PURPOSE: This study describes how a random

sample of physician acupuncturists in the United States diagnose and

treat chronic low back pain and contrasts their practices with those

of nonphysician licensed acupuncturists. METHODS: A total of 464

questionnaires were mailed to physician acupuncturists randomly

sampled from 3 sources: web-based Yellow Pages, American Academy of

Medical Acupuncturists (AAMA) membership, and Pain Clinics associated

with American College of Graduate Medical Education-approved

fellowship programs. Responses (n=137, 30%) were analyzed using

descriptive statistics. The results of this survey were compared with

data published from a similar survey of nonphysician licensed

acupuncturists in Washington State. RESULTS: Physicians who perform

acupuncture use a mixture of styles and emphasize neuroanatomic

approaches to needle placement. Most physicians received training in

French Energetic acupuncture. In contrast, most nonphysician licensed

acupuncturists use a traditional Chinese medicine approach to needle

placement. Despite this apparent difference in their predominant

styles of acupuncture, there was a high correlation between physician

and nonphysician licensed acupuncturist acupoint selection to treat

low back pain. In addition to acupuncture needling, physicians use

other medical treatments, whereas nonphysician licensed

acupuncturists' employ a variety of traditional Chinese medicine

adjuncts to needling. CONCLUSION: This study provides new information

about the nature of physician acupuncture practice in the United

States and how it compares to acupuncture provided by nonphysician

licensed acupuncturists. Further research is necessary to determine if

the different types of acupuncture provided by physicians and

nonphysician acupuncturists affect treatment outcomes and costs for

patients with chronic low back pain.

 

PMID: 16093746 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]