Category Archives: Oriental Acupuncture
Robert Davis – Society for Acupuncture Research – #6
Robert Davis is one of two co-presidents of the Society For Acupuncture Research. Robert Davis received a Masters of Science in acupuncture and oriental medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College, Santa Fe in 1999. He is board certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine and maintains a clinical practice in South Burlington, Vermont. He served as the President of the Vermont Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from 2001 – 2006. He is currently the CEO of Stromatec, Inc., a medical device R&D company developing quantitative tools and “know how” to researchers and clinicians in the areas of acupuncture needling techniques and connective tissue physiology and pathology. He has served as the Principle Investigator for six National Institute of Health SBIR grants.
Why you should listen – In this episode of Needle Chat, Robert talks about the Society for Acupuncture Research, what it is, it’s goals, what it has accomplished so far and the future of Acupuncture and SAR. Also, Robert touches on the issues of quality in research coming out of Asia, and the final word on Acupuncture for chronic pain.
Eric Schanke – Acupuncture is medical not mystical – #5
Eric Schanke is an acupuncturist that practices what he refers to as ashi acupuncture. And for those of you who aren’t acupuncturists, there are generally two types of acupuncture.
- Meridian or Jing Luo style acupuncture that’s based on the theory of qi flowing along meridians in the body
- Ashi acupuncture, in which you find the tender points, and you stick a needle in them to reduce pain. Ashi roughly translates to “ouch”, “that’s it”, “oh yes”
Why you should listen – In this episode, Eric talks about acupuncture being medical not mystical. He talks about studying Acupuncture in the US, Korea and China and why he was ready to quit Acupuncture until he found a mentor to learn from and find out about ashi acupuncture. By taking a western medical approach to acupuncture, Eric has elevated his practice and results to a whole new level. Eric talks about how the process of ashi acupuncture and how it differs from meridian acupuncture as well as dry needling. Eric’s website is http://ashi-acupuncture.com
Matthew Bauer: Acupuncture Now Foundation, Minimum effective dosage – #3
Matthew Bauer is the president of the Acupuncture Now Foundation. Matthew began his full-time practice of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in 1986 after several years of studying Taoist history and philosophy with a 74th generation Taoist Master. Matthew has worked with several acupuncture organizations in the U.S. as well as serving as an Expert Witness in both California State and private cases. He also has long worked in the Managed Care industry helping to create the first managed care acupuncture-based Utilization guidelines. In that role Matthew took part in a Think-Tank with a dozen experienced Acupuncturists from the U.S., Mainland China, Taiwan, and Korea. That experience convinced Matthew of the need to find ways to gather experienced Acupuncturists together to share their knowledge to further our understanding of this ancient healing system. Matthew has authored dozens of articles and two books and he has a passion for educating people about acupuncture believing it to be a responsibility of those who understand how it works to share this knowledge with those who don’t.
Why you should listen – Matthew talks about why the Acupuncture Now Foundation was formed and what it’s goals are. Matthew also talks about the problem in research study designs in which a suboptimal dosage is used in the “true” acupuncture group resulting in below industry average success rates and false negatives for the true acupuncture groups compared to sham groups. Nonetheless both groups still outperform usual care (physiotherapy and drugs) by as much as twice the effectiveness. Matthew lays out what is needed to do to fix these these problems, as well as a need for acupuncturists to rally around some centralized movement to demand better standards and fairer treatment in future research studies.
Mel Koppelman – Responding to Acupuncture Skeptics, Thoughts on Scrutiny of Acupuncture #2
Mel Hopper Koppelman holds a masters in Acupuncture and is currently undertaking a second Masters in Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western states. She has a multi-disciplinary clinic in Leicester, UK where she practices. She also seems to have developed the habit of arguing with strangers on the internet (usually fully referenced). She is a regular guest author for the Journal of Chinese Medicine and she is on the executive committee of the Acupuncture Now Foundation.
Why you should listen – Mel Hopper Koppelman comes to Needle Chat to discuss her chosen path to respond to the skeptics about whether acupuncture works, or is nothing more than a useless placebo treatment without any benefit. She talks about what drives her to respond to the skeptics, what she has learned in dealing with skeptics, and what she has learned about acupuncture while researching for her responses. Mel also talks about whether acupuncture is ready to be placed under the microscope, and if acupuncturists should be open to the scrutiny given to their profession over the past couple of decades.
John McDonald – Allergic Rhinitis, Recent research discoveries & Dry Needling – #1
John McDonald is an Acupuncturist with a Masters of Acupuncture with Distinction and is currently a PhD candidate awaiting his results on his submitted thesis in Acupuncture and Allergic Rhinitis. A former psychiatric nurse, who transitioned into Acupuncture and became an influential figure in the Chinese medical world. Having spoken at dozens of conferences over the past 10 years including the World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies and Australasian Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Annual Conference. He has authored or co-authored 4 articles published in peer reviewed journals, including one recent article published in the British Medical Journal. He’s also authored or co-authored 12 articles in non-peer reviewed journals, has written six books, and is a lecturer at several universities in Australia.
Why you should listen – John McDonald comes on Needle Chat to be our first guest ever and discuss his transition from psychiatric nursing to acupuncture, how he got involved in acupuncture research, what he has discovered during his research on the subject of acupuncture and it’s interaction with the immune system as well as suggest better study designs for the future of acupuncture researcher. Finally, John talks about dry needling, his involvement in the Acupuncture Now Foundation and what he would like to see for the future of acupuncture as a field.