News, views & pets

Thinking about my profession and the public’s understanding of it, I became interested in how acupuncture is presented by the press. And what kinds of treatments catch the attention of health reporters. Treatments for fertility, particularly when used in conjunction with state-of-the-art Western procedures, seem to be the clear winners for shear numbers of reports. (Here’s another AP story on the subject to add to those I posted last month.)

Pets

Acupuncture for pets also catches the attention of news organizations. This recent article in the Oregonian tells the story of how an aging Labrador Retriever was successfully treated by Dr. Kelly Jenkins Nielsen. That’s right – Dr. Nielsen. After 20 years as an orthodox Western veterinarian, she decided to study acupuncture as an alternative treatment for the pets that came her way. Now it’s Dr. Nielsen, DVM LAc. (She is featured in an article in the Lake Oswego Review.)

Well, my sorta-half-Lab Otis is in good health and I have not yet entertained the idea of treating any non-human animal. But who knows? If he rolls in one more smelly thing, I may just start some sort of treatment program on him.

I had never heard of Buzzle.com before, but their news summaries include an article about how complementary modalities (acupuncture and chiropractics) have entered the world of veterinary medicine.

Humor

I don’t know why, but animal acupuncture seems to inspire a lot of humor. When browsing on-line organizations, for example, you find sites such as More Pets Get the Point, and the The “Paws-itive” Effects of Treatment. And some great cartoons are based on animals. My favorite has a woolly mammoth in it, and my vote for the animal most likely to show up in future cartoons is the species in this one.

The rest of the story

Although this article on the treatment of back pain is a notable exception, most acupuncture stories dealing with humans will not reach the threshold for being newsworthy. There’s nothing unexpected about that, I suppose. It’s probably the same for all healthcare providers -- the big story is preventive medicine. The big unwritten story, that is.

Seeking fertility

I love working with patients who are seeking help with fertility. Whether they are trying on their own for the first time or taking extra steps prescribed by their doctors (often IUI or IVF), acupuncture has the potential to help achieve conception. And there are few things more rewarding than helping couples realize their dream of having a child.

Happily, these days, when couples first begin considering what options exist for them, there is a good chance they have already heard something about acupuncture.

News coverage

Over the past few years, the news media have brought attention to the effectiveness of acupuncture. CBS, FOX, and BBC have each run stories about the successes of acupuncture and the results of fertility research programs. These stories highlight how the modern techniques of reproductive medicine can be enhanced by the ancient tradition of Chinese medicine. Enhancement isn't the whole story, however, and acupuncture can be of value to anyone seeking assistance. These latter people aren't so newsworthy, I guess.

More sources

WebMD and the American Pregnancy Association also have interesting information about fertility and acupuncture, and as I was browsing around the web for what fellow licensed practitioners are saying, I found this article in Acupuncture Magazine by Jennifer Dubowsky. My hat’s off to Jennifer for this article and her other insightful contributions on the subject of fertility.

Personal testimonies

There’s nothing like hearing from someone who has gone down the same road, and like many professionals’ web sites, mine has testimonials from some of my fertility patients |1|2|. But what can be more compelling than seeing and listening to real people? Like on YouTube: |1|2|.

Final thoughts

So there's a lot of information out there readily available for interested couples. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, I suppose, that the general health and well-being of a patient – something that is at the heart of Chinese medicine -- would have a direct impact on a patient’s fertility. Conception is a lot more than sperm meets egg. The physiological and emotional environments in which this takes place will have a dramatic impact on how events unfold. “Nourish the soil before planting the seed.” And then keep nourishing the soil through the ensuing pregnancy and birth. Then it's . . . slow drum roll in the background . . . parenthood. But that's a whole 'nother story.