The history of acupuncture in the United States is long and storied. Acupuncture has attained higher states in the field of good health and fitness. It is widely recognized by most people, physicians and medical field experts across the globe. The art has been accepted as a medical practice all across Asia for more than thousands of years now. Here, we will emphasize on how this medical practice reached and gained immense popularity in the United States.
Chinese immigrants brought acupuncture into the United States. Large Chinese enclaves that grew up in New York City, Lost Angeles and San Francisco facilitated the expansion of this medical practice. Back in china, acupuncture was a standard type of treatments. The Chinese have been using the treatment option for more than centuries. However, this was not trusted in western medical treatments.
There were only a few westerns that involved with the study of this medical practice. However, it was still not widely accepted. In fact, this form of treatment was laughable. In 1960s it was considered superstitious or shaman-like treatment rather than an alternative method of practice. The attitude of the public changed due to an event that was well publicized by a front-page story written by a New York Times reporter.
In 1972, James Reston, a member of the United States during the visit, underwent an emergency appendectomy when he was in Peking. The operation was successful but after the operation he experienced considerable pain. A Chinese acupuncturist was sent to help him and after inserting three needles into his right elbow and one below each knee, some herbs were also burned over Reston's stomach. He reported that he experienced "noticeable relaxation of the pressure and distention within an hour and no recurrence of the problem thereafter." Following this, he toured major Chinese hospitals where he witnessed the use of acupuncture as anesthetic, including one performed on a man for the removal of brain tumor. He reported that only one needle was used - in the patient's right shoulder while the patient talked to him via an interpreter. Reston said the patient was perfectly conscious and ate orange slices while his "skull was wide open".
He told the Western world that the needles actually worked in easing his pain after the surgery. That front-page publicity created an enormous demand for acupuncture, probably much of it from patients who were fed up with orthodox treatment and hungry for an alternative.
In the year 1994, the Washington post reported in an astonishing new that almost 15 million people in the United States actually tried acupuncture. Now, this accounted to 6 percent of the total population. The following year, the United States Federal Drug Administration categorized acupuncture needles as medical instruments.
The biggest turn that took place in this regard was in the year 1997. During the period, the National Institute of Health came out with an issue that reported acupuncture as a under treatment option in several conditions. It also mentioned that the side effects coming from acupuncture were far less severe than those occurring from surgery or drug were. The report was titled as ‘Acupuncture: The NIH Consensus Statement’.
Another thing that increased the awareness and popularity of acupuncture is the NIH report that encouraged many Insurance Companies to provide full coverage on all acupuncture treatment conditions. This was a fabulous and effective advertisement of the medical treatment option.
These days, acupuncture has become more accepted in the United State as an alternative treatment for many conditions. There are also some medical schools that started to provide acupuncture as an integral part of the curriculum.
