Contemporary Acupuncture seeks to expand the practice and efficacy of acupuncture facilitated healing while simultaneously reviving the art of physical medicine as an approach where knowledgeable touch is the crucial therapeutic intervention in the assessment as well as the treatment phases of therapy.

Acupuncture enhanced by informed touch provides an authentic, gentle and effective therapy method, blending classical French and Japanese meridian acupuncture with Western physical medicine techniques inspired by nineteenth century osteopathic and physical medicine practices of body palpation, which sought to understand and correct the myofascial constrictions at the root of a patient's pain and dysfunction.

In this highly technological age in which we find ourselves, this is vital, not only for the elusive problems of chronic pain but for patients who experience the myriad complex visceral, stress and fatigue disorders that currently plague our overextended healthcare system.

Because perception and tolerance of pain vary widely from individual to individual, pain is difficult to define and describe. Essentially, pain is the way your brain interprets information about a particular sensation that your body is experiencing.

Information (or "signals") about this painful sensation are sent via nerve pathways to your brain. The way in which your brain interprets these signals as "pain" can be affected by many outside factors, some of which can be controlled by special techniques.

Contermporary Acupuncture is a highly adaptable discipline, and is of potential therapeutic value in many pain and general medical conditions. Whether it is introduced as the primary or the complementary therapy depends on the nature and severity of the presenting problem as well as the training, orientation, and practice environment of the provider.

The specialist trained in contemporary acupuncture who sees patients early in the course of their disturbances can initiate treatment of a pain or medical problem with acupuncture, and introduce additional therapies if acupuncture proves insufficient as the sole treatment.

The practitioner who receives cases later in their evolution and after conventional treatments have been initiated can add acupuncture to assist, or possibly replace, conventional treatments.

The four divisions of medicine that appear to be most responsive to acupuncture intervention in this country are respiratory, gastrointestinal, gynecologic, and genitourinary. Respiratory ailments potentially accessible to acupuncture intervention include allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and bronchitis. Gastrointestinal ailments include gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, hepatitis, and hemorrhoids. Gynecological problems include dysmenorrhea and infertility. Genitourinary problems include irritable bladder, prostatitis, male infertility, and some forms of impotence.

Usually the best moment to initiate acupuncture therapy is early in the evolution of a problem; however, the flexibility and adaptability of acupuncture allow it to be integrated at almost any stage of treatment. In addition to the treatment of acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain and premorbid or functional problems, medical acupuncture can be used successfully to address many diagnosable medical conditions, although it may need to be used in collaboration with other therapies, whether conventional or unconventional.

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