What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment that encourages natural healing and also improves the functioning of a body in an effective manner. In this process, several needles are inserted into particular Acupuncture points to help relieve pain on a particular body part. Application of heat and electrical stimulation is also a very common process of Acupuncture.

Often regarded as the alternative to medical science, Acupuncture is based on diverse theories that involve a range of various ancient philosophies. The techniques and methods used in Acupuncture vary from a country to another. For example, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) technique is more popular in the United States than in other countries. Although TCM technique is often used to relieve body pain, it is also applied to cure other medical conditions generally in combination with other treatment procedures.

Acupuncture is mostly sought for musculoskeletal problems such as low back pain, knee pain, and shoulder stiffness in people. In this treatment, specific Acupuncture points in a body are stimulated by inserting needles along the skin. This popular TCM technique is not based on any scientific research. This ancient medical treatment procedure has been derived from some really ancient Chinese philosophies. However, the modern Acupuncture techniques have evolved with the time. Modern Acupuncture practitioners start their treatment by first inspecting the tongue and pulse of the patient.

Subsequent, consultations can are about half an hour long in most cases that may vary from patients to patients.

Acupuncture practitioners believe that just one-time consultation is not enough to get to the bottom of a disease. Hence, they recommend a particular number of consultations for a particular disease or pain. For example, a common problem, disease or pain involves around 6 to 12 visits that may span over a few months.

In a typical Acupuncture session, a patient is made to lie still while several thin needles are inserted into his particular body part depending on the type of pain or disease. These needles are then left in place for around 20 minutes to work. In the 20th century of Japan, a new non-invasive theory was developed to treat children. Acupuncture is, in reality, a complete system for overall care that utilizes traditional techniques, needling, adjunctive treatments, and Chinese herbs as well.

What do Acupuncture practitioners do?

An Acupuncture practitioner can also be described as a health practitioner whose key responsibility is to provide a holistic approach to the maintenance of health and its management. Their aim is to get to the root of the disease and cure it forever rather than concentrating on a particular illness.

One of the philosophies Acupuncture is based on is that the functioning of the body completely depends on vital energies in balance. For example, a brand new car does not face any problem but as the years pass
by its wheel alignment goes awry and starts causing problems. You must diagnose the alignment problem of your car for a smooth ride.

Similarly, your body too functions properly when vital energies are in balance. As the years pass by, the alignment or balance of your body too loses its way. The role of an Acupuncturist is to examine the sign of imbalance in your body and fix it effectively. To fix the balance of these vital energies, they insert needles into a particular part to promote blood flow and thus allow natural healing to take place on its own.
Some of the physical conditions that Acupuncturists can treat include:

• Musculoskeletal disorders
• Respiratory and circulatory disorders
• Gastrointestinal disorders
• Gynecological disorders
• Neurological and stress related disorders
• Pain and allergies

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An Acupuncturist conducts one-on-one sessions with patients to get the case history of the disease. Based on these sessions, an Acupuncturist then designs his treatment plan. Just one session with an Acupuncturist is not sufficient for recovery. A patient is required to pay a visit for at least 12 times over a period of a few months for complete recover. Every session lasts for around 45 minutes or so. However, the duration of Acupuncture sessions varies from disease to disease and patients to patients. So not all patients will always require 12 sessions, it will vary and might go up to 20 consultations in some cases.

Key responsibilities:

• Preparing a personalized treatment plan for patients
• Interviewing patients to get all aspects of their history of disease
• Tongue and pulse inspection to plan diagnosis
• Explaining their diagnosis to patients and resolve their queries that they may have
• Inserting needles to relieve pain
• Utilizing other treatment plans such as moxibustion, electro-Acupuncture, acupressure, and cupping.
• Keeping a tab on the progress of health of patients through examination
• Reviewing treatment plan if need be
• What career options are there for Acupuncturists?

Scope:

Most Acupuncturists are self-employed. They treat patients from their own premises or pay a visit to people who require their services. Some Acupuncturists also choose to work from a rented room in medical or healthcare centers.

To enhance the work performance of their employees, corporate industries hire Acupuncturists to ensure their overall well-being.

Part-time opportunities are also increasing for Acupuncture practitioners in areas such as:

• Pain management
• Oncology
• Antenatal care

What amount do Acupuncturists earn?

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As most Acupuncturists are self-employed, the earnings totally depend on how well-established they are. And, generally, it takes around 3 to 4 years for Acupuncturists to establish themselves in the market. Once they are established, then there is no seeing back. They can charge fee per session and the practice can be more fruitful. The duration of the treatment program depends on the severity of the health problem.

An established and successful Acupuncturist can have more than 50 sessions in a day and the fee depends on the location and again how successful an Acupuncturist is. So you can say that the earning of an Acupuncturist varies from experience to experience.

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How to Become an Acupuncturist

Those who hold a degree of masters or doctors in Acupuncture can practice as an Acupuncturist. These medical practitioners require proper training and experience, so students must ensure to join a renowned college for studying Acupuncture courses.

Indian Academy of Acupuncture Science, Aurangabad offers 1 year diploma and 3 year degree in Acupuncture for 10+2 students. Those having a bachelor’s degree in healthcare or alternative medicine related subjects such as MBBS, BHMS can apply for the 2 years Master’s degree courses. Degree in physiology, anatomy, biology and psychology will be an add-on for aspiring Acupuncturists to make a flourishing career in this medical field.

Indian Board of Alternative Medicines, Kolkata duly registered by the Government of West Bengal deals in 1 year Doctor of Medicine in Acupuncture, M.D.(ACU) through distance education. Students must have passed any degree course from an accredited institution or completed their MBBS, BDS, DMS, etc to be eligible for applying to this Institution. However the minimum basic qualification is exempted for practitioners and research workers who are practicing consistently for the last 10 years. They can straight away apply for the Doctorate program.

Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) offers Online program in PG Diploma in Acupuncture for Medical graduates from streams like Allopathy, Homeopathy, Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, Yoga and Naturopathy. The PG Diploma can be completed within 1 to 3 years.

Acupuncture is an ancient art and a more natural approach for healing the body. Acupuncture helps alleviate pain using its own yin and yang energies and helps improve the quality of life of patients suffering from pain. For modern medical doctors, the neuroanatomical approach has successfully addressed the learning of the efficiency of Acupuncture.

Besides the above institutions, IANM also caters to the needs of aspiring Acupuncturists by offering long term and short term Acupuncture courses for young medicos and for busy medical practitioners respectively. The course can help simplify the Acupuncture concept as well as apply them on patients according to the modern scenario.

Course Module: Acupuncture courses teach students about the different aspects of Acupuncture mentioned below

• Acupuncture points of the body
• Fundamentals of Acupuncture
• Acupuncture Meridians
• Five Element Theory
• Ancillary Acupuncture
• Classical Acupuncture
• Applied Acupuncture
• History and philosophy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
• Acupuncture theory
• Practice of Acupuncture therapies etc.

Students gain in-depth knowledge about the art of inserting needles at the right points and providing pain relief to the patients, through these courses.

Skills:

It is important to have good communication and interpersonal skills to explain diagnosis plans to patients and also build a professional relationship with them. Your diagnosis might just fall flat in the absence of these two skills, which are the basic foundations of this profession.

Apart from these, you must exude a positive attitude. This will help your patients to feel at ease with you. They will start relying on your diagnosis and recover in a timely manner. As most Acupuncturists are self-employed, you should also have some good marketing, organizational, and financial skills.

Pros and Cons

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is increasingly accepted as safe and cost effective treatment for acute and chronic ailments. Most people are accepting the treatment because it has not carry any side effects, it is not a painful procedure as well as cost effective. The cost is very less as compared to the other pain management systems.

But occasionally Acupuncture accidents can happen and create complications in the Acupuncture treatment. Such complications arise from improper technique, lack of skill, or failure to observe clinical guidelines etc.

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