There are 5 reasons why people are still under utilizing Acupuncture. Many have heard of Acupuncture, fewer still have tried it. Of the people who have tried it, many still underutilize their acupuncturist. In this article, I share with residents of Bergen County, NJ, the 5 reasons why people are still inderutilizing acupuncture.
Don’t Know What We Treat! Everyone has heard that acupuncture can treat pain. Acupuncture can also help with anxiety, stress reduction, improving sleep, reducing fatigue, enhancing your libido, and improve a lot of areas of your life. These things are not thought of, simply because most people don’t know about it. I once had a patient who was a stressed insurance salesman. He experienced stiffness, pain in his shoulders, and lower back. As he got treated, he realized that he was getting great benefits for his stress, poor sleep, energy, and acid reflux as well. This is a usual experience, typical for people who are newbies, and have never experienced acupuncture before. Once people start to feel these benefits, they start to look forward to their treatments. Instead of going to a stress specialist, a sleep specialist, and an orthopedic for the neck and lower back, they love that acupuncture can take care of many conditions that ail them. The average person does not have any education or knowledge about acupuncture. Even with the internet there are few if any articles that can address questions and answer things that people are still asking about . This is one major reason why poeple are still underutiling acupuncture. Many people don’t realize that they could utilize it for treatment of a variety of issues.
Don’t Know What Services Other Than the Needles We Can Do? Did you know that some acupuncturists do gwa sha, cupping, and Chinese herbal preparation to help you feel better? Many don’t know what these techniques are. Gwa sha is a muscle relaxation technique that helps relax muscles by using a gentle raking motion on the skin with some lubricant, like massage oil, to release waste products, like lactic acid, from the muscles. Lactic acid can remain buried in the muscles for years and can cause tremendous tightness and spasm. Cupping is another technique to help relax muscles. Glass cups are placed on the skin, by suction. The cupping also decongests muscles, so they feel looser. Chinese herbal supplements can help individuals in a variety of different ways. Each supplement is tailored around specific needs of the individual. The ingredients for these supplements are based on laboratory checks to ensure purity. Why just take medications with all of their side effects? Many individuals are searching for and turning to more natural therapies for keeping themselves healthier and just when they feel sick. So being aware of the services associated with acupuncture is another reason why people are still underutilizing acupuncture.
Don’t Stick Around Enough to Get the Benefits They Desire: Many people are used to going to the doctor when they are sick, and getting a quick prescription that will help them within a few days. However, with acupuncture, since you are stimulating the body, to help itself, it is not the same thing as getting an injection or taking a pill, it simply takes more time to see the results. You may need to stick around as the body makes the changes it needs to get and stay healthy. The body can change but it takes some time.
For example, I am treating someone who has tennis elbow for 10 years. I recommended we treat regularly so he can get some collagen growth to the elbow so the pain and overall condition can improve. He prefers to come in once a week, and as a result, his progress is a lot slower. So just realizing that your body takes time to heal (Who has time right?) is an important part of the process and why people get so discouraged when they don’t see an immediate result. This is an important reasonf or pe
Why Wait For There to be a Problem? If you had insomnia and you found a way to start sleeping better, why would you want to stop sleeping well? Issues like high blood pressure, heart diseases, poor memory, fatigue, lowered immunity, and poor quality of life, arise from lack of sleep. Once you have a problem develop, it takes time to eliminate it and then some time to maintain it so it doesn’t return. People are looking for ways to reduce the “wear and tear” on their bodies and taking care of themselves, proactively, so they can improve their quality of life. many people are using acupuncture and Chinese medicine to keep themselves feeling energized, sleeping better, and feeling better than they did when they were younger. If you help regulate and strengthen different organ functions, the body just works better. Acupuncture increases blood flow to do it while herbs strengthen the weakened organ systems so you don’t feel the “wear and tear” on your body as it starts to work better! Having this type of mindset is a reason why people underutilize acupuncture. People are trained to wait until things are “broke” before fixing them.
Needles Scare People but Acupuncture needles –C’mon! They Are Something Else: Many don’t realize that acupuncture needles are like no other needle that they ever have experienced! Acupuncture needles are slightly bigger than a cat’s whisker and have nothing injected through them. But people’s earliest experience with needles used for injections, make them scared to try acupuncture. Not all needles are created “PAINFULLY”! Acupuncture needles may pinch but if you’ve ever gotten your eyebrows threaded, acupuncture is much less painful. Acupuncture needles are literally, the smallest needles on the planet! For most people, just hearing this is enough for them to allay their fears. So getting past the idea of painful needles, is a very important reason why people underutilize acupuncture.
Chinese medicine is not to in our culture! When you start using a medicine, it has to be part of your culture. Acupuncture was only introduced to our culture in the 1970’s. It is still new and relatively novel. In Asian cultures, many people just go to their herbalist, put their wrists out, get their pulses “read” and then are prescribed herbs for their condition. (All without even talking to them!) They also don’t question about getting acupuncture needles, because it has been in the Asian culture for over 3,500 years! That’s a long time to acclimate and accept it. It boils down to education in order to get people to understand it. No one can understand acupuncture because it is not part of our culture and is unfamiliar to us. It’s the same way Yoga went from some arcane practice to a mainstream way to balance the body and calm the mind. Another example is, dentists. Dentists have been around for over 300 years. People in our culture, even before the civil war, have been going to the dentist. Ever drink a warm beer? Only in Germany – that is the norm. In the US, it won’t fly! Acupuncture and Chinese medicine needs time to take root in our culture and this is fundamentally a reason why people underutilize acupuncture in their life.
If you have ever wondered if acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help you with your condition, or just to feel better, I hope that this article has sparked some interest and food for thought. Located in Ridgeood NJ, and service Bergen County residents, I invite you to read more of my blog posts on my website acupunctureYes.com/blogs. If you have a pressing matter, or a specific question regarding yourself, please feel free to call me at 201-444-7150. I am never too busy to help you!