GP compares acupuncture to witchcraft

GP tells patient, “Acupuncture?!! You might as well try voodoo!”

Oh yes, you read that right, one of my patients reported to me only last week that when her friend (who is also being treated with acupuncture) told her GP  she was receiving acupuncture treatment he compared the efficacy of acupuncture to that of voodoo!!!

Not only is this completely unprofessional and ill informed, it is also just plain rude!!! In response to said GP’s narrow-minded and ignorant condemnation of my profession I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the following 2 articles which provide objective proof of the efficacy of acupuncture

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8168134/Acupunctures-effect-isnt-just-psychological.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2076923/Acupuncture-really-reduce-stress-levels-scientists-claim-alternative-therapy-experiment.html

These represent just 2 of a continuous stream of studies being conducted into acupuncture and it’s uses and efficacy.  Of course some of these are inconclusive, however there is a growing body of evidence out there (see British Acupuncture Council, Journal of Chinese Medicine, European Journal of Oriental Medicine – to name but a few) which illustrates the positive effects of treatment with acupuncture in many instances – see below on this news feed.

In my 13+ years of practising acupuncture I have sadly grown accustomed to negative trashings of acupuncture by certain members of the medical fraternity (I am aware that this is not all of their number), but in all that time I think this comparison of my profession with some form of witchcraft has to rank as one of the most offensive.

For the record, as acupuncturists we belong to a professional body (the British Acupuncture Council), we are properly insured and follow strict codes of ethics and practise set out by the BAcC.  We have all undergone thorough training in a system of medicine which is over 3000 years old – western medicine by comparison is in it’s infancy! While we might not agree with everything western medics do or say, we have all been schooled to conduct ourselves professionally and I feel sure I can say the majority of acupuncturists would never be this unprofessional when it comes to talking about western medicine to their patients.

 

 

 

 

 

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Comments

  1. I can only speak from my own experience which has been that your little pins have got rid of some persistent ailments which always returned when I used pharmaceutical medicines.

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