Part-time cab driver Teshome Workagegnehu didn't know what he was getting into when he first met Bill Reddy, an acupuncturist. Workagegnehu was suffering from chronic shoulder pain from an injury that Western doctors said could only be treated with surgery.
Persuaded by Reddy to try out acupuncture, Workagegnehu's shoulder was healed after six needle sessions. The cab driver said it cost him far less than what a surgery would have cost him.
Reddy is an American who has been practicing Chinese medicine for nine years and is now at the Pinecrest Wellness Center in Annandale, Va. Click here to learn acupuncture point Jiquan (HT1).
When he was 26 years old, he was misdiagnosed with a brain tumor. After many persistent checkups, it was revealed that he didn't have a tumor. That incident made him re-evaluate his career. The former aerospace engineer had been growing tired of his career. He wanted to be a doctor and thought of studying traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).
Before making up his mind to pursue Chinese medicine, he called up 10 TCM practitioners to ask how they like their job. All of them told him the answer he needed to hear - they absolutely love their jobs.
Although Reddy had a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering and had worked on a master's degrees in robotics and systems engineering, he spent a year fulfilling his course credits and another three years studying Chinese medicine under Beijing and Shanghai professors at the Maryland Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
He became a board certified licensed acupuncturist in 2001 and has become an active advocate for Chinese medicine. He is the former president of the Acupuncture Society of Virginia and former vice-president of the American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Click here to learn acupuncture point Shaohai (HT3).
Reddy, who recently produced a commercial to promote awareness of Chinese medicine, said he hopes to educate Americans about its benefits.
One of his greatest wishes is to see TCM recognized as a legal practice in all 50 states of the United States. TCM is legal in 44 states but not in North Dakota and South Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Alabama and Wyoming. He also looks forward to the day when all insurance companies cover acupuncture treatments.
TCM is a growing medical trend in the US. Reddy said there are 26,000 TCM practitioners in the country, two-thirds of whom are Americans.
The number of visits to acupuncturists between 2002 and 2007 increased by 32 percent, according to a 2007 survey conducted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Reddy, who doesn't speak any Chinese and studied Chinese medicine in English, said 95 percent of his patients are Americans and non-Asians.
He treats patients for sinus issues, migraines and insomnia to more severe health issues such as skin disorders, various types of cancers and Parkinson's disease. But a common misconception Americans have of acupuncture is that it only treats headaches and muscle pain in the neck, shoulders and around the knees. Click here to learn acupuncture point Lingdao (HT 4).
Another common misconception is that "you get pricked by hundreds of needles during treatment", Reddy said. This is a drawback for patients who are afraid of needles.
On the contrary, the number of needles used may range anywhere from just one or two to 20 or more.
Reddy said that it is a pity that although acupuncture and Chinese medicine are very safe and effective forms of medical treatment, there is a lack of media coverage in the US.
"Many are not aware that there are more than 100,000 deaths per year due to Western medicine in America. If you talk about mistakes in the hospitals it results in the deaths of 350,000 Americans per year, the third leading cause of deaths in America," Reddy said. "Acupuncture is incredibly safe. The number of deaths associated with acupuncture and Chinese medicine in the past 10 years has been zero."
Reddy believes that Western medicine treats the symptoms and not the cause of illness, leading to a "quick fix" but not a long-term solution to most health issues.
"If you have allergies, they prescribe you with drugs, not to resolve your allergies, but to reduce the symptoms of your allergies. If you have acidic indigestion, they give you something to reduce the acid, but they never ask why you have so much acid in your stomach in the first place," Reddy said.
"TCM practitioners look for the root of the problem, and prescribe patients with herbal medicine to treat the imbalance in their bodies. Very often, the patient can stop taking the medicine once balance is restored to the body."
On the other hand, Western medicine creates an overdependence on drugs, he said.
Article source: chinadaily