With a growing number of believers climbing every year, one of the oldest health practices in the world is becoming more of an everyday way of life. Perceived by some as a pseudo-scientific or as a painful means of healing, acupuncture has often been ill-regarded by traditional Western medicine, but that is beginning to change. And, for those who work with it and experience its capabilities, it can be one of the most trusted and effective paths to take to living a painless, healthy life.
Coastal Point
Barbara Donelan was 50 by the time she became a professional in the field, proving that this form of health care is not limited by age of those who practiced or received treatment.
“I realized that if I can keep healthy through acupuncture,” she said, “the benefit for me and my patients would be huge.”
Now a professional with the Acupuncture Associates of Sussex County in Rehoboth Beach since 1998, Donelan is sharing her secrets and benefits.
She turned to performing acupuncture after the methods made a believer out of her.
“I’ve had my own health challenges in the past,” said Donelan, who has been in practice for more than a decade. “I was taking four to five different medications every day. It only took me six months, and I was off of everything when I went to acupuncture. It usually takes other people longer, but I was fortunate. I had a great recovery and return to health that was very convincing, and I decided to return the favor to people out there.”
Although there is some dispute as to the first recorded use of acupuncture, almost everyone is in agreement that it has been around for thousands of years. According to Donelan, the practice dates back well more than 2,000 years, with the first written book summary of the procedure being printed around 200 B.C.
“It’s a very ancient technique,” she said, “and also, the principles behind it have to do with the observation of human being in nature. There were no medical tests back then, and a lot of it really came down to the balance of the seasons, like summer and winter.
“As research on acupuncture improved, people realized that there were channels of energy in the body that they could map. These mapped points focused on channels that would do different things to would improve the health of patients. They could reduce fevers and control other parts of body. When you use needles, you use aspects that have been proven to work for thousands of years.”
These channels of energy that run across the body are considered, in essence, to be linked to the inseparable forces of yin and yang that maintain the wellbeing of the human body and mind, according to traditional Eastern medicine.
The practice has been known to alleviate a number of ailments, providing different people with a wide range of improvements throughout one’s body.
“Acupuncture practices are known currently for pain management, but they also work with balances related to the liver, heart, pancreas and other internal workings of body,” Donelan said. “It can help you prepare and recover from surgery, or help with chronic allergies, sinus infections, skin conditions, muscular and skeletal problems and back pain. People need to realize that, for the most part, acupuncture will not cure, but reduce their pain and allow them to work with medical doctors, in cooperation with their practices.”
There are other common diagnoses that acupuncture can treat, for common risks that are also beyond a person’s control.
“Acupuncture is a perfect treatment for stress relief, high blood pressure or cholesterol,” Donelan noted. “This is a system of medicine that is used in a third of the world’s population. It began in ancient China, but today, it’s used internationally. It’s found all over Asia and Africa, and it is very strong in Europe and becoming stronger in the U.S.”
What many people don’t realize is that acupuncture is not intended to be an end-all, be-all method of health care. Donelan does not expect acupuncture to eliminate everyone’s pain or be the sole cure for any one particular disease or problem.
“Acupuncture’s whole purpose is to expand medical care and work with allopathic medicine,” she said. “We want to give patients options that give them better health before they need surgery and drugs. If they do have to go through with them, we want to enhance the quality of treatment from regular doctors by helping them use less drugs. By taking the acupuncture route of recovery, it allows them to wean off a physician. Most acupuncturists never give instructions and are complimentary to allopathic practices.”
Coastal Point
Many quickly turn away from the idea of subjecting themselves to numerous, tiny needles inserted in their body, but Donelan recommends they talk to those for whom it has worked. There are other methods, too, that are classified as acupuncture techniques that don’t use needles at all.
“I can have long conversations with first-timers sometimes,” she said. “I always recommend that they ask others who have experienced it. That’s usually their best trusted report. We use different tools for different people. Some people are intimidated by the needles. We can also use magnets, or other substitutes. We use brushing devices with children a lot of the times. You just have to try and see.
“There are enough people now who have had acupuncture. All you need to do is ask around,” she said. “Ask your practitioner for a referral. This is something that involves people and time, but it’s OK.”
Beyond the idea of using needles in the treatment, the needles used in acupuncture are nothing like what would be found in a doctor’s office.
“There’s a common misconception that the needles we use are like the syringes at the doctor’s office they use to give you shots,” said Donelan. “Those ones are thick, hollow, and they inject medicine or extract blood. Ours are smaller. The needle itself is roughly the diameter of a human hair — not hollow — but it’s filiform, like a single thread.”
Donelan said acupuncture patients range in all shapes and sizes, and run the gamut when it comes to age.
“I’ve treated infants, to elders, as old as 90 years,” she said. “It’s not for everyone, but it isn’t restricted by age or gender by any means. Back in the day, your entire family would go to an acupuncturist. You’d find out what’s going on with the children and the parents. People were really interested in the quality of life.”
Everyone is different, and Donelan suggested that everyone should consider acupuncture with an open mind.
“The important part that people should realize is that treatment is individualized for each person,” she said. “Your sinuses, glaucoma and stomachache are all different than everyone else’s. Their groups of symptoms are different from others. What we do is find what, specifically, each individual’s signs and symptoms are, in order to help them improve.”
For more information about acupuncture, or to schedule an appointment with the Acupuncture Associates of Sussex County, call (302) 245-2839.