Acupuncture Today

Acupuncture Today
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Acupuncture Today is the only national publication serving licensed acupuncturists and doctors of traditional medicine. It is the most complete resource for news and product information in this profession for 20+ years. AT reaches 30,000+ doctors and students of acupuncture and traditional medicine through our print and online editions each month.

  1. 4D AGO

    Acupuncture Injection Therapy

    Acupuncture Injection Therapy (AIT) is a specialized, results-oriented modality that acts as an extension of traditional acupuncture, serving as another sophisticated tool in the classical practitioner's toolbox. AIT is a uniquely Eastern method that uses small amounts of sterile, natural substances—such as vitamin B12, saline, or herbal extracts—as a fluid stimulating agent. These injectables are placed directly into acupuncture points, ashi points, or other anatomically relevant locations. Crucially, AIT is distinct from Western biomedical injections because its application, point selection, and substance choice are always based on the principles of traditional Chinese diagnosis, including tongue and pulse findings, zang-fu theory, and meridian energetics. The primary goal is to deliver a more profound and longer-lasting stimulus to the acupuncture point than needling alone can achieve. Clinically, AIT is highly effective for addressing musculoskeletal pain and chronic inflammation, resolving stagnation (e.g., scar injections), and treating deficiency patterns (e.g., using B12 to tonify qi and blood). The article strongly asserts that AIT belongs exclusively to licensed acupuncturists, as they alone possess the deep understanding of internal energetics, qi transformation, and holistic diagnostic patterns necessary to practice AIT safely and authentically.

    7 min

  2. 4D AGO

    Psychosomatic Disorders in Relation to the Huang Di Nei Jing

    This article explores psychosomatic disorders, where psychological stress leads to physical damage via inappropriate activation of the nervous system, by correlating these conditions with concepts found in the Huang Di Nei Jing. Psychological stresses, like anxiety and mood disorders, are linked to an imbalance in the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), manifesting physically as high blood pressure, headaches, muscular pain, and digestive issues. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Liver-Gallbladder system oversees the nervous system. Persistent, unexpressed emotional states—such as rage or fear—cause the nervous system to become tense and hyperactive, disrupting psychological homeostasis. The Huang Di Nei Jing directly supports this mind-body connection, stating that great anger harms the sinews, compacts the blood, and causes qi to flow incorrectly, potentially leading to paralysis or loss of function. The classic texts confirm that grief, fear, fury, and rage all harm qi, facilitating disease. Acupuncture is highly effective in treating these stress-related physical and psychological problems, achieving pain relief and emotional equilibrium by relieving sympathetic activation and harmonizing the ANS, which corresponds to restoring yin/yang balance in TCM. This centuries-old wisdom provides a strong foundation for treating modern psychosomatic conditions.

    7 min

  3. 4D AGO

    Beyond Burnout: Transitioning My Clinic Into a Worker-Owned Cooperative

    The author recounts her journey to overcome burnout after 15 years of running a successful acupuncture and integrative wellness center by transitioning the business into a worker-owned cooperative. After initial attempts to sell the clinic traditionally failed—including losing time and resources when a potential buyer walked away—she was introduced to the cooperative model through the Baltimore Roundtable for Economic Democracy (BRED). This model provided a mechanism for collective, democratic ownership that did not require staff members to assume personal financial liability for the cooperative loan. This process became a values-aligned succession plan, allowing the author to step away without compromising the mission, heart, and integrity of the business. The transition, completed in February 2025, empowered five dedicated team members to step into leadership roles, ensuring continuity of care and a voice in the clinic's future. The author emphasizes that heartfelt, community-centered practices, unlike standard businesses, deserve transitions rooted in care and intention. The worker-owned cooperative model ensures the owner’s legacy continues, highlighting the author's clinic as the first integrative wellness center in the U.S. to adopt this structure. She encourages other clinic owners to consider an exit strategy before burnout necessitates a hasty decision.

    6 min

  4. 4D AGO

    Charging the Lower Dan Tian

    Drawing heavily from the disciplines of kung fu, qi gong, and nei gong, this article focuses on cultivating the lower dan tian—the "elixir field"—as a vital reservoir of qi that fosters deep immunity and what the author terms "spontaneous flexibility" or psychological resilience. The dan tian is the container of infinite potential that allows patients to feel less helpless and more active co-creators of their lives. The qi gong practice of collecting the qi into the lower dan tian at the end of a session is crucial for building deep vitality, often resulting in deeper sleep and less sickness during colder months. Based on decades of clinical practice, the author developed an extremely effective three-point acupuncture formula to circulate and consolidate qi into this reservoir: Du 20 + Ren 4 + Kid 1. This formula is philosophically inspired by the concept of qi from the Earth mixing with the qi of Heaven within the lower dan tian. Functionally, Du 20 calms the spirit and benefits the brain, Ren 4 fortifies the original qi and nourishes essence, and Kid 1 is essential for descending excess qi into the Cinnabar Field. Clinically, this combination has proven highly effective for strengthening deep immunity, enhancing psychological resilience, and improving quality of sleep, supporting a calmer nervous system response.

    7 min

  5. 4D AGO

    TCM as a Countermeasure for Spaceflight-Related Health Challenges

    Space exploration presents numerous health challenges for astronauts, including motion sickness, muscle atrophy, immune suppression, and psychological stress. This article proposes that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) offers a holistic framework to complement conventional aerospace medicine protocols. Interpreted through TCM, spaceflight conditions like microgravity and operational stress are seen as disruptions to the smooth flow of qi and blood, leading to organ imbalances. These imbalances include Qi and Blood Stagnation (due to fluid shifts), Liver Qi Stagnation (from stress and confinement affecting the shen), and Kidney Essence Depletion (from radiation and long missions impacting constitutional strength). TCM interventions can address these root causes: Earth-based studies support the use of auricular acupuncture for reducing nausea and improving vestibular adaptation (critical for motion sickness). Body acupuncture points like ST 36 and SP 6 can help maintain muscle tone and circulation. The article outlines practical protocols, such as strengthening zheng qi pre-flight, and using acupressure or auricular seeds in-flight for acute symptoms like anxiety. The integration of TCM, especially through the development of portable, self-administered kits, offers a time-tested, non-pharmaceutical approach to supporting human resilience and performance in the extreme environment of space.

    7 min

  6. 4D AGO

    The Earth Element and the Pelvis

    This article explores the connection between the Earth Element in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and pelvic health, positioning Earth as the center pole representing home, harmony, and balance. Associated with the Spleen and Stomach, the Earth Element is responsible for digesting and transporting physical nutrients, thoughts, and emotions. When the Earth Element is out of balance, it can lead to anxiety, worry, ungroundedness, and chronic patterns of the "martyr". From a pelvic health perspective, emotions injuring the spleen qi can cause heaviness and dampness to settle into the lower jiao, disrupting digestion, elimination, and reproductive functions. The author argues that treating the pelvis through the lens of the Earth Element offers a balance point between the tangible-physical and the spiritual-emotional. Acupuncture treatment, by activating the subtle energy of the body, helps patients improve body awareness, which is their experience of the earth element, thus catapulting stagnation into action. The points of the Stomach and Spleen meridians are naturally centering and restorative, providing the nourishment the distressed earth element craves. Clinically relevant points discussed include Spleen 13 (Fu She) for grounding the spirit, Spleen 14 (Fu Jie) for unwinding emotional knots, and Stomach 29 (Gui Lai) for returning to one’s true nature and treating blood stasis.

    7 min

  7. 4D AGO

    Who Owns Your Words?

    This article addresses the critical ethical and legal concerns surrounding intellectual property in marketing copy when acupuncturists work as independent contractors in collaborative settings, such as fertility clinics. Marketing materials, which are crucial for patient trust and engagement, often reflect an individual practitioner's specific training, qualifications, and clinical voice. A major ethical gray area arises when a clinic continues to use an outgoing practitioner's specialized language—perhaps simply changing the name—for a new practitioner who lacks the original credentials or experience. This misrepresentation can lead to patient confusion, undermine professional integrity, and breach the cornerstone of trust required in healthcare: transparency. The article provides vital best practices for practitioners to protect their contributions: acupuncturists must clarify ownership from the start in contracts, ensuring their marketing contributions remain their intellectual property. They should use their name clearly when describing unique credentials and maintain documentation of all written materials. The author advises practitioners, upon leaving a clinic, to formally request the removal or revision of any content they authored or that references their unique qualifications, emphasizing that both clinics and practitioners share the responsibility for ethical marketing.

    6 min

  8. 4D AGO

    Pacific College Makes Huge Announcement

    Provide a 200 word engaging and interesting summary of the article Pacific College of Health and Science (PCHS) has finalized an agreement for the transfer of its San Diego and Chicago campuses to Southern California University of Health Sciences (SCU), effective May 2026, pending regulatory approval. This agreement includes the transfer of students, faculty, staff, and academic programs from the two campuses. PCHS will continue to operate its New York campus independently, with plans to accelerate its multidisciplinary approach and expand its New York campus footprint. SCU, originally founded as a chiropractic college in 1911, currently offers a broad range of integrative health programs. The announcement emphasizes that this transition provides the strongest possible pathway for the PCHS San Diego and Chicago campuses to thrive in the dynamic higher education environment. A significant outcome of this transition is that SCU will become the largest accredited Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) program in the nation. In addition to the campuses, SCU will also assume control of the Pacific Center for Lifelong Learning, the PCHS cosmetic acupuncture program, and the well-known Pacific Symposium. SCU views this as an exciting step in becoming the nation’s first Integrative, Whole Health University, expanding its influence on whole-person care.

    7 min
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Acupuncture Today is the only national publication serving licensed acupuncturists and doctors of traditional medicine. It is the most complete resource for news and product information in this profession for 20+ years. AT reaches 30,000+ doctors and students of acupuncture and traditional medicine through our print and online editions each month.

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