When acupuncture came to the United States in the early 70’s, it seemed strange and somewhat like voodoo. At this juncture, acupuncture has been utilized in the United States by various practitioners including acupuncturists, medical doctors, osteopaths and chiropractors. It no longer seems quite so strange. The general consensus, however, is that acupuncture uses needles. Needle therapy is in reality only one way of delivering acupuncture.

Acupuncture is essentially a philosophy of care rather than a modality of treatment. Acupuncturists tend to look at the body as a network of energies, which are interconnected and interdependent. Acupuncturists seek to balance that energy. In this office, we use electro meridian imaging for diagnosis, as well as muscle testing and palpation. Once the appropriate points are found they can be stimulated by hand, ultra sound, laser, with needle, teishein, Guasha or electro probes.

One of the tenets of acupuncture is that there are points on the outside of the body that can be stimulated and affect changes on the inside of the body. This seemed strange to us in America 35 years ago. Most people now realize that there are interconnections between the skin and the inside of the body. These connections are explained as embryological memory.

The points on the skin have grown from the same basic cells along the primitive streak in the fetus. These points have a memory that at one time they were the same cell as the liver, kidney and so forth. Acupuncture is helpful for relief of pain, for balancing of difficulties that arise with seasonal stress, emotional distress and organ dysfunction.

We do acupuncture with needles only in our Red Wing, Minnesota office.