I asked the British Acupuncture council: Would your members be allowed to practice in China?
Because they state on their website:

BAcC professional codes

The British Acupuncture Council is committed to ensuring all patients receive the highest standard of professional care during their acupuncture treatment

.

Here's their answer!

Dear Robert

Thank you for your inquiry.

China is a very large country, and it would be difficult to offer a definitive view. However, as we understand it, the majority of acupuncture practice in China is offered through the state hospital system, and there are a variety of degree qualifications which mean that most practitioners are also trained in western medicine to a far greater extent than would be the case in the UK. This reflects the fact that acupuncture is in many areas of clinical specialty offered within the state system, and the training which people undertake can be as much as five to seven years long. There are shorter degree courses in China, but these tend to harness acupuncture to a western clinical skill. With the difficulty of making sense of the apparently infinite varieties of course available this means that we often have problems with determining the full extent of someone's competence when they apply through our external applicant route. What we can say with some confidence, though, is that it would be highly unlikely to find a course in China which replicated the form of UK courses, with the acupuncture skill being primary and sufficient western medicine included (about one third of course time) to ensure that practitioners can integrate their work with conventional medicine and be aware of red flag conditions requiring immediate referral.

That said, there is no doubt that there are more rural areas where acupuncture is still an apprentice-style system, often within families, which is roughly how it was pre-1945, and in these areas one assumes that if a practitioner was good enough they would be able to eke out a living. How the authorities might react to this is another matter, and we have not heard of any western Europeans who have taken their skills back to China in this way.

However, a number of the UK courses have close affiliations with Chinese hospitals and universities, and their students undertake six week or three month study programmes in China, and often undertake postgraduate training in China. Working within a specialist hospital department may give a practitioner a chance to see hundreds, if not thousands, of similar cases in a very short period of time, and this can provide invaluable clinical understanding.

There are also a number of short courses in cities like Nanjing and Beijing which offer three or six month training from scratch to westerners, and many of the senior figures in the profession undertook this training when UK training was in its infancy. We have a number of members who in the last decade have begun their training in this way and gone on to work successfully in Chinese hospital departments, but it has to be said that in each case they have had to meet our requirements in the UK and had to undertake a fair bit of additional training in clinical management and western medicine before we could admit them to membership.

The short answer, though, is that it would probably be unusual for a UK trained practitioner to be able to drop straight into mainstream acupuncture practice in China because of the way that this is offered as part of an integrated package of medicine through the state system.

Best regards

BRITISH ACUPUNCTURE COUNCIL

My reply:

Dear Sandy,

Thank you for your answer, however, I think you may be ill informed regarding the course structures in China, and indeed in your own country. In China, accredited Acupuncture practitioners have had a minimum of 5 to 7 year full time study. No one else is allowed to practice. The courses you offer in the UK, although they state them to be full time, are actually part time. Most of your colleges have courses running over 3 years part time with as little as 400 contact hours. This compared with a minimum of 3500 hrs in China. There are indeed short courses for foreigners, but these people are not allowed to practice in China. Only as part of their study under supervision. Been there and done that.

The reason I asked you the question is because a lot of my patients ask me, I will put your reply on my blog with a commentary.

Thank you,

Robert Vandevelde

Past President Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association

BAC:

Dear Robert

Many thanks for your very helpful comments.

I went back to the expert practitioner from whom we sought a response, and he fully understands your comments. However, he did point out that the course structures in China are complex, and although the vast majority are five to seven years long, the proportion of TCM to Western medicine is often variable. This has proved taxing on occasion when applicants to the BAcC have the usual booklet certificates without course transcripts, and on a number of occasions it has become apparent that the level of acupuncture training is quite rudimentary. In all cases, however, the training as a whole substantially exceeds what a UK trained practitioner can reasonably achieve, and would mean a reciprocal recognition of qualification was well-nigh impossible.

With regard to your comment about the part time nature of training, he pointed out that the courses are degree-equivalent within the UK University teaching systems, and that the balance of theory, contact time and western medical training had been struck after many years of complex discussion. The view always taken was that this provided a good basic level of training to deliver safe, competent and effective acupuncture on which the overwhelming majority of practitioners then engage in lifelong postgraduate education. There are many in the UK who believe that a five year training is the ideal, but at present the funding of training, either through private institutions or through universities, makes this development unlikely in the near future.

Once again, thank you for your response. We shall look forward to reading your bog with interest.

Best regards

THE BRITISH ACUPUNCTURE COUNCIL

What you are saying is that  your members have a basic knowledge of training but will learn the rest while they are practicing through continuing education!

Continuing study

20.      You must refresh your knowledge and techniques by, for example, attending appropriate seminars and post-graduate training courses, or by undertaking recognized Continuing Professional Development training. Failure to take part in an appropriate amount of post-graduate education will be taken into account by the Professional Conduct Committee if there are any allegations concerning your professional competence.

I'm sorry Sandy, but your code of safe practice does not state what appropriate continuing education is. and if you don't do any, no action will be taken unless there are allegations against  you concerning professional competence!
Not good enough is it?

Acupuncture and Stress - When the fast lane overtakes you!

Stress! It’s what you feel when your peaceful country road of life turns into a raging highway. You get cross, irritable and snap at people when you don’t really mean to. You feel worried that you can’t cope with modern demands. You experience periods of depression for no apparent reason. You even question your own sanity. And feel your life is out of control. Frustration sets in. If you push yourself too hard or are pushed beyond your tolerance level, you’re suffering stress.

Your body rebels, its internal harmony right out of tune with reality. Organs may begin to malfunction; your memory may fail; you make poor judgments and get short-tempered quickly and easily.  You feel awful, even ‘liverish’ and ‘out of sorts’ and you can’t put your finger on any one thing. Little wonder. There are many types and causes of stress and many possible reasons why you personally may be feeling ‘stressed-out’.

Emotional: The breakdown of a relationship; the loss of a loved one or a pet; shouldering a heavy workload; striving for the expectations others set for you; constantly having to perform in your job, profession or sport. Simply having to pay the bills...

Physical: Taking on extra work. Heavy training sessions.

Hormonal imbalances: Such as ‘PMS’ syndrome.

Low blood sugar: As a result of poor diet or inadequate exercise. Possible stress-related digestive disorders.

Poor immune function: Caused by poor diet and lifestyle. Recurring allergies such as hay fever and food sensitivities. Possibly the result of chronic infection.

The stress response: Our body responds to stress with a set of biochemical reactions called the stress response. At stressful times, the body quickly releases chemicals into the blood. This sets in motion a series of physical changes. These include a faster heartbeat and breathing, higher blood pressure and increased muscle tension. These physical changes give the body added strength, energy and alertness. They prepare the body for dealing with stressful events such as giving a speech, aiding an accident victim, or fighting or fleeing from an attack. For short periods there is no damage, the situation gets back under control and we can relax. However, if the stress becomes chronic or out of proportion, this healthy response can become pathological.

Some of us commonly live in a constant state of stress, continually triggering the stress response and depleting valuable energy. As a result, we start to see some common stress symptoms like headache, back and shoulder ache, skin disorders, gastric problems and sleeping disorders. Psychological symptoms may include depression, anxiety, poor concentration, poor memory and loss of self confidence. There is mounting evidence that chronic stress can lead to long term health problems such as high blood pressure; heart disease; stroke; asthma; skin conditions and even hair loss.

Stress relief: There is no standard formula for stress. To cope with stress and tension in our lives, we often try quick fixes like alcohol, cigarettes, sugar and all sorts of over the counter and prescription drugs. Food is also used to try and cope with stress. Many people eat when they feel anxious, depressed and stressed. There is no magic stress reduction pill, neither do alcohol, sleeping tablets nor anti depressants offer any real solution to reducing stress. Taking anti depressants, although often prescribed to reduce stress, offer at best only limited short-term relief and at worst physiological dependence on a particular drug.

How does Acupuncture help?

For stress related problems, acupuncture works by stimulating the body to heal itself. It has a relaxation response with decreased heart rate, lowered blood pressure, stress reduction and increased energy and tissue regeneration. Acupuncture treatment will balance the harmony in your body, putting everything back in tune and restoring the natural balance of your mental, physical and emotional functions. We will work out your individual treatment depending on the kind of stress you are experiencing, and its effects.

Generally, after a treatment you’ll feel much calmer, more relaxed and aware of the improvement in your sense of well-being. The reason? Your acupuncture treatment will release the ‘happy hormones’, body chemicals known as ‘endorphins’, which give you that ‘great to be back on the road again’ feeling. Acupuncture provides a drug-free alternative to help you manage the stress of modern society. It’s so simple and so effective, and it’s been proven over thousands of years.

Try it now!

Acupuncture increases IVF success with 65%

Women who undergo IVF increase their chances of pregnancy if they are also treated with acupuncture a new analysis suggests.
The benifits may be large — a 65% increase in the chance of becoming pregnant, and a 91% increase in the number of live births.
The results have emerged from a meta-analysis, a technique in which the results of many previous trials are pooled. A team led by Dr Eric Manheimer of the University of Maryland school of Medicine scanned medical literature for trials that attempted to measure the effect of acupuncture on IVF success.
They found 108 trials, but rejected all but seven because of defects of methodology — such as that acupuncture was not administered within a day of IVF or was used as a form of pain relief.
The seven they retained, all published since 2002 and carried out in four Western countries, involved 1,366 women. In all the trials the women were given acupuncture immediately before or after the test-tube embryo was transferred to their wombs. All the acupuncture sessions lasted 25 to 30 minutes.
In British Medical Journal online, the team reports that almost all these trials reported positive findings. Taken together they showed a 65% increase in establishment of pregnancy, an 87% increase in continuing pregnancy, and a 91% increase in live births.
All these results were statistically significant, measured by the criterion of odds of less than one in 20 of having come about by chance. But the team says that these figures overestimate the benefits, since success rates even without acupuncture are relatively high.
It is more realistic, the report says, to measure the results on a “number needed to treat” basis. This is the method that assesses how many women need to be treated to achieve a single extra pregnancy — and the answer is ten.
Even on this basis it is a striking result, especially as nobody has any idea why acupuncture should be having this effect.
Professor Edzard Ernst of PeninsulaMedical School in Plymouth said: “On the face of it these results sound fantastic. I would, however, be very cautious as much of the observed effect could be due to a placebo response. IVF may not seem to be ‘placebo-prone’ but it probably is: if women expect it to be helpful they are more relaxed which, in turn, would affect pregnancy rates.”
Success rates in IVF vary greatly from clinic to clinic, and the analysis found that where success rates were high the benefit of acupuncture was smaller and not statistically significant. That may mean that acupuncture was simply a “marker” for clinics where a lot of care is taken to see that women are calm and relaxed.
The team suggests that acupuncture may influence the menstrual cycle, stimulate blood flow to the womb, or produce mood chemicals that reduce the stress response to IVF.

TREATING PERIPHERAL NEUROPATHIES WITH ACUPUNCTURE

Peripheral Neuropathies, also called Polyneuropathies include all disorders in which nerve structures outside the spinal cord are affected. With more than 100 types of Peripheral neuropathies in existence, each with its own characteristic set of  symptoms, pattern of development, and prognosis, the symptoms can vary as much as the cause.

In most cases, Peripheral neuropathy is secondary to other conditions such as, diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, alcoholism, nutritional deficiencies, AIDS, chemotherapy, and various drugs.

Other causes include compression or entrapment (carpal tunnel syndrome), direct physical injury to a nerve (trauma), fractures or dislocated bones, tumors, radiation and even exposure to cold.

For some people it is experienced as the uncomfortable sensation of “ pins and needles” or burning pain (especially at night) of their hands and/or feet, a loss of feeling, others may suffer more extreme symptoms such as muscle wasting, paralyses, or organ dysfunction.

Sensory symptoms:

Sensory symptoms arte the most common presentation of peripheral neuropathy and can be considered as positive ( tingling, burning and pain) or negative (loss of touch and temperature) in general feet and legs are involved before hands and arms.

 Motor symptoms:

Motor symptoms such as weakness are less common than sensory symptoms. Most motor symptoms begin as gait and balance difficulties. When weakness becomes significant, people tend to develop loss of dorsiflexion (dropfoot).

As many as 60-90% of diabetics suffer from peripheral neuropathy, however, western medicine does not have a truly effective treatment for this condition.

One of the most common treatments for  peripheral neuropathy is the administration of amitriptyline (An antidepressant). Some of its side effects are headaches, dizziness, skin rashes, hepatitis, fluctuations in blood sugar levels, palpitations and even Peripheral neuritis! Clearly not the best treatment option.

Other treatments tend to concentrate on pain management and include analgesics such as Aspirin, paracetemol and NSAIDS.

Chinese medicine approach:

As I have written many times before, in Chinese medicine, no matter what the disease, a patient will be treated according to his or her specific pattern of disharmony. We treat a person with a disorder, not the disorder the person has.

Common patterns of disharmony in Peripheral neuropathy are obstruction of Qi and blood and dampness in the limbs. This can be due to irregular eating, wrong diet, too much alcohol, excessive tiredness or chronic diseases.

Acupuncture helps peripheral Neuropathy by improving the circulation and moving Qi and blood to the extremities. The nerve tissue can be nourished and nerve function improved. Chinese herbs quite often form part of the standard treatment.

In a study involving 46 diabetic patients with Peripheral neuropathy, 34 of them reported significant improvement in their symptoms after a series of acupuncture treatments.

A larger study of 250 patients with HIV related Peripheral neuropathy (PN) found similar results.

If you suffer from PN, maybe you should give  Chinese medicine a go. It may help you or it may not. At least there are no significant side effects!