Acupuncture is one of the oldest treatments that can be found in history, it is an ancient Chinese technique that is being practiced in the world for over 2500 years. People have mixed feelings about this method of treating illnesses and there are many reasons for that. Nevertheless, acupuncture is getting a lot of attention in the world, especially in the United States. There are many Americans who opting for acupuncture to cure physical symptoms. According to a National Health Interview Survey, acupuncture is one of the fastest growing treatments in the United States.

Since there are so many people who are choosing this medicine over others, hospitals have also started offering this medicine. Although, progress in this area is still slow there are still some well-known hospitals where you can get the option for acupuncture.

What Is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an age old method that aims to cure a person’s physical symptoms. The way it is done, however, is very different to what you are used to, acupuncture does not revolve around any kind of medicine, and instead, it is done by inserting in different locations on the skin to stimulate the body. Although acupuncture is being practiced all over the world for over 2500 years, people still have their doubts regarding this method.

There are a lot of people who argue about the legitimacy of acupuncture, and it doesn’t matter where you stand in this argument. Even if you think if this method actually works or is just a placebo, the fact of the matter is that there are over 14 million citizens in the US alone who have used acupuncture some time in their life and it has worked for them.

What Is Acupuncture?

People get acupuncture for a number of reasons and some of those reasons are:

• Dental Pain
• Relieving postoperative pain
• Anxiety
• Insomnia
• Panic Disorders
• Addiction and more

To a person who only accepts scientific facts, it is difficult to understand why reputable hospitals and medical schools in the United States are adopting acupuncture. It is something that has almost no scientific backing but has still managed to get popular. This situation has been building up for many years and there was always going to be a time when the bubble would burst and hospitals would embrace alternative medicine.

Some hospitals have even gone the distance and built luxurious centers to lure more patients towards spiritual healing and acupuncture. These hospitals clearly state conditions for which they are promoting alternative medicine, these conditions include chronic pain, cancer, heart disease, depression and more. Duke which is a popular hospital in the United States has even started a pediatric program, according to which alternative medicine like acupuncture and detoxification programs can help children cope with conditions such as asthma and autism.

The teaching hospital connected to the University of Florida even started offering cancer patients acupuncture and other Chinese therapies and medicines. This shows us that in a few more years more hospitals will have started to offer acupuncture and other methods of healing. This does not mean that alternative medicine is close to replacing conventional method because that clearly isn’t the case. Conventional medicine works on scientific proof whereas alternative medicine is based on ancient beliefs.

Conclusion

It is nice to know that if you are someone who is looking for a skilled acupuncturist, you don’t need to go to any private practitioner. Instead, you can go to the nearest hospital and get the therapy from there. It is only a matter of time before more well-known hospitals start to offer alternative medicine on their premises. It is surprising that how much impact patient demand has on hospitals, and if it weren’t for patient demand then hospitals in the US might not be offering alternative medicine.