People from all around the world (three billion, I heard this morning) will be turning their attention to the Olympic Games in Vancouver during the next couple of weeks. One of the top stories surrounding these games is about Lindsey Vonn, the darling of the US Ski Team, from right here in Minnesota. Earlier this month, Lindsey injured her shin, resulting in a painful bruise, right where her shin comes in contact with her ski boot. Lindsey, while being model-gorgeous and gracing the pages of the current Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, is also hot on the slopes. She is a legitimate contender for...

Many acupuncturists accept health insurance reimbursement for their services.  Many don’t.  I come down on the side of those who don’t.  I’d like to lay out my reasons for not accepting health insurance, because in the long run, I feel that it actually benefits my patients. First of all, let’s talk about…me.  The reality is that health insurance companies do not pay me or any other acupuncturist adequately for their time.  They typically will determine what they think is “appropriate and reasonable” and only reimburse that amount, which is often about half of my usual fee.  (My fees...

It seems that healing aches and pains, poor digestion, and menstrual cramps are not the only ills being treated with acupuncture needles.  The hair thin staple of acupuncturists worldwide is also playing a role in art restoration.  According to the NY Times, last week a woman fell at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and instead of breaking her wrist, she broke a painting, and an expensive one at that.  When the woman fell, she put a 6” tear into “The Actor”, a rare Picasso painted during the artist’s early rose Period around 1904-05. The painting now lives in the Met’s conservation...

It’s hard to think about much else as we witness, the devastation in Haiti from this week’s earthquake. It’s difficult to comprehend how any more misery can descend upon the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and yet, we watch it happening as Haitians struggle to survive without food, water, or shelter. Please join me in doing what we can from afar, which is to donate to the massive relief efforts that are being undertaken to help the people of Haiti who are suffering from this overwhelming disaster. Some groups that are on the ground in Haiti now and can use your donations...

You’re ready to give acupuncture a try and want to find out a little more about what’s involved.  One of the most frequent questions first-timers ask is how many treatments it will  take to get better. This is a good question.  It’s a fair question, and you deserve an answer.  Unfortunately any practitioner who gives you a definitive answer in terms of an actual number of treatments is not being entirely truthful; they’re guessing.  For the truth is that there is no correct answer—everyone heals at their own pace. In addition, a good practitioner should never tell you on the phone how...