History of Acupuncture in the United States

Last night I learned something about acupuncture while watching the Olympics.

Although acupuncture was practiced in the United States for many years by immigrants, it did not reach the mainstream public consciousness until 1971 when New York Times journalist James Reston wrote about his experiences receiving post-surgical acupuncture treatments in China.

Reston traveled to China in search of Henry Kissenger, who did not wish to be interviewed. Kissenger asked the Chinese government to divert the reporter, and officials politely put Reston on a slow train to Beijing, where Kissenger was working.

While onboard the train, Reston came down with a severe case of appendicitis, and was rushed to the hospital when the train arrived. His pain after surgery was excruciating, only relieved by post-surgical acupuncture.

When Reston returned to the United States, his seminal account of his experiences in China sparked mainstream interest in acupuncture as medicine. Read Reston's article.

Read a more detailed account of how acupuncture traveled to the West.

Although acupuncture only grew into public consciousness in the United States 40 years ago, acupuncture has been practiced in China for 5,000 years.

The first seminar acupuncture text, Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor's Classic), was written in 200 B.C. Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor, is considered the father of Chinese culture and is credited with inventing cultural staples such as the calendar, ships, the compass, acupuncture, silk and music, to name a few.

So acupuncture isn't some new fad to try. It's been a part of human civilization since we invented the calendar.

I think that's why I'm always amazed when patients ask me: "Does it work?" I usually say something like,"If it didn't work, Chinese people probably would have stopped doing it 2,000 years ago."