Presentation by Hiro Iwamoto

Acupuncture became popular in the United States when President Nixon visited China in 1972. New York Times reporter James Reston was traveling with the president. During the time, Reston received an acupuncture treatment after his emergency appendectomy. He was so impressed with efficacy of acupuncture for the post-operative pain relief. And he wrote an article about his experience upon returning to United States.

In 1997, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) had a conference on acupuncture and published a concensus statement. According to the statement, NIH concluded there is clear evidence that needle acupuncture treatment is effective for postoperative and chemotherapy nausea and vomiting, nausea of pregnancy, and postoperative dental pain. It is also mentioned that addiction, stroke rehabilitation, headache, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma are diseases, conditions in which acupuncture may be useful as an adjunct treatment or an acceptable alternative or be included in a comprehensive management program.

Information source: The University of Maryland Medical Center.