On Simplicity
Posted July 16th, 2007 by cortney barber
When was the last time that you found that the simpler an object was the more beautiful it was?
In acupuncture school, students spend hours upon end learning how to decipher complex case studies. We search for the exact diagnosis that our teacher has come upon only to find that our teacher actually changed how they decipher cases since yesterdays class. And though I must admit that it feels good, and I feel rather smart for 30 seconds when I get the correct diagnosis–overall these intricate case studies are not what acupuncture is all about. Acupuncture is much simpler then most of the schools want to admit. And overall, admitting this would require a change in curriculum and a substantial decrease in tuition (which is not happening anytime soon).
What is my point? Simplicity is a wonderful thing! And community acupuncture, first off, realizes this (and is not only okay with it but loves it) and also fully utilizes the power of simplicity to give effective, accessible treatments and provide health to many that otherwise have NO other options.
So, let the schools embrace the concept and power of simplicity within acupuncture. (well, let us all!)
Re: On Simplicity
I remember one enlightening time in clinic when my supervisor (from China), after approving some simple branch treatment, said:
"why do we always have to do a root treatment, anyway?"
Like a breath of fresh air...
Re: On Simplicity
Great comment Cortney,
I find myself bringing it back to the basics constantly as I treat patients in the WCA clinic. Because of my acupuncture school training I sometimes feel like my patient assessments could be deeper or more detailed, and of course they could; however, I am constantly reminded that acupuncture is really about frequency of treatments.
Physical pain is a good example of the need for frequent and efficient acupuncture treatments. When I was treating a patient recently who came in after having a bike accident 2 days before I kept things simple. I didn't ask for the exact location of the pain in minute detail, I just wanted to know the general area, in this case the shoulder, and whether it was more medial or lateral overall. After the first treatment, this patient was calmer and her pain had become more focused in a small area of the neck and shoulder. Six treatments over two weeks was enough to reduce the pain from an acute pain level of 8/10 with very limited range of motion to 0/10, normal range of motion, and general tension in the area.
When I first started practice I often thought that if I didn't use the perfect acupoint prescription I would never get good enough treatment results. I have found that a sound and simple application of AOM theory, with the addition of Jingei pulse diagnosis, is sufficient for the majority of the complaints I have encountered in clinic over my first two years of practice.
I agree with Cortney that simplicity is a wonderful thing when it comes to acupuncture.
Moses