Brief History of Acupuncture in the West

Chinese people have been using very complex therapeutic approaches to healing for at least 2000-years before it became popular in the West. Early Chinese acupuncture treatment involved inserting needles into specific points of the patient's body. The Western world learned about this form of treatment in the 17th century from missionaries returning from the Eastern world. Their interpretation of this form of medical approach to the human body was that it was different from the influences of the 16th century approach to human anatomy. It was not well received by those in the western medical profession, and therefore, there was little attention to this approach.

It was not until the 19th century that some western doctors considered this approach to relief muscle pain by inserting needles to sites of maximum tenderness, however, the complex therapeutic approaches were not applied. In the 20th century, some western trained medical physicians traveled to Asia to learn about traditional Chinese medicine but there were still strong challenges by Western medical physicians to accept Eastern forms of approach to health-care because they viewed it to be less scientifically-based.

It was not until later in the 20th century when the Western world gain more acceptance of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Some of the events that contributed to this involved good will missions between Western and Eastern countries that opened up dialogue on a variety of topics and exchanges. This included an openness by some western trained doctors to learn about this other form of non-western medical treatment, and understand how Traditional Chinese Medicine works to achieve the positive results.

Today, the discussions around different approaches to health has matured. The current debate, however, is centered on accepting and appropriating traditional Chinese medicine practitioners' approach to health and to the use of acupuncture. Western trained medical doctors' are beginning to present Traditional Chinese Medicine from a "scientific" or "medically-based" perspective. This western-based application of acupuncture has resulted in western medical doctors' influence and coining the phrase "scientific acupuncture" or "medical acupuncture" to address western-based patient needs. This, however, falls short of the Traditional Chinese Medicine's comprehensive and rigourous approach to human health and patient care. 

Acupuncture in BC

Under the B.C. Health Professions Act, acupuncture has been regulated by the College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioners and Acupuncturists of British Columbia since 1996.

British Columbia is the first province in Canada to cover acupuncture under the provincial health benefits. This announcement, made by the BC Health Minister, is an acknowledgment of a long and well-developed approach to healing. It also formally recognizes the significance of acupuncture and related Traditional Chinese Medicine treatments to improve people’s health, and to address various health conditions.

To read the government news release, visit: http://www2.news.gov.bc.ca/news_releases_2005-2009/2008HEALTH0031-000429.htm