Tomorrow is Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day, increasing public awareness of the progress, promise, and benefits of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Today we’re taking a walk down history lane and taking a look at the long and interesting path of AOM.

Traditional medicine in Asia has existed since at least 100 BC, with some scholars estimating it may be even older. The term “Oriental medicine” refers to healing modalities practiced in China, Korea, Japan and Southeast Asia. There is a modern movement to update the nomenclature from Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) to TEAM: Traditional East Asian Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicine includes acupuncture, gua sha (scraping), ba guan (cupping), moxibustion, tui na (massage), herbal medicine, dietary management and bone setting. The oldest known text about acupuncture, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine, dates back to at least 2600 BC and is written in a Socratic structure similar to the writings of Hippocrates - the ancient Greek known as the father of modern Western medicine.

During the European Middle Ages the Dutch East India Company brought Chinese acupuncture procedures back to Europe while pursuing merchant trading in China and Japan. From 1600 through the 1800s, many acupuncture texts were written or translated throughout Europe, spreading interest in acupuncture throughout the Western medical community. In the 1920’s acupuncture experienced a surge of popularity in France. After multiple reports were published of acupuncture helping patients who were otherwise unaffected by known treatments, the International Society of Acupuncture was founded in 1941 in Paris.

In the United States, the earliest pioneer of acupuncture was Benjamin Franklin’s great-grandson, Dr. Franklin Baché. In the summer of 1825, he began conducting the first active clinical trial of acupuncture in the United States. Dr. Bache provided care for several years to inmates at correctional facilities throughout the Philadelphia area where he was able to practice acupuncture on a variety of ailments in an isolated environment where he could track the efficacy and safety of the procedures without other variables. Despite his interest and research, acupuncture remained relatively unknown to the U.S. public until President Nixon's trip to China in 1972, where acupuncture as a potentially useful medical modality was noticed by the visiting delegation.

Today, acupuncture has been absorbed into the mainstream healthcare system in several European countries, where it is prized as a specialty practiced exclusively by medical doctors. In the United States, 44 states regulate the practice of acupuncture. In recent years acupuncture has experienced huge growth, especially in light of the opiod epidemic, as interest in non-pharmacological interventions increases. Medicare and Medicaid have increased and incorporated coverage for acupuncture, and many more insurance companies are adding acupuncture coverage as well. Unfortunately many insurance plans have prohibitive restrictions on covered treatments or number of visits. You can help advocate for the role of acupuncture in U.S. healthcare by supporting the Oregon Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine by clicking the button below!