Frequently Asked Questions
Must my health practitioner be an acupuncturist?
Our current thinking on this subject is the result of the last three years of research. Experimenting with using only Tui Na indicates that most PDers recover with only simple Tui Na, and no acupuncture at all. It may well be that in our earliest years of this project it was the Tui Na, and not the acupuncture, that caused the recovery in patients who received both.
Discovering that only Tui Na, rather than acupuncture, is the key to treating Parkinson's is especially gratifying because there simply are not enough acupuncturists to treat all the people who have PD. It also presents a problem because, while Yin Tui Na can be mastered by most anyone, very few people have ever studied it. While it is not difficult to learn, and requires no special training or certificate, most people with PD understandably want to work with someone who is experienced. Unfortunately, most PDers will have to accept a Yin Tui Na therapist who is doing on-the-job training.
Some acupuncturists are trained in Tui Na as a part of their acupuncture training. It is a required subject of study in California, and possibly in a few other states. Most states in the USA do not require any study of Tui Na to become a licensed acupuncturist. However, even in those states that require some study of Tui Na, most schools only teach Yang (large, physical movement) Tui Na rather than the Yin (nearly motionless, almost imperceptible) Tui Na that is used in treating PD. Also, many acupuncturists are resistant to performing Yin Tui Na because it can only be done on one patient at a time; to cover the rent, most acupuncturists treat several patients per hour (insert needles into one patient, and while they are in, go on to the next patient.)
Again, it is not necessary that one work with an acupuncturist. If one has questions about the theory, an acupuncturist might best help you understand the principles involved in understanding what causes Parkinson's disease from an Asian medicine perspective. If one wants treatment, however, nearly anyone who can sit quietly for an hour at a time can learn to perform Yin Tui Na.
The acupuncture information is still helpful and may be included in the next edition, but if so, it will be stressed that acupuncture is only used in specific instances when, despite the blockage being removed, the body tissues are so lifeless that there is no Qi flow, or else in the cases of so much excessive scar tissue (which is nonconductive) that Qi simply cannot find a way to pass around or under it. In the latter case, it is a simple matter to find an acupuncturist to needle through any scar tissue that is blocking flow. In most cases, scar tissue only needs to be needled once - once the Qi flows through the scar tissue via the needle it will usually continue to flow after the needle is removed at the end of the session.
The acupuncture information may be retained in the Handbook for another reason, as well: it can be helpful when doctors and patients alike understand the theory that underlies the treatment. The acupuncture material helps a theorist understand more clearly the principles behind our understanding of Parkinson's disease.The material in the book that describes the sequence of acupuncture needling helps make a nice mental picture of the sequence of events that occur during recovery. However, our findings over the last few years have confirmed that this sequence will occur, in most cases, without any needling. Therefore, we may leave the acupuncture information in the next edition of the book, with a stronger than ever statement about acupuncture not actually being necessary. The Parkinson's Treatment Team of Santa Cruz is having spirited discussions on this very subject at this time. The two opinions are these: 1) having the acupuncture information in the book causes people to think that acupuncture is more significant that Tui Na, where in fact, premature acupuncture can be even damaging and acupuncture is only rarely helpful in treating PD and 2) the acupuncture information gives the best theoretical understanding of the electrical corrections that are being made by the body - with or without acupuncture actually being done.
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