Acupuncturists

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. 1. Make sure the provider is licensed in your state, and carries malpractice insurance.
2. Ask how long they have been practicing, and what conditions the majority of their customers are being treated for.
3. Expect the clinician to take a thorough intake, including asking for your medical history, current medications, as well as your current complaint(s).
4. Ask if the provider keeps records of your intake, treatment plan, and tracks the progress you are making towards resolution of your complaint.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. There are acupressure points that can be self-massaged for improved flow of "chi" or energy. For instance, the ear contains points that relate to our whole body. Giving your ears a gentle massage can stimulate those points and improve the flow of chi.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. There are many styles of acupuncture, including Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Five element style, Japanese style, and more. Ask your practitioner to explain their style, and how they come to a diagnosis (asking questions, palpating organs, taking pulse, looking at tongue, looking at eyes or face).
You should feel comfortable with the practitioners interpersonal style, since you will be sharing intimate physical information with them, such as digestion and elimination habits, mood, sleep and other lifestyle habits.

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Pathways has been providing acupuncture services for over 20 years. Our practitioners are experienced treating significant chronic and life threatening diseases, as well as pain and other conditions. Several of our staff have taught at the New England School of Acupuncture, and have been invited to speak around the country and around the world on their work. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health turned to Pathways staff to establish standards of care in providing acupuncture in the state. Pathways has also been recognized as an innovator in care by the federal Agency for Health Care Research and Quality in 2008, 2009 and 2010, for its AIDS Care Project.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. A story from one of our military veterans who receives free care at Pathways:
He told me that only 3% of troops sent to Vietnam saw combat on a daily basis. He was one of those soldiers - 132 men served in his unit, and only 18 came back. Today, he breathes with the assistance of an oxygen tank, and is dealing with further lung problems due to the effects of Agent Orange. He has been receiving free acupuncture treatments at Pathways to Wellness for over a year- and recommends it to his family, friends and acquaintances. Because of his acupuncture treatments, he takes no regular medication for his back pain or his post traumatic stress disorder, and his doctor is thrilled that he has regained oxygen circulation throughout his lungs. He has largely quit smoking, although has an occasional cigarette when his acupuncture treatments lapse. During most of the year he gets weekly acupuncture, which has relieved his back pain, reduces the effects of stress he experiences from his PTSD, helps him avoid cravings for cigarettes, and seems to be improving his lung functioning, despite being diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder.
Because his treatments at Pathways, he can stand for long enough to cook gourmet meals for his friends and family, without suffering from pain when he goes to sleep at night. He can drive a car without concern of being impaired by pain medications. He can take a deep breath without coughing. And at least once a week, during his treatment, he can relax completely – in a way he hasn’t been able to since he returned from Vietnam.

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. “T. K.” was working out for an hour three times a week at the gym, giving her grandchildren piggy back rides, and wasn’t taking any prescription medications, despite being just a year away from her 70th birthday. But then her health “caved in” – increasing pain, loss of mobility, difficulty walking, and numbness in her left hand drastically affected her daily routine as well as her mental and emotional state. “Everything was a thought process: what can I carry home from the grocery store? Can I open this jar? Tie my shoes? Should I try to do laundry? Even my involvement with my grandchildren was put on hold.” Her primary care physician diagnosed arthritis and stenosis of the spine, and prescribed pain medications and physical therapy, but the next PT appointment wouldn’t be available for 6-8 weeks. Her doctor increased her pain medications, but she wasn’t getting relief, so “T. K.” contacted her insurance care manager, who recommended acupuncture. Her doctor recommended Pathways to Wellness.
At her first appointment at Pathways, she met her acupuncturist, Mary. “I liked Mary’s approach immediately – her demeanor was calm and she explained how acupuncture sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. The receptionist was pleasant, the music and the atmosphere was mellow. Coming here was like a little escape.” Mary listened carefully to “T.K.”, and determined that acupuncture could probably help. And it did. “Immediately, after the first session, I could walk home…I live in the neighborhood, but it took so long to get there before the first treatment.”
“T. K.” was seen for about 8 weeks, for two sessions a week, and had acupuncture, electro -acupuncture and moxa as part of her treatments. “When I started feeling relief and benefits from the acupuncture, I began to reduce my pain medications. Coming to acupuncture motivated me to begin exercising in the water, then I began swimming, without additional pain. Now I go to the pool 4 times a week, and go to spinning class.” “I’ve been able to get back to reading to my grandchildren on the floor, and still get up and move around.” “This experience has been an eye-opener for me. The absence of pain makes me want to be productive and find a new purpose at this stage of my life.”