NEEDLING THE PAIN AWAY
Demand grows for ancient therapy
By SHARON KERR

AN ACUPUNCTURE NEEDLE is so small that five would fit inside a regular hypodermic needle.The white shaft is about the size of a pin, and the needle itself is not much bigger than a hair.The procedure is usually bloodless and painless.

When Dr. Keith Wheeler of Jasper Chiropractic Center first qualified for his acupuncture fellowship in 2005, he didn't advertise that fact.

For one thing, he and his partner, chiropractor Dr. Willie Williamson, were already crowded in their old location and didn't have room for another specialty. He also expected that Jasper people might be squeamish about needles.

"But as word got out, I have more acupuncture business that I would have thought," Wheeler said recently.

The center's new location at 145 Curtis has allowed Wheeler to expand his acupuncture practice to meet the demand. Wheeler has added an electro meridian imaging system (EMI), a diagnostic tool that shows where the body is out of balance. It can be used to measure progress during treatment as well.

"EMI tests the meridians on both sides of the body to see where the highs and lows are. The principal behind acupuncture is to restore the body back to normal so it can heal itself and the nerves return to normal flow," Wheeler said.

He compared the lines of energy that run through the body to high voltage power lines. Each meridian controls a lot of different functions in the body, even things like bad breath.

"Meridians go through the major organs of the body, and wherever nerves get close together, those are acupuncture points."

He says people are often surprised that the needles are not necessarily inserted anywhere near the reported problem.

"The point on the body may be far removed from the pain; we might treat toe pain with needle in back gate point on the hand," Wheeler said.

It's all done according to formulas, but Wheeler admits it is not an exact science. There is a formula for acid reflux, for instance, and a different course of treatment for back pain. Sometimes one treatment is all a patient needs, and others he sees twice a month.

There are also many different forms of acupuncture. Some disciplines use only the hands to manipulate energy points on the body.

Wheeler follows the medical approach recommended by the International Academy of Medical Acupuncture (IAMA).

After an initial assessment of the patient, Wheeler uses disposable needles that are left in place while as the patient relaxes on a table.

"Acupuncture needles are so small they rarely draw blood, and it's virtually painless," Wheeler said. Five acupuncture needles will fit within a normal hypodermic needle.

"You leave them in for 15 to 20 minutes, and you can tell when they're done because they release easily. If you try to pull them out too soon, there's resistance and maybe a drop of blood," Wheeler explained.

Acupuncture is 5,000 years old. In Asia, it is used to treat many different problems. Wheeler said acupuncture was in the news recently when the Japanese empress used acupuncture to deaden pain and help with contractions during childbirth, although he said he's not ready to try that yet.

Wheeler said people ask for acupuncture when traditional medicine has failed to give them relief. Acupuncture often works on chronic pain when nothing else does. "It's not a cure," Wheeler said, "but they feel better."

As awareness of alternate and complementary treatment grows, he is also beginning to see patients who just want to feel better.

He also says as acupuncture becomes more mainstream, some insurance companies are accepting and paying for treatment, but only as recommended by a medical doctor and under their supervision.

"You do want to have that check. Aches and pains may be associated with other things going on in the body," Wheeler explained. "But in a lot of other countries, you would see an acupuncturist or herbalist first before the medical doctor. You do the conservative thing first and then try more aggressive treatments or medications."

A patient who was leaving the office explained that he must care for his teenage grandson and lift the 160- pound boy several times a day. The patient just spent 20 minutes with two dozen needles inserted in his back, ankle and hand.

"The needles really don't hurt," he said. Once he started getting some pain relief for his aching back, his blood pressure began to come down.

"Nothing else helps with the back pain, " he said. "I have high blood pressure, arthritis, problems that surgery can't help. You do what you got to do," he said.