Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Offers Pediatric Acupuncture Program

The Pain Management Clinic at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is collaborating with Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine to create a pediatric acupuncture program to help children manage chronic pain, according to Jeffrey I. Gold, Ph.D., director of the Pediatric Pain Management Clinic, and assistant professor of clinical anesthesiology and pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.

The Pediatric Acupuncture Program, which began treating patients this month (January 2009), uses an integrative approach that brings the benefits of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to children suffering from chronic pain.

According to Dr. Gold, "Current research indicates that acupuncture and TCM are beneficial in addressing many problems associated with both acute and chronic pain."

A paper recently published by Dr. Gold and his colleagues in the journal Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine concludes, "Given the promising trends in the current acupuncture research, the relative willingness of families to engage in acupuncture and the low risk of deleterious side effects, acupuncture may serve to harmonize Traditional Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine as a means of promoting preventive care and symptom management for children."

The collaboration provides an opportunity for Yo San University students to obtain clinical experience at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which is a teaching hospital with more than 575 medical students, 83 residents and 86 fellows.

"We are excited to bring acupuncture to the patients at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles," said Johnathan Heywood, Yo San University's president. "This is an extraordinary opportunity in integrative medicine that offers our students another layer of richness and opportunity in our unique program."

The Pediatric Pain Management Clinic at Childrens Hospital currently offers the acupuncture treatments once a week, with plans to increase the frequency in the future. There also are plans to develop joint research projects and studies in integrative medicine, combining acupuncture with Western medicine in pediatric care and treatment.

Founded in 1901, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles has been treating the most seriously ill and injured children in Los Angeles for more than a century, and it is acknowledged throughout the United States and around the world for its leadership in pediatric and adolescent health. Childrens Hospital is one of America's premier teaching hospitals, affiliated with the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California since 1932. It is a national leader in pediatric research. For more information, contact www.ChildrensHospitalLA.org

Since 1990, U.S. News & World Report and its panel of board-certified pediatricians have named Childrens Hospital Los Angeles one of the top pediatric facilities in the nation, and it is ranked among the Top 10 children's hospitals in the country – and first among the 13 children's hospitals in California – in the current magazine rankings.

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Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Offers Pediatric Acupuncture Program to Help Children Manage Chronic Pain

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