Time Tested: Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Interview with ACA

By Greg Johnson

Article originally published Monday, June 1, 2009 10:39 PM AKDT in the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman Newspaper

PALMER — Patients of Kevin Meddleton and Samantha Berg better be prepared to take some good-natured needling.

An ancient practice, acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to treat any number of ailments, including headaches, back pain and allergies. Meddleton and Berg sat down with the Frontiersman on Monday to talk about their profession.

Frontiersman: What is acupuncture?

Meddleton and Berg: Acupuncture is part of Chinese medicine. Really, it’s a holistic system of medicine that stimulates the body’s ability to heal itself. Chinese medicine and acupuncture have been practiced for 3,000 years, and it’s been built upon generationally for all that time.

F: What kind of training to you need and how long have you been practicing?

M/B: You need to at least have a master’s degree. Prior to that you have to have a four-year undergraduate degree. The medicine is so refined at this point you can go to acupuncture school and help 70 to 80 percent of the people who come in. It’s very rare somebody walks out of here not thinking they got some benefit. ... We opened here in 2005.

F: What are some of the most common misconceptions about acupuncture?

M/B: A common misconception is people think they’re going to get an instant result. Healing a health condition that took 10 years to erupt into a serious physical malady, well, it won’t be cured in one (appointment). For some people coming in who’ve have migraines for years and medications don’t touch the pain, they feel better after one treatment. To some, it might seem like magic, but it’s science.

F: What ailments can acupuncture help with?

M/B: All kinds of pain conditions, low back, neck migraines, digestive conditions. Anything from stomachaches, irritable bowel, breathing issues like asthma, high blood pressure, auto immune conditions. You can find a lot more on our Web site (www.alaskaacupuncture.com).

M/B: I’d say most people experience some sensation with a needle, but it’s not the same as with a hypodermic needle. Our needles are very thin, like the width of a couple hairs.

F: How can someone tell the difference between whether an ailment can be helped with acupuncture or if more modern medical treatment is needed?

M/B: There are acute issues you should seek immediate help for. Because we are in Western culture, anything you would call 911 for, that’s not what you would want to go to the acupuncturist for. If someone’s been in a car accident, you’ll want to go to the hospital. But after that accident, we’re there to deal with the psychological trauma (or pain related to the accident). We can work on that. Some people don’t want to be on pain meds for the rest of their lives.

F: What are some of the main reasons people seek out acupuncture as an alternative?

M/B: I would say it’s complementary to what Western medicine does. There’s a lot of room for us to work together. A lot of what people come in for is stress. That’s the big one. Stress is the underlying issue behind all sorts of chronic ailments.

F: Is acupuncture a science?

M/B: Is health just the lack of disease? It’s a very rigorous science and it’s really lifelong. It never stops. We do more of a Japanese style. The needles are very thin. It’s also holistic, which means you’re really looking at the health of the whole person — not just the body, but the emotional well-being.

F: How is the industry regulated?

M/B: There’s board certification. You have to pass a national board exam, you have to be licensed by the state of Alaska and you can only be licensed if you graduated from an accredited school.

find original article on the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman

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