Q: Why is it being done by an M.D.?

A: The placement of acupuncture needles is precise, and depends on expert knowledge of the underlying anatomy. Your MRIs or X-Rays can be very helpful to us. Dr. Hanson has helped pioneer the use of micro-electrical stimulation through each needle, down to the correct tissue level (which could be as deep as bone). This deep tissue delivery of current provides an extra measure of healing.


Q: How does Medical Acupuncture work?

A: When the acupuncture needle is inserted into a specific anatomic target, such as a nerve, the pituitary gland at the base of the brain produces powerful drugs:
    1. Endorphin (the same molecule as Morphine). This is the body’s own painkiller, and is responsible for the athlete’s "second wind" that takes away pains during vigorous athletic endeavors.
    2. Cortisone (actually its precursor, ACTH, which stimulates the adrenal glands to make cortisone). This is the body’s own anti-inflammatory drug, which is the reason why acupuncture treats the underlying cause of pains, and why it works for allergies or asthma, where pain is not involved. Both of these drugs are natural to the patient’s own body, and are FREE OF SIDE EFFECTS.
    3. Serotonin: with computerized electrical stimulation of acupuncture needles, the body increases its production of this additional pain killer/mood elevater.
    4. Electrical stimulation: In addition to the above drugs from within our body, we can profit from our knowledge of the body’s anatomy. While TENS (electrode patches stuck to the skin, and wired to a small battery stimulator) has been used for decades in western medicine, it works best for sore skin, not for deep tissues. By placing an acupuncture needle precisely into the layer of nerve or muscle tissue that is causing the pain, we can speed up the healing, and release deep muscle spasms that escape our Western medications.
In addition, we can access the body’s Autonomic Nervous System, which was described since antiquity as the Yin and Yang. By whatever name, we can see the results of the body’s "push/pull" mechanism by the example of the face. When we are stressed or shocked, the face BLANCHES; when we are embarrassed, the face BLUSHES. By using traditional acupuncture points that are directly over nerve points for our autonomic nervous system we can restore the balance, leaving the body better prepared to face its daily mental and physical challenges.


Q: Why don’t prescription drugs always work for pain?

A: The only western medicine that is 100% effective is the General Anesthetic. Everyone who inhales the operating room gas mask and has a shot of pentothal gets instant pain relief (and sleep). Apart from this exception, our choices of prescriptions for pain are very disappointing:
    Codeine (such as Vicodin) only solves about 25% of pure pain symptoms.
    Demerol by injection increases the successes to around 40%.
    Morphine, the strongest legal drug of all, still only solves pain in about 50% of the patients.
This means that more than half of all patients treated with western medicines FAIL to get relief. However, virtually all of them may be subjected to significant side effects (such as stomach pains, constipation, drug addiction) from the long-term use of these drugs.


Q: How effective is Medical Acupuncture for pain?

A: About 85%, or roughly twice as good as Demerol. It is still not 100%, and there is no way of predicting which patients will have the best results. However, because there are no side effects (other than a potential for a small harmless bruise) it is very useful to try up to six treatments for any new patient. If no improvement is noted within this time, then further treatments would be discontinued, or, if all other forms of treatments had already been tried unsuccessfully, at the patients request.


Q: Are results only temporary?

A: No. The body under normal conditions has its own "engine" that manufactures the drugs mentioned above. That’s why we feel better after exercise, laughter, or meditation, all activities known to encourage these drugs to be manufactured as part of our self-healing mechanism. With chronic or severe pain, the body’s "engine" that makes these drugs is overwhelmed, and goes dormant. This is made worse when prescription drugs are given for long term use. That’s why pain patients are often very sensitive to the nick of a razor when shaving, or to the insertion of a needle for a blood test. These patients are not becoming "wimps", but rather the opposite: they have been heroically enduring pains that most of us never face. Our treatments are designed to restart the engine, and the results are much like starting a cold car in the winter. A few initial "splutters" of success, perhaps a few hours of pain reduction after a treatment, then the pain comes back. With successive treatments, the results get better and better. Soon, the body’s "engine" is up and running and the patient will have regained their normal state, and will not need any more acupuncture.


Q: Does Dr. Hanson use traditional Chinese techniques of diagnosis (such as reading the pulses and checking the tongue)?

A: No. While these techniques have been employed for thousands of years, they were designed to make diagnoses without any knowledge of the underlying physiology or anatomy. If a patient has had a car accident and brings in an MRI showing damage to a specific disc space in the spine, our treatment will be to focus on the surrounding anatomy, as well as to select some traditional points. Pulse and tongue diagnostics were devised because the Chinese were a proud and modest people, who would not disrobe for their doctors, thus there was no other window available for objective findings. That is not to say that ancient techniques don’t work, it is just a question of using the best available tools in the context of the practitioner’s knowledge. Polynesian navigators for centuries could find their way to distant islands by learning a lifetime of "low-tech" tricks, like listening for hours to the slap of the waves on the hull of the lead canoe. If a ricochet slap was heard, the canoe would steer into it, and land would be found. However, if a modern navigator held a Global Positioning Satellite device in his hand, the same landfall would be made. There is no reason why either navigator would need to learn the other’s technologies, as long as both work. Because Dr. Hanson is an MD and can read modern tests like the MRI or X-ray, he can select traditional acupuncture points that have anatomic relevance to the problem, and that should produce results in the quickest possible time.


Q: Can I take other treatments along with Medical Acupuncture?

A: Yes. Medicine is best considered a team effort, not a turf war. There is no such thing as expertise, just different areas of ignorance. Thus Dr. Hanson welcomes the input of all who might help in a particular patient’s problem. The other members of the team should start with the primary care doctor, who can coordinate the whole team. Each problem might demand different skills, such as Chiropractic and Therapeutic Massage (which we offer in this office), physical therapy, internal medicine, diagnostic radiology, or even surgery. Sometimes a personal trainer or a coach in a specific sport can offer helpful expertise that is beyond the medical realm. Medical Acupuncture is ideal as part of this team, because it is synergistic, and has no side effects. Dr. Hanson is pleased to communicate with any of your practitioners about your case. There is no need to stop any of your medications while we are performing acupuncture, but once results are being seen, you will be able to taper off any of the medicines that treated the symptoms such as pain and inflammation. We ask that the doctor who put you on these pills should oversee the reduction of them, so that you do not stop too quickly and have a flare of the symptoms.


Q: How long does each treatment take?

A: Less than an hour. Once Dr. Hanson inserts the needles, his assistant stimulates them for six seconds each, with a very gentle but effective computerized current. Many patients prefer to have these needles removed and are then free to get up and go. Other patients get a little sleepy because of the morphine (endorphine) effects, and prefer to rest for a while with the needles in place (sometimes with an additional stimulation from a TENS machine). In these cases we offer a blanket for warmth, dim the overhead lights, set the radio/CD for relaxation, and set the timer for 20 minutes. Both time frames work equally well, it is just a question of the patient’s time frame, and of their preference.


Q: Are the needles sterile?

A: Yes, each needle is taken from its sterile packaging, and inserted with the same precautions we use for any medical needle, namely an alcohol swab to the skin. Dr. Hanson always wears a fresh glove, and disposes each needle into the Porter Hospital "sharps" container. Our needles are made of the highest surgical quality of stainless steel, and the handles are over-wrapped with sterling silver, for electrical conductivity.


Q: How are the needles stimulated?

A: We use a very sophisticated computerized wave generated from our Accu-o-matic machine, which has two probes that contact the needles. The stimulation takes only six seconds for each pair, and runs micro-current (millionths of an amp) down to the tip of the needle, to deliver the same form of healing current that surgeons often implant (without the need for surgery).

Some patients also prefer a second form of stimulation, for up to twenty minutes with a TENS machine providing milli-current (thousandths of an amp). In every case, we are guided by the feedback of the patient, and will tailor the choice of points and stimulations according to their results.


Q: What if I hate needles?

A: First of all, we can treat without needles, using cotton tips on the electrical probes, or using light treatments with our neon-helium laser. Most people who fear needles, however, are thinking of a completely different situation. Our needles are extremely thin, like a cat’s whisker, and have no hollow barrel and no curved cutting edge. We inject nothing into them, thus once they are through the skin they are completely painless. There will be a pinch as they go through the skin, but this is usually very mild. Your comfort is our primary consideration, so we use a well padded table, cloth dressing gowns, several plump pillows, a choice of soft music and lighting, a call button for assistance, and a drape and blanket for warmth.


Q: What conditions will Medical Acupuncture help?

A: We can treat any condition that the resulting three drugs (the body’s own morphine, cortisone, and serotonin) could treat. That’s why acupuncture works not only for pain, but also for inflammations like asthma or sinusitis, and why it works for depression. It should be noted that there is no specific drug released for cancer, diabetes, or for infections, so these needs will still require western medicines as part of the team approach.

Acupuncture can also treat nausea (e.g. from pregnancy or chemotherapy), and has some success with dizziness. Immune systems that are unbalanced because of stress can be greatly improved with acupuncture.