Frequently Asked Questions

If you have a question that you would like answered, please email Jim Chaffee. He will be more than pleased to answer any questions you may have. Additionally, we will post all Q&As to this page.

How is it Traditional Chinese Medicine different from Western Medicine?

One major difference between the TCM (Traditional Chinese Medical) and Western medical approach is what it actually treats. TCM treats what are considered to be the underlying patterns of an illness. Western medicine treats diseases believing that there is one specific causative factor for each specific illness. A second major difference is that TCM does not distinguish between mental-emotional illnesses and physical ones, believing that each illness has components of both involved in its cause and manifestation and that both aspects need to be treated simultaneously.

Why does TCM diagnose patterns and not diseases?

There is an old statement of 'fact' in TCM that says: "One disease, many patterns; one pattern, many diseases". This emphasis on patterns is what allows Chinese medicine to help people with a minimum of side effects. In fact, a well-defined and treated complex of patterns should not create any side effects whatsoever. As a result of this emphasis on treating patterns, symptoms, apparently unrelated to the main complaint, tend to disappear as well.

An example is a woman coming for migraine-like headaches that occur at the beginning of her menstrual cycle. By treating the underlying patterns, this woman will most likely find that her PMS symptoms will also diminish if not completely disappear.

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How beneficial is Traditional Chinese Medicine?

In many studies performed around the world, Traditional Chinese Medicine is comparably effective as Western medicine in many cases. That is especially true with long-enduring, chronic illness that Western medicine cannot as yet treat effectively. With its fewer side effects, it certainly has a lot to offer people all over the world. However, in acute emergency cases, Western medicine is certainly more effective than TCM, and I, as a practitioner, would urge my patients to take advantage of it whenever there is need.

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Are there risks in being treated by acupuncture?

Although acupuncture carries very little risk of side effects, there are some that have been documented in the literature over the years. They include drowsiness after a treatment; a 3% chance of bleeding or bruising; a 1% chance of pain; a 3% chance of increased worsening of symptoms after a treatment usually indicating a health crisis leading to an improvement of the patient's health; and less than 1% chance of fainting, which, if it occurs, happens almost only once during the first treatment.

When a qualified practitioner, that is a person with significant hours in training and clinical practice and having passed the national recognized certification boards, performs acupuncture, it is a safe and effective means of health treatment.

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What is the difference between an MD acupuncturist and a Lic Ac?

Primarily, the difference is in the number of hours of study required. Most MD acupuncturists, though not all, take the nationally recognized Helm's course on medical acupuncture. This is a 200-hour, primarily home based video course with some on-site clinical time and study, which covers acupuncture from a French-Vietnamese energetics perspective. They are required to take a Medical Acupuncture exam, which gives them national certification in acupuncture.

A licensed acupuncturist needs to attend an accredited school of Chinese medicine and has between 2000 and 3000 hours in Chinese medical theory, acupuncture, and Chinese medicinals, and about 1 year of clinical training. She/he takes a national acupuncture exam sponsored by the NCCAOM, the national accrediting board for all non-MD acupuncturists. After this she/he is generally licensed by whichever state in which the practice is located.

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How quickly can I expect results?

In most cases, some results can be expected to occur within 8 - 10 treatments. Long-enduring conditions, which are the ones seen by most acupuncturists in this country since we are the practitioner of last resort, tend to take longer.

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