HOME | SITEMAP CANADA Acupuncture is one of the market leaders in complementary medical
services in the UK and the US. Although it has lagged behind
chiropractic in Canada, this trend is changing. As there
is increased demand for acupuncture services, the need for professional
entry-level courses increases. Ontario is in the process
of regulating acupuncture, which both reflects the increasing interest
of Canadians in this modality and will considerably enhance its
standing as a medical practice amongst the general population. "Alternative health care is a growing industry in Canada.
The most recent National Population Health Survey by Statistics
Canada (1998/99) found that 3.8 million Canadians aged 18 and over
had consulted an alternative health care provider at least once
during the previous 12 months. Alternative health care providers
for the study included, for example, massage therapists, homeopaths,
herbalists and acupuncturists. This represented a 2% increase in
consultations from the previous study of 1994/95. USA “In the past two decades, acupuncture has grown in popularity in the United States. The report from a Consensus Development Conference on Acupuncture held at the National Institutes of Health in 1997 stated that acupuncture is being "widely" practiced--by thousands of physicians, dentists, acupuncturists, and other practitioners--for relief or prevention of pain and for various other health conditions. According to the 2002 National Health Interview Survey (the largest and most comprehensive survey of complementary and alternative medicine use by American adults to date) an estimated 8.2 million U.S. adults had ever used acupuncture, and an estimated 2.1 million U.S. adults had used acupuncture in the previous year.” Information taken from the National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine (the Federal Government's lead agency for
scientific research on complementary and alternative medicine),
a department of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) within
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. UNITED KINGDOM “Although sometimes described merely as a means of pain relief, traditional acupuncture is actually used to treat people with a wide range of illnesses. Its focus is on improving the overall wellbeing of the patient, rather than the isolated treatment of specific symptoms. The skill of an acupuncturist lies in their ability to make a traditional diagnosis from what is often a complex pattern of disharmony. The exact pattern and degree of disharmony is unique to each individual and so following diagnosis, the acupuncturist puts together a personalised treatment plan. The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) has
a membership of over 2,800 professionally qualified acupuncturists.
It is the UK's largest professional body for the practice of
acupuncture. BAcC members practise a traditional, holistic style
of acupuncture diagnosis and treatment based on what has been
developed and refined over 2,000 years. To achieve BAcC membership,
practitioners must first undertake extensive training in traditional
acupuncture (minimum three years' full-time or part-time equivalent),
which includes physiology, anatomy and other biomedical sciences
appropriate for practice.”
Ongiara College
of Acupuncture and Moxibustion |