The # 2 response to my poll question “Why don’t more people try acupuncture” was “They’re afraid of it.”

Two thoughts come to my mind about that response. One is that part of the apprehension may come from fear of the unknown. Many people aren’t familiar with acupuncture, which causes it to seem scary. I’ll talk more about that next blog, since “They don’t know enough about it” was the #1 answer.

The other main issue is fear of needles. Since acupuncture is fairly new to our country (but thousands of years old in other parts of the world), even people who don’t have a true phobia may consider getting stuck with needles to be a little weird. I once had an acquaintance tell me that the term acupuncture should be changed so that it didn’t include the word “puncture.”

I’ll admit that sometimes even I find it odd that I stick needles in people for a living. Yet I’ve also seen remarkable improvements in people’s lives as a result of these tiny needles.

The problem is that the term “needle” immediately conjures images of large hypodermics that you get stuck with at the doctor’s office. But acupuncture needles are actually much thinner and shorter than hypodermics. In fact, they are smaller than even the needles used for insulin injections, and smaller than the needles used on infants!

Some people have suggested that we call our tools “pins,” “filaments,” or “wires” because these are what acupuncture “needles” resemble.

Because the needles are so fine (and sterile and disposable, by the way), they don’t hurt when they’re inserted. If you can handle a mosquito bite, you will have no problem getting acupuncture.

Don’t believe me? Take a look at this picture, which shows the needle in a practitioner’s hand. Or, better yet, come in for an appointment and try it out yourself!

Since 2008 I have been affiliated with Veterans Acupuncture Care (VAC) Metrowest. VAC provides free acupuncture to active military, veterans, and reservists, and their families. The Metrowest location in Framingham has been a valuable community resource; we have received very positive feedback from the participants.

When possible, a group of veterans from Worcester has been traveling out to the Framingham clinic. However, they’re not always able to make it and have expressed interest in having a veterans acupuncture clinic in Worcester (acupuncture was also a popular service at this year’s Stand Down in Worcester).

I decided to explore the possibility of a VAC chapter in Worcester. I was concerned that not enough acupuncturists would be interested or available, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that most area acupuncturists were eager to volunteer.

My original goal was to have the clinic up and running by January 2010. With the great response from local acupuncturists and the support of VAC Metrowest, it seemed things were going smoothly.

What I didn’t anticipate was the difficulty I would encounter with finding a location for the clinic. So far, I have contacted 10 different facilities without success. I am writing this blog because I need your help finding a clinic site.

All we need is a large, open room with chairs—nothing fancy. Due to the availability of the volunteers, we decided to hold the clinic on the second Wednesday of each month, from 5:30pm-7:30pm.

We do not yet have a budget for our program, so ideally the space would be donated. Please understand that all of us are donating our time and receiving nothing in exchange for our volunteering.

So far, I have been focusing on religious organizations and non-profits, but we would certainly accept help from a for-profit organization as well.

I feel that this is the least we can do to repay the men and women who have risked their lives to serve our country.

Can you help us? Use the contact form on this site or call me at (508) 890-8899.

In my survey last month, 20% of respondents felt that people don’t try acupuncture because it’s too expensive.

What a great opportunity to spread the word about community acupuncture!

Standard market rates for acupuncture can range from $50 to over $100 for a one-hour treatment. And since acupuncture usually requires a series of treatments to get lasting results, that cost is prohibitively expensive for most people.

This is the case for acupuncturists who have private-room practices—since they only see one or two people an hour, the prices for each patient have to be higher. Acupuncturists have to eat, after all.

However, River Valley Acupuncture is part of a growing movement of community acupuncturists. We practice in a group setting and see more people per hour. In that way, we are able to charge our patients lower fees. Members of the Community Acupuncture Network agree not to charge more than $45 per treatment; at River Valley, we charge a sliding scale of $20-$40.

Now, even these rates may be too costly for some people. But the thought is that the sliding scale will make acupuncture more accessible to a larger number of people—and hopefully, this will make more people willing to try acupuncture in the first place!

So, do you still think acupuncture is too expensive?

Come check us out at this month’s events:

On Sunday, October 11 from 10am-5pm we will have a booth at the Holistic Happening health fair, and will also present on the topic “Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for Fertility.” The fair will take place at the fire department, 720 Quinebaug Rd in Quinebaug, CT. The price of admission is a non-perishable food item for the food pantry, or a donation to Dog Orphans Humane Society and/or Willy’s Kitty Angels Rescue.

On Wednesday, October 14 from 5:45pm-6:45pm I will be presenting at Dodge Park Rest Home on “Acupuncture for Stress and Mental Health.” This course provides a continuing education credit for Licensed Social Workers. Please contact Dodge Park directly if you are interested.

From Friday October 23 to Sunday October 25, the Central Mass chapter of the Community Acupuncture Network (Central Mass CAN!) will have a booth at the Healthy Living Expo at the DCU Center in Worcester. River Valley Acupuncture is a member of Central Mass CAN, and I will be at the event Friday and Saturday. We will be providing free acupressure treatments, as well as handing out free treatment coupons to new patients. The Expo hours are: Friday 5pm-9pm, Saturday 10am-8pm, and Sunday 11am-5pm.

I hope to see you soon!

For the next three months, we are honored to display watercolors by Lin Bourie of Art from the Heart. We have five of her floral paintings, and they look beautiful in our office. Stop by for a treatment soon to see them!