| Interview with Acupuncturist Katie Davidson |
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Katie Davidson, Dipl. Ac., is certified by the a National Certification Commission for
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). She works at Harmony Healthcare,
2403 W. Springfield, in Champaign, IL. Katie was interviewed by Penny Cole of the
Lotus Resource Guide in June 2008.
Q. Can you explain what acupuncture is?
A. Acupuncture is the treatment of diseases and other maladies with the insertion of
very fine hair-like needles into the body. The needles may be inserted into over 400
acupoints located in specific spots over the torso, arms, legs and head, or they may
be inserted into what is known as an “ashi” point, or painful point, which may or may
not be an acupoint. Acupuncture is just one aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM) which also encompasses Chinese herbal medicine, diet and life style
counseling, as well as Tuina, which is a bodywork modality.
Q. How and when did you become interested in practicing acupuncture?
A. I became interested in TCM on a very personal level in about 1990. I had had
serious gynecological problems which resulted in a total hysterectomy at that time.
After my surgery I had expected life to return to “normal” but it didn’t as I now had
different problems to deal with. I was advised to go on a myriad of hormones and
decided there had to be another way. That was my introduction to acupuncture and
Chinese herbology which changed my life. Within a few years I was so taken by it—
reading anything and everything I could find on it—that studying it seemed a natural
progression.
Q. Where did you receive your training in acupuncture? Did you have a
Chinese instructor?
A. My education was a four-year full-time Master program at The International
Institute of Chinese Medicine (IICM) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over 90% of my
instructors at IICM were from China. We had a very unique situation there in that one
of our directors had been an instructor at ChenDu teaching hospital in China. She
knew the best and the brightest to bring over. Her husband had some sort of clout
with the Chinese government and was able to get them out of the country and bring
them to our school. I really did have excellent teachers!
Q. How long have you been practicing in the Champaign area?
A. I’ve been practicing in Champaign-Urbana for ten years now. Time flies!
Q. What type of problems do you usually treat with acupuncture and how
long does it take to see positive results?
A. The bulk of the patients I see in this area come in because of painful conditions,
both acute and chronic. There are many who come in with low back pain, sciatica,
shoulder pain, and neck pain. Also I see a lot of women for fertility enhancement of
all kinds, menopause and the whole gamut in between. Results vary according to the
condition. Low back pain that has been going on for one week will generally respond
much faster than chronic low back pain that’s been present for, say, three years.
Also, when dealing with conditions relating to women’s reproductive health, it
generally takes several cycles to make major changes.
Q. I know acupuncture can’t treat medical emergencies like broken bones,
but what other conditions cannot be improved with acupuncture?
A. Severe medical emergencies such as stroke, heart attack, automobile accidents,
etc. are conditions which should first be stabilized with Western medical intervention.
I can say truthfully, for myself, I would use TCM in conjunction with all of the things I
mentioned. It would not necessarily be the first treatment—and certainly not the only
treatment—but definitely a useful adjunct to the healing process. In Chinese
hospitals, TCM doctors and Western doctors work together side-by-side treating all
types of medical conditions. Combinations of herbal and pharmaceuticals are
routinely used together.
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM). She works at Harmony Healthcare,
2403 W. Springfield, in Champaign, IL. Katie was interviewed by Penny Cole of the
Lotus Resource Guide in June 2008.
Q. Can you explain what acupuncture is?
A. Acupuncture is the treatment of diseases and other maladies with the insertion of
very fine hair-like needles into the body. The needles may be inserted into over 400
acupoints located in specific spots over the torso, arms, legs and head, or they may
be inserted into what is known as an “ashi” point, or painful point, which may or may
not be an acupoint. Acupuncture is just one aspect of Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM) which also encompasses Chinese herbal medicine, diet and life style
counseling, as well as Tuina, which is a bodywork modality.
Q. How and when did you become interested in practicing acupuncture?
A. I became interested in TCM on a very personal level in about 1990. I had had
serious gynecological problems which resulted in a total hysterectomy at that time.
After my surgery I had expected life to return to “normal” but it didn’t as I now had
different problems to deal with. I was advised to go on a myriad of hormones and
decided there had to be another way. That was my introduction to acupuncture and
Chinese herbology which changed my life. Within a few years I was so taken by it—
reading anything and everything I could find on it—that studying it seemed a natural
progression.
Q. Where did you receive your training in acupuncture? Did you have a
Chinese instructor?
A. My education was a four-year full-time Master program at The International
Institute of Chinese Medicine (IICM) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Over 90% of my
instructors at IICM were from China. We had a very unique situation there in that one
of our directors had been an instructor at ChenDu teaching hospital in China. She
knew the best and the brightest to bring over. Her husband had some sort of clout
with the Chinese government and was able to get them out of the country and bring
them to our school. I really did have excellent teachers!
Q. How long have you been practicing in the Champaign area?
A. I’ve been practicing in Champaign-Urbana for ten years now. Time flies!
Q. What type of problems do you usually treat with acupuncture and how
long does it take to see positive results?
A. The bulk of the patients I see in this area come in because of painful conditions,
both acute and chronic. There are many who come in with low back pain, sciatica,
shoulder pain, and neck pain. Also I see a lot of women for fertility enhancement of
all kinds, menopause and the whole gamut in between. Results vary according to the
condition. Low back pain that has been going on for one week will generally respond
much faster than chronic low back pain that’s been present for, say, three years.
Also, when dealing with conditions relating to women’s reproductive health, it
generally takes several cycles to make major changes.
Q. I know acupuncture can’t treat medical emergencies like broken bones,
but what other conditions cannot be improved with acupuncture?
A. Severe medical emergencies such as stroke, heart attack, automobile accidents,
etc. are conditions which should first be stabilized with Western medical intervention.
I can say truthfully, for myself, I would use TCM in conjunction with all of the things I
mentioned. It would not necessarily be the first treatment—and certainly not the only
treatment—but definitely a useful adjunct to the healing process. In Chinese
hospitals, TCM doctors and Western doctors work together side-by-side treating all
types of medical conditions. Combinations of herbal and pharmaceuticals are
routinely used together.