Acupuncturist Bret Moldenhauer readies a heat lamp above the leg of patient Trevor Haines at the Institute for Acupuncture and Wellness on Tuesday, May 5, 2012. Moldenhauer has been practicing the Chinese medicinal art in Chattanooga for ten years. Haines, who was receiving treatment for tension in his leg, says the process isn’t painful and that he only notices the needles by their affect on his muscles.Does it work?• For carpal tunnel syndrome? In 1997 a National Institute of Health statement said acupuncture was a promising treatment, but later research said proof is scant.• For fibromyalgia? Some scientific literature says the treatment shows potential to help, but a 2003 assessment by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality concluded that the evidence was insufficient.• For headache/migraine? A 2009 review found that acupuncture may help relieve tension headaches. However, two large trials that looked at acupuncture for migraines found no difference between actual and simulated acupuncture.• For menstrual cramps? Two literature reviews have suggested that acupuncture may help with pain from menstrual cramps, but the research is limited.• For low-back pain? According to the American Pain Society and the American College of Physicians in 2007, acupuncture is a therapy physicians can use when patients with chronic low-back pain do not respond to conventional treatment. But a large clinical trial reported in 2009 found that actual acupuncture and simulated acupuncture were equally effective — and both were more effective than conventional treatment — for relieving chronic low-back pain.• For neck pain? Studies of acupuncture for chronic neck pain have found that acupuncture provided better pain relief than some simulated treatments.• For osteoarthritis/knee pain? Acupuncture appears to be effective for osteoarthritis, particularly in the area of knee pain.• For postoperative dental pain? Although recent data on acupuncture for postoperative dental pain are scant, literature reviews based on earlier evidence have identified acupuncture as a promising treatment for dental pain, especially following tooth extraction.Source: National Institute of Health, Acupuncture for Pain reviewAcupuncture by the numbers:• 120 in Tennessee• 12 in Chattanooga
On Thursday afternoons the Yin Yang House on Frazier Avenue is full of people looking for a last resort.
As a Chinese lullaby plays in the background, about 10 people wait in line for treatment in the same room where other patients are being treated. Thin, silver acupuncture needles hang from people’s hands and knees and feet; they protrude from foreheads.
A wiry man with cancer holds his head between his hands while his wife rubs his back. There is a young woman with migraines and painful monthly periods, a 40-something man with back troubles.
Jennifer Rintelman, 29, comes every week hoping the tiny needles will stimulate her body to get pregnant. She has been trying for three years. The owner of the Yin Yang House, Chad Dupuis, has a wall of baby pictures that Rintelman said represent his success stories. She stares at them for hope.