Acupuncture -- the ancient Chinese healing art that uses needles inserted into the skin to restore health and balance -- has recently graduated to the realms of mainstream medicine.

The decision last month by the Indonesian Doctors Association to recognize qualified acupuncturists as specialist doctors was an important milestone. It confirmed that the lines of demarcation between traditional oriental medicine and modern techniques have been blurring for some time.

Jakarta's main teaching facility, Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM), Central Jakarta, has been training acupuncturists for the last 40 years and has a staff of 25 acupuncture specialists who treat patients at the hospital.

In recent years, the demand for acupuncture and other traditional therapies has rocketed.

Dr. Indra, who practices in four clinics across the city, believes that demand has increased by as much as 50 percent. A clinic in Tangerang, West Java, is treating up to 300 patients per day.

``It's part of the 'back to nature' approach to health and beauty,'' said Dr. Indra, who studied medicine at the University of Indonesia and learned acupuncture at Guangzhou University in China.

``People are interested in acupuncture equally for health and for beauty treatments. Noninvasive, it carries very little risk and produces results.''

A majority of Dr. Indra's patients are women who want to lose wrinkles, shed some pounds, stop smoking or cure stress-related problems such as migraine. She claims to have an 80 percent success rate with patients who want to quit smoking or lose weight. Over a series of 10 sessions of 15 minutes each she inserts pins into the patient's ears and spine, which are said to remove the desire to smoke and reduce the appetite.

Men tend to seek acupuncture for health reasons such as rheumatism or high blood pressure and account for only 20 percent of Dr. Indra's patients.

``Some men also come for sexual reasons and want to increase their libido or lengthen their (arousal) time. At our clinic in Lippo Karawaci, about 30 percent to 40 percent of patients are coming for that,'' said Dr. Indra, adding that in general men seek acupuncture for health reasons such as rheumatism or high blood pressure.

The mass media have also played a significant role in promoting awareness and interest in acupuncture.

Prof. Hembing a well-known acupuncturist, who hosts a television and radio show on alternative therapies, argues that the rise in popularity is due to the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating a range of complaints.

``It is particularly effective in treating the nervous system and problems such as autism, stroke, migraine and rheumatism,'' he said.

A constant stream of mothers come with their young boys to his clinic in Central Jakarta. One mother waiting to see Hembing said that her boy was six years old but had not spoken a word until recently.

``After five weeks of treatment he began to say a few words but only to his father,'' she said, clearly relieved.

While many were left with no choice but to seek alternative health treatments following the economic crisis in 1998, others go to alternative therapy clinics as a last resort.

``After the crisis acupuncture was seen as more affordable,'' said Hembing. ``But also, many people have found that modern medicine has not worked for them. They were fed up taking antibiotics and tranquilizers which only alleviate symptoms, and found that acupuncture could treat the causes of illness,'' said the professor, who studied traditional medicine in China.

Hembing also recommends herbal remedies and other medicines to his patients and sees acupuncture as complementary to Western treatments.

In a number of Western countries the teaching facilities of major hospitals have introduced courses for doctors to specialize in acupuncture. This is often taken by acupuncture and alternative health enthusiasts as proof that acupuncture can be proven scientifically.

However, Chinese medicine, which is based on Taoism, does not work within the same framework as most Western therapies. Testing it with a Western set of rules makes little sense. Chinese medicine does not recognize the concept of a nervous system or an endocrine system but deals in terms of Ch'i (roughly translated as vital energy), Jing (the essence of life) and Shen (spirit).

Organs are not looked at in terms of their structure but rather their function and how they relate to other organs in the body. Acupuncturists insert needles in points along ``meridians'' of the body (channels through which Ch'i flows) which correspond to weaknesses in different bodily functions. Electrical charges are also added to the needles for some treatments and heat is added to speed up the effect.

Although modern and Chinese medicines have fundamentally different approaches to health this does not make them incompatible. In fact combining the two has distinct advantages.

RSCM is the officially recognized teaching center in Indonesia for acupuncture and doctors follow a three-year, postgraduate study and training program before they can be certified to practice. Other doctors train abroad, notably in China and Korea.

``Acupuncture specialists with a background in modern medicine are able to give a complete diagnosis as they have full knowledge of the human body,'' said Dr. Aldrin, who trained at RSCM. He is skeptical of the many acupuncture therapists, known as sins,, in Indonesia, who often have little or no training.

``They are like mechanics using the same tools and approach regardless of the problem they are dealing with.''

However, sins, are a major part of traditional medicine in Indonesia and are also registered to practice, but with a different status.

``There are two kinds of acupuncturist at the moment. Only medical doctors who graduate from a recognized training facility such as RSCM are considered to be acupuncture specialists,'' said Dr. Murdiati, spokesperson for Jakarta's health department.

``Practitioners who have followed short courses in acupuncture are registered as traditional therapists.''

While most specialists agree that there is little danger in going to an acupuncturist who is not fully trained, it can be a waste of money and is not entirely without risk.

``I have come across cases where patients were partially paralyzed. In the last case I saw, a sins, had mistaken an acupuncture point for wrinkles with one for the tongue. He ended up leaving the patient mute,'' said Dr. Indra.

These cases are fortunately rare and according to Dr. Indra are not difficult to rectify, but they would make one think twice about getting pricked by anyone but a doctor.

From Healthy.net