The Acupuncture Now Foundation (ANF), an organization committed to elevating acupuncture’s impact on easing suffering and enhancing health through accurate information about its best practices, announces the release of “Acupuncture: Looking Beyond Pain Management,” authored by Matthew Bauer, L.Ac., president, ANF, and Mel Hopper Koppelman, MSc, executive vice president, ANF. This industry-leading white paper details acupuncture’s strengths and weaknesses by focusing on its ability to stimulate the body’s self-healing capacity, positioning acupuncture as an effective treatment for not only painful conditions such as migraine headaches, and various musculoskeletal conditions such as low back, neck and knee pain, but also as an ideal alternative treatment for a broad range of health issues.

“Like the hoped for promise of the “new” science of bioelectronic medicine, acupuncture is now recognized for its ability to monitor and adjust the body’s own resources, facilitating self-healing and symptom management for many health conditions,” says Bauer. “Research shows that acupuncture’s mechanisms can be valuable in treating such diverse conditions as infertility, depression and allergic rhinitis (hay fever) – to name a few.”

Acupuncture stimulates the nervous system, causing adjustments to body chemistry in the muscles, spinal cord and brain. Among all non-drug therapies, including chiropractic therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, massage therapy and physical therapy, only acupuncture has been shown through extensive animal research to stimulate the production of “endogenous opioids” -- the body’s own natural opiate-like substances.

“Given acupuncture’s ability to facilitate the more optimal use of the body’s own resources, it’s no surprise that this safe, cost-effective treatment is being integrated into standard care practices in the U.S. and around the world,” Bauer concludes.

About Acupuncture Now Foundation

The Acupuncture Now Foundation (ANF) was founded in 2014 by a diverse group of people from around the world who were concerned about common misunderstandings regarding acupuncture and wanted to help acupuncture reach its full potential. Our formal Mission Statement is to “Elevate acupuncture’s impact on easing suffering and enhancing health through accurate information about its best practices.” Our goal is to become recognized as a leader in the collection and dissemination of unbiased and authoritative information about the practice of acupuncture.

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