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By JOHN PRYOR
NEW YORK (UPI) - The United States' first acupuncture center opened Wednesday and
its first patient reported he felt better after undergoing the ancient Chinese treatment
in which needles are inserted into the body to eliminate pain.
But Nicola di Virgile, 63, of New York said be would wait a few days before deciding
whether the treatment had successfully dealt with his arthritis.
Eight others were waiting for treatment at the new acupuncture center of New York
while Di Virgile was being punctured with 26 needles in the fifth floor facility
in a plush high-rise section of Manhattan's East Side.
Most were arthritic with no previous success in eliminating their pain. All agreed
anything was worth the gamble.
Di Virgile, a retired porter. required about 15 minutes to have the fine needles
inserted into his chest, stomach, arms and legs. He said he felt nothing.
After the treatment, the patient flexed his fingers with apparent ease and swung
his right arm in apparent comfort. He said he was unable to do this before.
'It feels better," he said. Later, outside on the street, walking briskly, he
said, "It feels much better."
The second patient was Irving Lazarus, a cab driver from Brooklyn, who has long suffered
from neck pains and persistent headaches. All previous efforts to get relief had
failed, he said. I got to the point where was willing to try he said.
Although the treatment back some four years in China, the reason's for its reported
effectiveness in relieving pain are not fully understood.
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Other ailments believed to be responsive to acupuncture treatment are migraine headaches,
back pains, sciatica, high blood pressure, asthma, ulcers and insomnia.
Patients undergo physical examinations first to determine whether they are to be
treated by acupuncture or conventional Western medical methods. The cost for acupuncture
is very reasonable. |
