Have you even gone to see a doctor or health care practitioner and have a bad experience?

Some don’t seem to listen which is upsetting when you entrust them with your problem. Others can be judging and put their patients on the defensive. Still others don’t seem to be very knowledgeable. Of course your practitioner needs to be very skilled at what they do to have an effective outcome. But finding a health care provider you can trust and be comfortable talking with is just as important as the quality of work they do.

When looking for an acupuncturist in the Breckenridge, Colorado area, use these 3 very important guidelines:

1) Has the practitioner completed a full training program?

Unfortunately in the state of Colorado (and many other states) legal loopholes have allowed some to practice acupuncture with extremely scant training. In the best case scenario they help a little or make no change. Worst case scenarios, they have actually harmed people. I spoke with a man last week who’s back pain became worse with a Physical therapist doing “dry needling” which acupuncture with 1 -2 weekends of training. OK so what are the different training requirements for different professions?

• Licensed Board Certified Acupuncturist – A minimum of 1,800 hrs Chinese Medical Education and supervised clinical training plus graduation form an accredited acupuncture school (which mostly require 2,500-3,000 hours.)
• Physical Therapists (PTs) – were recently approved to practice “dry needling” with acupuncture needles. The only requirement is a 46 hour training program.
• Chiropractors (DCs) – currently need only 100 hours of training, review 25 case histories and not examination to legally perform “acupuncture” in Colorado.
• Medical Doctors (MDs) have no minimum training requirements to practice acupuncture in Colorado. They are called “Medical Acupuncturists.”
  Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine as a system cannot be taught in a few hours or 1-2 weekends. The biggest loser is the consumer as they will miss the benefits this beautiful medicine can offer.

2) When first taking with your potential practitioner, do they seem like a good fit?

Make sure you feel comfortable in this initial stage. Do they listen to you with attention? Are they experienced in working with your health concern?

3) Does the practitioner treat the root cause of the problem in addition to relieving symptoms?

In addition to good skills, this often requires the practitioner sharing tips and tools to be used between sessions to hasten symptom relief and maintain long term health. Any practitioner can limit their treatment to symptom relief, even fully trained acupuncturists! But I have found it to be much more common with MDs, Chiropractors and Physical therapists who practice acupuncture with scant training.

Ask your practitioner if they give a full “Report of Findings” and clear description of the root cause in layman’s terms. In addition, the best practitioners will help you to understand the whole treatment process and teach practical lifestyle changes so the problem will not come back down the road.

I hope this helps arm you with the knowledge and questions you need to easily and effectively get help with your health challenges when looking for an acupuncturist in Breckenridge, Colorado. Be sure to download my free eBook “How to Thrive in the Modern World” a layperson’s guide to Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture.