“Sustainable” seems to be a buzzword these days, and it is something that is on our collective mind as we look toward the future.  You don’t often put the words “sustainable” and “healthcare” together in the same sentence, but I have found a way for these words, and more importantly, their meanings, to be together in a complementary way.

Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine offers an excellent model for sustainable healthcare.  (There I did it; those two words can be used together!)  Let’s count the ways…

1. Acupuncture uses your body’s own resources for healing.
2. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine have supported and sustained the healthcare needs of millions of people over the past 2,500 years.
3. Acupuncture can be safely used as treatment for as long as you want; the cumulative effects of acupuncture continue to be beneficial.
4. Most acupuncturists use lifestyle education as a way to keep your healthcare costs down and allow you to take control of your health.
5. In acupuncture, diagnosis is made by using tools of observation such as feeling the pulse and looking at the tongue, therefore acupuncture can be used anywhere in the world for a wide range of diseases and injuries.
6. The tools of acupuncture are simple and relatively unchanging; this healing tradition has been effective for hundreds of generations.