Acupuncture, the once highly controversial healing method, will be discussed in a lecture by Dr. Carlos Nater, M.D., D.I.P.,Acu. at 7 p.m. on Friday , May 21, in conference room A of the Roy L. Schneider hospital.
What do all those initials mean? Dr. Nater wears many hats. The D.I.P. stands for Diplomat in Acupuncture. The doctor, who hails from Puerto Rico and has several St. Thomas patients, has held positions ranging from Director of Internal Medicine Clinics of Puerto Rico to Director of Occupational Health Services for Roche Products Inc, a major pharmaceutical company.
Originating in China thousands of years ago, acupuncture is the art of using needles at different pressure points in the body to alleviate pain. Each of the hundreds of points regulate body organs. The effect is to balance the body's energy.
"This energy can be altered with acupuncture," noted Dr. Nater, who also specializes in Internal Medicine and Hematology.
There was a time, a generation ago, when medical doctors scoffed at the notion of using needles to treat ailments, other than the usual hypodermic needle. Dr. Marcos Valle, head of the 200- member Puerto Rico Acupuncture Medical Association, admits it's been an uphill battle. ‘There was a time when I didn't dare say I was an acupuncturist."
Favorable results of the procedure, treating conditions from migraine headaches to asthma, have turned around the medical world's views . Acupuncture is now a highly accepted and respected field.
Those same doctors who were once skeptics, now eagerly embrace acupuncture. How this came about, and the inner workings of this ancient and highly successful treatment will be the meat of Nater's talk.