The healing power of acupuncture

Dr. Robert Jensen bridges medical practices with Chinese medicine

Susan Schell

of the Gateway

Not many American doctors will walk away from Western medicine to practice acupuncture full-time. But Dr. Robert Jensen, LAc, believed in the benefits of the ancient Chinese healing system so much that he opened his own clinic, Acupuncture Health and Renewal, in Gig Harbor last April.

“Most physicians do their specialty and may take weekend courses in acupuncture,” said Jensen, who learned traditional Chinese medicine from “the masters,” the leading acupuncture specialists in the country.

Jensen was fascinated by the way the Eastern culture looked at the body, mind and soul as one.

“Western medicine hasn’t evolved in this way,” he said. “They tend to separate those. If you have emotional problems, you go see a psychiatrist. If you have a headache, you go see a neurologist. If you have a neck ache, you go to an orthopedist. It’s intriguing when a patient comes in with a wide variety of symptoms, and they have such a sense of relief when they find that they’re all related. You can’t always look at individual symptoms.”

Jensen said the concept of acupuncture — placing tiny needles into the skin along the body’s “meridians” to help the system’s natural flow of energy — has been around for centuries, but it’s difficult to explain how it works.

A book called “Acupuncture in a Nutshell,” distributed by Acupuncture Media Works, explains that each individual has an intelligent energetic system that maintains health and balance. Practitioners of acupuncture call this energy, “Qi” — pronounced, “Chee.”

The stresses of daily life affect the quality and flow of Qi, disrupting its natural flow. Like a blocked garden hose, stress blocks the Qi and a variety of symptoms can develop, such as headaches, fatigue and depression.

“Acupuncture deals with these energy meridians known in China,” Jensen said. “The body has 12 major meridians named after internal organs. All acupuncture points are on precise locations. Energy moves from one channel to the next along these meridians in a very precise order.”

Jensen’s wife, Cate, doesn’t understand the ins and outs of the practice; she only knows that she has been undergoing acupuncture for years, and it works for her.

“A lot of people look at it and think it’s going to hurt, but the needles are so tiny,” she said. “You can feel it working on your body. I describe it as a ‘zing.’ You can feel that something is going on.”

Cate suffered migraines regularly before she turned to acupuncture for relief. Reeling from “the worst migraine I’ve ever had,” she said she could hardly believe that, within 20 minutes of the insertion of three tiny needles, her headache was gone.

She said the practice also did wonders for hot flashes. And she’s been undergoing facial acupuncture to reduce lines and wrinkles.

“It balances out the facial muscles without surgery,” she said. “It’s amazing what it can do.”

“Westerners look at medicine scientifically,” Robert Jensen said. “Acupuncture is out of their comfort zone because we haven’t yet elucidated how it works. The Chinese, Japanese and Koreans just know that it works. Through trial and error they’ve perfected this system that has been handed down from generation to generation, and there’s a well-established history and documentation. True masters of acupuncture have existed in China for thousands of years.”

Jensen said Western society is slowly opening up to alternative forms of medicine, especially in areas where there is a mix of cultures.

“The cultural mix on the West Coast means people are more aware of other forms of medicine and are more comfortable with it,” he said. “People with chronic pain are finding that it’s something Western medicine can’t treat as well. When a patient becomes frustrated and they get ‘pill challenged,’ they start to look at other alternatives.”

Physicians often refer patients to acupuncturists in order to alleviate symptoms that can’t be completely cured with medication. The combination of Western medicine and acupuncture often is the recipe chronic pain sufferers need.

“People who are on pain medication who undergo acupuncture can at least start to lower their dependency,” Jensen said. “In the best cases, maybe they can stop the medicine altogether.”

Jensen said that, in the future, Western and Eastern ways of practicing medicine can be combined to benefit both physicians and patients. In the meantime, he will continue to build a bridge between that gap.

Reach Lifestyles Coordinator Susan Schell at 253-853-9240 or by e-mail at susan.schell@gateline.com.