The history of acupuncture begins with the first mention of acupuncture found in an ancient Chinese medical volume, said to be over 2,000 years old. Around the 6th Century AD, Buddhism spread to Japan, taking acupuncture with it. Acupuncture was regarded as a religious medical practice.

Typical of the Japanese, they innovated on the practice in the 1600s and revolutionized the history of acupuncture by introducing the small cylinder or tube that guides the needle. Still in use to this day all over the world, the method is also used by almost all modern-day Japanese acupuncturists.

In those days in the East, an acupuncturist was regarded in the same way doctors are today. But when German and Dutch medicine spread throughout the East in the 1800s, Western medicine became dominant.

In the US, increased interest in herbal medicine and ancient methods has led modern doctors and scientists to conduct research into the historical origins, rationale, and applications of acupuncture to study its effects.

In the mid-1990s, the Washington Post stated that around 15 million Americans had tried out acupuncture for problems like arthritis, fatigue, nausea, etc. Around the same time, the USFDA began recognized acupuncture needles as tools of medicine.

The practice and history of acupuncture has made its way into many modern curricula, most notably that of the University of California in Los Angeles.

Even corporate America has taken notice of acupuncture’s impact on the modern world. Some insurance companies now include acupuncture in their policies.

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