Acupuncture is practiced in Asia and in Europe, but it is still new to the American continent. The Iowa Board of Medical Examiners has recognized acupuncture as a practice of medicine. The National Institutes of Health and Harvard Medical School have established a Department of Alternative Medicine to study acupuncture. In addition, UCLA has offered courses on acupuncture for physicians, used mostly in pain management to treat muscle or bone pain, tendonitis, neck pain, backache, headache, neuralgia, and other painful conditions.

Acupuncture is the use of very fine needles inserted under the skin at specific points of the body to treat pain, diseases, or to maintain health. It is an ancient art of healing which originated in China four thousand years ago.

Oriental medicine was founded on the principle that our wellness and health depend on the balance and harmony of Qi (pronounced chi) or vital energy which flows throughout the body along a system of channels called meridians. If the flow of Qi is blocked or disturbed, pain or illness occurs. On these meridians there are many established points on the skin through which acupuncture can remove the blockage, regulate the flow of vital energy, and bring back health and wellness.

Dr. Mark E. Lassise of Mason City Clinic has been using acupuncture as a form of pain management in North Iowa since 1999. For more information or a brochure, please call 641-494-5299.

Mark E. Lassise, M.D.
Mason City Clinic