AAC Files Legal Petition to Repeal Dry Needling Rule & Registration is Open for Kiiko Matsumoto!
Kimberley Benjamin, AAC President
Dear members, friends and supporters:
I am pleased to announce that the Acupuncture Association of Colorado (AAC) and the Colorado Safe Acupuncture Association (CSAA) filed a legal petition in December to repeal the Colorado Physical Therapy Board’s regulation allowing physical therapists to practice acupuncture with almost no training or clinical experience. We do not believe this regulation is legal since nothing in the PT scope of practice adopted by the Colorado Legislature allows the insertion of acupuncture needles or other invasive devices. Since 2012 Rule 211 has claimed that physical therapists can engage in “dry needling” with a mere 46 hours of training. After seeing the results, such as the Olympic skier who received a pneumothorax during a Colorado “dry needling” session, the AAC and the CSAA believe we must take action to protect public safety and acupuncture’s hard won reputation as a safe and effective practice.
For this legal effort succeed we need your help today.
If you’re already an AAC member, please make a special donation to directly support the critical work our legal team is doing on your behalf.
If you’re not a member, please join the AAC today and stand with us in this important effort that will be closely watched across the United States. You may also wish to make an additional donation in support of this cause.
Please, help us meet our goal of raising $25,000 in the next 30 days by making a donation today of $1000, $500, $250 or whatever you can afford. Consider donating a day’s income from your clinic or even just the cost of one treatment. We are only as strong as the support we receive from our members and friends.
Click Here to Donate
Professional and student members can read a copy of the AAC and CSAA’s legal petition from the Acupuncturists dropdown menu of our website. (You must be logged into the website to see this page. If you have trouble logging in, please contact Charissa at info@acucol.com or (303) 572-8744. Your membership may have lapsed when we moved to the new membership platform last year.)
You let us know that this is an important issue to you and we are working hard to address it. This fundraising effort is being spearheaded entirely by your volunteer board of directors, eleven acupuncturists who, like you, care about the safety of patients and the future of acupuncture in our state. You may be receiving a call from a board member asking for your support. We also need help making calls to the 1400 acupuncturists in the state. If you would like to help in this effort, please contact me or Fundraising Chair (and President Emeritus) Scott Richardson at fundraisingchair@acucol.com or 720-974-0392.
Thank you to so many of you who have already committed to support this effort, we have a real opportunity to set a national precedent that protects patients and the future of acupuncture in Colorado and beyond. Along with the AAC, the mission of the CSAA is to work with newly licensed acupuncturists and acupuncture students to promote, encourage and advocate for the safe and effective practice of acupuncture in Colorado in a manner that protects public health and safety. If you would like to become a member of the Colorado Safe Acupuncture Association, please contact Kristin Grayce McGary at safe.needles@gmail.com or (928) 213-4311.
I look forward to working with you on this, and to seeing you at our 34th annual conference in April for an awesome seminar with Kiiko Matsumoto! And as always, thank you for your membership and continued support.
Kimberley Benjamin, L.Ac., Dipl. OM
President, AAC Board of Directors
President@acucol.com
(970) 214-6683
Registration is Now Open for Kiiko Matsumoto at the 34th annual AAC Conference in Westminster April 22-23, 2017!
Stephanie Shober Kiiko Matsumoto
The AAC is pleased to announce that registration is now open for Kiiko Matsumoto at our 34th annual conference April 22nd and 23rd, 2017 at the Westminster Marriott. Her two-day seminar is entitled Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and 9-Star Energy (14 NCCAOM PDA / California CEU pending).
Kiiko Matsumoto was the most requested presenter in the AAC’s 2016 conference attendee evaluations, so we were very happy to make this happen. Additionally, this year our conference will have two 9-foot by 12-foot presentation screens showing live video of Kiiko for all of her instruction and demonstrations to ensure all attendees can easily see what is happening onstage. We have been able to arrange for this audio/visual upgrade and still offer an AAC-member registration fee that is more than $100 less than the usual fee for a Kiiko Matsumoto seminar.
About the class:
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is an area of the brain that has recently been the subject of research in chronic pain conditions. Using fMRI imaging to study this part of the brain, Western Medicine researchers have shown that patients with chronic pain have less density in the DLPFC compared to healthy individuals. While the initial cause of the pain may be confined to the site of injury, i.e. low back or knee or wrist – this is where the person feels the pain – over time the communication between the area of injury and the brain becomes part of the chronic-pain-complex. Understanding this connection allows for new treatments and better understanding of chronic pain. In addition, this area also corresponds with mood disorders that often accompany chronic pain such as anxiety, fear and depression.
Using her research into the acupuncture points located in this area of the head, Kiiko Matsumoto found a strong connection between modern understanding of the DLPFC and Classical Chinese medicine. Looking into the etymological development of the ancient Chinese characters used to name points in the region of the DLPFC, she has been able to devise powerful and effective treatment strategies for a wide variety of chronic pain conditions. Through practical experience she also discovered a close relationship between the treatment of this area and changes in symptoms for patients with digestive disorders such as IBS, Crohn’s and more. During her workshop, she will share her discoveries and treatment strategies as well as demonstrate how to apply them.
Read more about Kiiko, the conference and registration here.
We are so excited for this conference, which will be a wonderful opportunity to connect with peers, get energized and learn amazing things. This conference is expected to sell out, so register early. I look forward to seeing you all there!
Kind regards,
Stephanie Shober, L.Ac., Dipl. OM
Conference Chair, AAC Board of Directors
conferencecomm@acucol.com
(303) 471-9355
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