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Oprah Says
YES to Acupuncture
Angela says she's
been suffering with shoulder pain for a long time. She's seen doctors, had
X-rays and tried massage, but nothing has worked. She's now considering
acupuncture, but wants Dr. Oz to weigh in.
Just a few years ago, many Western doctors would have written off acupuncture
and other "alternative" medicines. Now, Dr. Oz says acupuncture could
make sense for Angela. "Here's the irony—acupuncture has been around for
2,500 years in
Dr. Oz introduces her to acupuncturist Daniel Hsu, who takes Angela backstage
for a full acupuncture treatment on her pained shoulder. Will it work? Keep
reading to find out!
While Angela's
trying this ancient therapy, Dr. Oz explains the science behind acupuncture. Everyone
knows that acupuncture involves sticking needles into your skin, but how might
that cure what ails you? Dr. Oz says the needles stimulate endorphins and
serotonin in your brain—natural chemicals that regulate pleasure and mood.
"But let's broaden the discussion, because it's not just about
acupuncture," Dr. Oz says. "The reason I'm so excited and passionate
about alternative medicine is … [because it is] the globalization of
medicine."
Alternative medicines, Dr. Oz says, deal with the body's energy—something that
traditional Western medicine generally does not. "We're beginning now to
understand things that we know in our hearts are true but we could never
measure," he says. "As we get better at understanding how little we
know about the body, we begin to realize that the next big frontier … in
medicine is energy medicine. It's not the mechanistic part of the joints moving.
It's not the chemistry of our body. It's understanding for the first time how
energy influences how we feel."
Oprah is ready to
take a step toward the frontier of medicine…but she's a little scared of the
whole needle part. Daniel was ready to ease her fears. "The needles
that [Daniel] is going to use would actually fit through the hole in the needle
that they use to take the blood from your arm," Dr. Oz says.
"Acupuncture
treats any condition from allergies to, obviously, pain to gastrointestinal
issues—a wide range of chronic diseases," Daniel says.
Oprah doesn't suffer from those particular ailments, so Daniel recommends a
wellness acupuncture treatment, which will help boost Oprah's immune system.
This normally requires about 10 needles, he says, and the positive effects will
be felt anywhere from 20 minutes to days afterwards.
"It's really not bad," Oprah says. "It's not as bad as getting
your ears pierced, I'll tell you that."
The results are in!
After a dozen needles were put in targeted places, Angela returns to the stage
to report on how she feels.
"I'm on cloud nine," she says. "I feel rejuvenated. The pain
that I had was a constant radiating pain, and I don't feel it. Literally, I
don't feel it. I feel wonderful."
Angela says she's ready for more acupuncture treatments, too. This is good
because Daniel says she'll need a few more sessions to really cure her
shoulder. "The key is to have a few treatments back-to-back-to-back so it
builds up on itself," he says. "Eventually she'll have no pain at all."