A growing number of acupuncturists are trading qi and channel theory for neuroanatomy — point selection based on nerve pathways instead of meridians. It’s a genuinely strong framework for pain. Here’s what it gains, what it risks losing, and where that leaves qi.
My degree says "Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine" — but I introduce myself as a doctor of East Asian Medicine. Here's why that distinction isn't just semantics, and why it's part of a bigger pattern in how American medicine decides what counts as legitimate.
