Gut. 2002 Nov; 51(5): 617-9.

Acupuncture for gastrointestinal disorders: myth or magic.

Sung JJ.

Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Chinese University of Hong Kong. [email protected]

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine and conventional Western medicine appeared to be two unrelated and uncompromising paradigms. The history of acupuncture can be traced back for more than 2500 years but today we can use advanced technology to understand ancient healing methods. Acupuncture should not be used to compete with efficacious treatment modalities that are already available in conventional Western medicine. Exploration of its clinical applications should focus on conditions for which conventional medicine can find no satisfactory remedy.