In New Mexico, acupuncture [0] may no longer be an easy add-on to chiropractic treatment. Today the Board of Chiropractor Examiners is considering a proposal that would require chiropractors licensed after July 1, 2005 to pass the Chiropractic Acupuncture Examination.

In New Mexico, the acupuncture-like treatment that chiropractors perform is often called “meridian therapy.” If the proposal is approved it will be renamed “chiropractic acupuncture.” According to the Albuquerque Tribune [1], New Mexico is the only state that does not already use this wording.

Opponents of the proposal are concerned that it will allow inexperienced practitioners to perform acupuncture. The Chiropractic Examination is said to require between 100 and 200 hours of study, while the clinical education program at an acupuncture school like Southwest Acupuncture College [2] tops out around 1,095 hours of observation and training.

The solution lies in the anti-supermarket theory. Instead of buying cheese, meat and vegetables at one location — with the risk of compromised freshness of one or more items — make the time to visit the cheese shop, the butcher and the farmer's market.

My acupuncturist was recommended by my chiropractor.

(Photo: American Academy of Medical Acupuncture)