In 1999, he undertook professional training in medical acupuncture and has incorporated the therapy into his family practice in at the SIU Family Practice Center in Quincy, Illinois. Acupuncture bases its approach on maintaining harmony of the body's life forces. It is used to treat more than 200 different diseases and conditions, including stroke, heart attack, asthma, infertility, addiction withdrawl and chronic fatigue. While some acupuncturists may extol the spiritual experience of acupuncture, Dr. Arnold prefers the objective, scientific perspective of a physician. Medical acupuncture is a very well-disciplined approach with extremely rigid parameters of treatment.
Acupuncture is an art, but it has scientific data to support it.
Before treating with acupuncture, Dr. Arnold educates patients about it and gives them a thorough physical exam to assess their likelihood of positive response to the procedure. Then, he designs an acupuncture plan for patients based on their medical history and symptoms. Some acupuncturists, he explains, design plans based on a patient's personality and preferences for things like weather, flavors and colors. Others examine the tongue as a kind of road map for internal organs. The typical therapy involves 10-30 thin, sterile, stainless steel acupuncture needles of varying lengths that are inserted into specific acupuncture points on the body, just millimeters beneath the skin.