Acupuncture has won medical acceptance

I LIE down on the table at Wellspace Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sighing in grateful anticipation as my long-time acupuncturist, Jen Forrest Evans, goes to work. Some days, she gently pokes needles into my chronically tight lower back. Other days, she focuses on my pesky sinuses. Still other days – the best ones – the goal is a general tune-up of my qi, the Chinese term for vital (and sometimes, not vital enough) energy.  

This ancient Chinese technique of sticking needles into the skin to relieve pain, nausea and many other ills never fails to make me feel better – more mellow and more energised. I used to think this lovely state was mostly due to the placebo effect.