Use of alternative treatment therapies have increased dramatically in the last ten to fifteen. Public awareness and acceptance of the efficacy of non traditional therapies by western medical practitioners has grown, and more people seek to distance themselves from the side effects of traditional drugs. The acceptance of alternative treatments is supported by the fact that many health insurers will now reimburse for prescribed non traditional treatments.

One of the more widely used alternative therapies is acupuncture. This therapy is over 5,000 years old and is purported to have originated in China. However, there is evidence that ancient societies of Egyptians, South African Bantu tribesmen, Arabs, Eskimos and Brazilian cannibals have used some version of this therapy with sharp stones, bamboo and fish bones. The current form of acupuncture most often practiced uses ultra fine needles. In 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved of the use of acupuncture needles for licensed practitioners with the requirement that the needles be sterile, nontoxic and disposed of after single use.

The major use of acupuncture today is for the relief of pain from tension headaches, migraines, acute backaches, sports injuries, post surgery pain and toothaches. Other uses include treatment of digestive disorders, respiratory problems including asthma, bronchitis, and sinus infection, allergies and heart problems.