The acupuncture in Italy / 全日本鍼灸学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

In Italy from the last postwar until now, especially in the 1990's, acupuncture and East Asian traditional medicine have been gradually increasing their popularity, together with other complementary and alternative medicine.<BR>Every year 4% of Italians receive a treatment of acupuncture and the number of doctors, who are practicing as acupuncturists, are approximately 15, 000. From a legal point of view, only medical doctors can practice acupuncture in Italy. The formal education in East Asian traditional medicine consists of a 4-year postgraduate course and there are 13 schools of acupuncture in the major cities of Italy. However a society of acupuncturists as a formal association of professionals does not exist at present.<BR>Acupuncture is practiced in approximately 122 public pain centers, and the national health insurance system covers acupuncture treatment in those centers. The most common conditions treated by acupuncture are rheumatic and musculoskeletal symptoms.<BR>Although some eminent researchers are known, the Italian level of research on acupuncture has been inferior to the European average.