Medical acupuncture is now available in the Sports & Orthopedic Care Clinic at Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Wyoming. Kevin Chatwin, M.D., a family medicine specialist who has worked at Fairview Lakes Medical Center for more than 10 years, is now offering medical acupuncture every Wednesday throughout the summer months, beginning on June 25,  with plans to expand that practice in the fall.

A long-time emergency department physician at Fairview Lakes Medical Center, Dr. Chatwin obtained his training in acupuncture through an intensive Stanford/UCLA-sponsored course at the Helms Medical Institute. The focus of the program is to provide physicians with training in acupuncture and all of its potential applications.

"I emphasize the physician acupuncturist component," he adds, "as most practitioners of acupuncture are not medical doctors but rather have significantly less training and often no training in traditional medicine."

Medical acupuncture involves therapeutic insertion of solid needles into the body in various combinations and patterns. The choice of needle patterns can be based on traditional principles or on modern concepts of neuroanatomical medicine.

"My intention is to see patients primarily with acute and chronic pain concerns," said Dr. Chatwin. Types of problems that may benefit from acupuncture include, but are not limited to:

• Acute and chronic neck and low back pain
• Joint pains due to trauma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Myofascial pain problems, trigger points and fibromyalgia
• And, after an appropriate work up, chronic abdominal/pelvic pain may also be improved by acupuncture.

Cost of acupuncture visits is based on time. Reimbursement is dependent on individual insurance coverage. When contacting their insurance carriers, patients should ask about acupuncture when performed by a medical doctor.

To make an appointment with Dr. Chatwin, call the Fairview Sports & Orthopedic Care Clinic, 651-982-7800