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About Mary Zhang
 

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Interest is Growing in Alternative Health Care

Acupuncturist sees new acceptance of ancient practice

 

by Su Bacon
The KC Star
Tuesday, April 30, 2002

 

 

Mary Zhang knows that she is often a last resort for many who come to her.

 

When they’ve tried everything else and nothing works, then they come here,” Zhang said.

 

Zhang is an acupuncturist who practices at Robin Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center – Your Wellness Connection, in Merriam. (as of 2006, Mary practices at her own clinic, Mary Zhang Chinese Medicine Clinic, Inc.)

 

Zhang use acupuncture and herbal medicine to treat patients for asthma, headaches, bronchitis, indigestion, infertility, pain, anxiety, depression and other disorders.

 

Acupuncture is the Chinese practice of healing by stimulating tiny points on the surface of the body with a needle, electrical current or laser.  About 5,000 years ago, Chinese physicians founded acupuncture based on their discovery of an energy network beneath the skin.  The energy works in harmony with the circulatory, nervous, digestive and muscular system and other systems of the body.

 

When the energy flow is disrupted, the body reacts with discomfort.

 

“I use acupuncture to open the blocked energy,” Zhang said.

 

Zhang spent six years studying acupuncture in China and holds a diploma from the national Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.  She came to the United States nine years ago and said her practice has become increasingly busy of the years.

 

Acupuncture is gaining acceptance because it works, said Richard Yennie, founder and president of the Acupuncture Society of America in Kansas City.

 

“Acupuncture is sweeping the country as a way to lose weight, stop smoking and treat more than 2,000 health problems,” he said.

 

Yennie said he sees 80 to 90 patients a day and teaches acupuncture as a postgraduate course to medical doctors, chiropractors, dentists and veterinarians in the Kansas City area.

 

Yennie turned a personal interest in acupuncture into a professional practice more than 50 years ago when he was working in Japan as a language interpreter.  During a judo tournament, Yennie suffered a back and leg injury that landed him in the hospital with intense pain.

 

His judo instructor brought an acupuncturist to his bedside.  Five days later, Yennie walked out. 

 

When he first began his practice, Yennie said there were no acupuncture schools or requirements to practice.

 

“Today, 45 states have passed acupuncture practice acts, including Missouri,” Yennie said.