In 1971, acupuncture gained popularity in the United States when James Reston, then
editor of the New York Times, traveling with President Richard Nixon was treated in China
with acupuncture to relieve postoperative pain after an appendicitis operation. Upon
returning to the United States, he began publishing articles about this method. Today,
most states offer programs that allow prospective practitioners in acupuncture to receive
licenses that qualify them to serve the public. Many insurance companies also cover this
treatment and there are now programs available for practitioners to earn a Doctorate in the
practice of Traditional Oriental Medicine, which would qualify them as full doctors, just like
Western medical doctors.
As with Western medicine, Traditional Oriental Medicine has a varied number of disciplines
and styles of treatment within those disciplines. A newly re-discovered discipline that is
very effective in treating patient’s is called ‘Sa Sang Constitutional Medicine’. This theory
was formulated by Dr. Je Ma Lee around the end of the 19th century and put into practice
with great success. It involves diagnosing the patient’s ‘constitution’, which can be
described as a person’s body type. Dr. Lee’s technique identifies four constitutions, which
is the literal meaning of ‘sa sang’. The four constitutions are called ‘tae-eum’, ‘so-eum’,
‘tae-yang’, and ‘so-yang’. Each constitution has its own predilection for certain diseases,
ailments and mental states. These constitutions are not set in stone, that is to say, even
among the four constitutions there are variations. We are, after all, individuals with unique
traits.