I am not suggesting that we start making western medicine and research our gold standard - too many of you do that already, and we really don't need the validation of non-acupuncturists to validate our medicine. What we need for that is our observations and results from our own patients and our own clinics.
Western research that proves acupuncture's validity has only ever mattered for two reasons - to get insurance companies to pay for specific conditions like low back pain, and for marketing/patient management (same thing). It has never made a difference in my protocol or point selection, or how I take care of someone.
Check out my vlog post about the subject.
