In the Media

Acupuncture Center

Practiced in Mid-Cities area since 1985     

Home | Bulletin Board | About Us | Acupuncture | Service and Treatment | Insurance | Testimonials

Case Studies | Herbs | In the Media | Articles | Related Links | FAQ | Contact Us | New Patient Form

 

[ In the Media ]

 

 

ABC Evening News "Healthy Her", Herbology, 11/13/2006  (TOP)

Healthy Her: Herbology

"Herbs and their power to help you fight the flu, depression and even improve your fertility!"

          

Reporter: Today we are looking at the effects of herbs.  It's not main stream modern medicine, but supporters of herbology said it works for everything, from the common cold to depression, and even fertility.  And its root goes back thousand of years.

Mrs. Garrett has two very good reasons to believe in herbology — a two-year-old girl and a two-month-old boy.

Garrett turned to a certified herbologist, Dr. Chernly, after years of trying to have a baby and thousands of dollars spent on infertility treatments.

Garrett: "He put me on a three-month plan.  I think the first two weeks I went to the clinic twice a week and after that I went once a week.  And all I was taking were the herbs and vitamins, which was everything they are giving to me and suggesting."

Reporter: Garrett was skeptical at first trying something so untraditional. 

Garrett: "I didn't know what to expect.  And at the time he said he had about ten patients that he was treating for that."

Reporter: Any doubts she had were quickly gone.

Garrett: "And about a month later, I went in for my appointment and said 'I am pregnant!!'"

Reporter: Infertility (Fertility Formula) is one of many reasons herbs are used for.  St. John Wort is used for many years to treat mild depression. 

Dr. Chernly: "This kind of herb (Pueraria Flu Formula) is good for the cold."

Reporter: From the flu to sinus (Nasal Cleanser) and bronchitis (Lung Cleanser), herbs have been used to heal the sick for centuries, long before the local drug store open its door. 

Dr. Chernly: "Without herbs, we don't have contemporary, modern drugs.  Sixty to seventy percent of the modern drugs were originated from those herbs."

Reporter: Herbology isn't the main stream and it's often dismissed by the traditional doctor.  But its supporters are growing.

Garrett: "First time I thought it may be a coincident.  But even if it was a coincidence, the other more main stream type things did not work.  But when it worked the second time, so quickly, I was so sure!!"

(See Garrett's Testimony)


        

Page 2A The Courier, 02/25/2005  (TOP)

Acupuncture: Another Answer

"Western medicine didn't make me well. Chinese medicine did. I could make a bigger contribution to the U.S. by practicing Chinese medicine."

~ Dr. Chung-Hwei Chernly, Acupuncturist.

By Leslie Rigoulot

A recent medical study found that acupuncture is better than drugs alone for the treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee. Since knee pain affects almost one-tenth of the population over the age of 55, this study has garnered international attention.

Dr. Chung-Hwei Chernly isn’t surprised, but also isn’t in need of a British Medical Journal study to tell him what he already knows. “It is nice to have your beliefs confirmed, but I have over 15,000 patients who tell me the same thing and more,” said the Hurst doctor.

“I studied Western Medicine in Taiwan,” said Chernly, a native of that country. “I suffered with back and leg pain from the time I was 19 until I was 32. I thought Western medicine would help. I had different diagnoses from a ruptured disk to pinched nerve.”

Chernly, who became a flight surgeon in the Taiwanese Air Force, eventually sought out a friend from medical school and pressed his friend to perform surgery. “He didn’t want to do it because it doesn’t always work,” Chernly said.

His mother reminded him about acupuncture and he decided to give it a try before finding another surgeon. “After couple months, all the symptoms were gone.” Chernly said. “I was so impressed, because even with the pain medicine, the pain had always been there as an undercurrent. Now it was gone.”

Using a research grant from his medical school, he began to study acupuncture in Taiwan. “People were skeptical, but I had had 13 years of pain. There were no MRIs back then. [My desire] to study acupuncture was based on my own functionality.”

In 1979, Chernly came to the United States for advanced studies at what is now the UT Southwest Medical Center. After his studies were finished he had a choice to make. “Western medicine didn’t make me well,” he said. “Chinese medicine did. I could make a bigger contribution to the U.S. by practicing Chinese medicine.”

There wasn’t any licensing set up in Texas at the time so he had be sponsored by a medical doctor and have a license from another state. In 1992 when Texas laws changed, Dr. Chung-Hwei Chernly received acupuncture license No.00001.

“The United States is a great nation that is now accepting acupuncture, “Chernly said. “If it works, the people here will try it. I have over 90 percent success rate with pain control.”

“But the FDA, the AMA and some insurance companies will point to a few flawed studies to deny coverage,” Chernly added. “Everybody can shoot a basketball. But Michael Jordan is the one who gets results. The studies may not have used a skilled acupuncturist. The FDA doesn’t recognize acupuncture. And Medicare won’t cover acupuncture because the FDA won’t recognize it. And the insurance companies follow the Medicare guidelines.” Chernly shakes his head.

“I encourage more medical, chiropractic and osteopathic doctors to study acupuncture,” Chernly said. “People need this.”

Leslie Miner, a Grapevine chiropractor and acupuncturist, agrees. “I got into acupuncture when I was 25 and in pain. In ancient China, you paid your doctor to keep you healthy. You didn’t pay him if you got sick. In Western medicine, we only pay our doctors when we’re sick. We don’t pau anyone to keep us healthy, which is what we want to be,” she said with a laugh.

From AARP, May-June, 2004  (TOP)

Illustration by Francisco Caceres

Vetoing Surgery

By Melissa Gotthardt

How the jogger-in-chief can ease his knee pain

Presidential privilege doesn't extend to knees: George W. Bush recently became one of the 21 million Americans who suffer from osteoarthritis (OA). His trouble spot: his knees. Dubya's docs prescribed low-impact exercise—bicycling and swimming instead of his almost-daily running habit—and weight loss (dropping just 11 pounds can lower arthritis risk by 50 percent). More drastic remedies include total knee replacement, but some alternatives for the Prez or anyone with knee pain include:

Acupuncture

A National Institutes of Health (NIH) study found that twice-weekly acupuncture sessions reduced subjects' osteoarthritis-related knee pain by an average of 44 percent within eight weeks. In a small Scandinavian study, six months of acupuncture produced major improvements in range of motion and pain in OA sufferers facing total knee replacement. One-quarter of the patients decided to forgo surgery altogether. Initial treatments typically last 10 to 12 weeks.

Hyaluronic Acid (HA)

A synthetic form of a substance found in the knee, HA injections can improve lubrication and shock absorption. Several studies have found that it can reduce pain and increase mobility for six months or more. Recent Boston University research questioned its effectiveness, but "a significant number of studies they examined were done on preparations that are not used in the U.S.," says Louisiana orthopedist David Waddell, M.D. "If you look at the results relating to the drugs currently in use here, their effects are much more positive."

Glucosamine

Can't face the needle? Try capsules packing glucosamine, a substance extracted from shellfish. A similar remedy is chondroitin sulfate, which is extracted from animal cartilage. "They're both naturally present in human cartilage, so adding them to the diet might aid in regenerating new cartilage or repairing damaged tissue," says John H. Klippel, president of the Arthritis Foundation. Studies suggest the pain relief is similar to that provided by anti-inflammatory drugs (such as aspirin and ibuprofen), without the risks that come with long-term use (such as gastric bleeding and kidney damage). The NIH is currently studying the supplements, which are largely unregulated by the government, but that hasn't stopped Bush's doctors from putting him on the pills. Before you take them, ask your doctor for guidance (if you're allergic to shellfish, your doc may warn you off glucosamine). ConsumerLab.com, an independent testing group, recently found that several glucosamine and chondroitin products packed less than their purported dosage. To see how some popular brands rated go to ConsumerLab.com.

From Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 09/02/2001  (TOP)

Going Mainstream

By Cathy O'Neal

These days, who hasn’t heard of Echinacea to help fend off colds and flu, or the benefits of massage therapy? Stores are full of aromatherapy candles, and yoga has found a whole new group of enthusiasts.

According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of people using alternative, or complementary, therapies such as herbs, massage, megavitamins, folk remedies and homeopathy has risen from 33 percent in 1990 to 42 percent in recent years. NIH estimates that 75 out of 117 medical schools now offer courses in alternative remedies. In response, the NIH has established the Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and increased its budget from $2 million to $68 million-most of the money going into grants to research the effectiveness of complementary medicine.

Dr. Scott Stoll, associate professor and chairman of the department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center is the recipient of one of the NIH grants, Stoll’s charge is to develop a curriculum to train doctors to do clinical research into complementary medicine.

“A lot of the criticism of complementary medicine is that it’s not proven,” Stoll said, “but in reality, a lot of medicine that’s practiced and accepted falls into that category.”

The shift in attitudes about complementary medicine has resulted in greater option for working in the health care arena than ever before.

Cherie Quinn of the Wellspring Center in Fort Worth has been a massage therapist for 12 years. She remembers when she first started out and most of her referrals where from chiropractors. Now she gets clients referred to her from their medical doctors.

“They know the value now,” she said. “Plus people are more familiar with it and know people who have had it done before.”

Quinn said that prospects for acupuncturists in Texas are great, with approximately 400 licensed to practice in entire state, well behind other states, such as California. Most acupuncturists in Texas work in the Metroplex, Houston and Austin, where the schools are located. Quinn practices in outlying communities two days a week.

Business is also booming for Dr. Chun-Hwei Chernly, acupuncturist and herbal medicine specialist. Chernly said that while herbal remedies and other alternative medicine practices may seem like a new trend, they are based on practices that are thousands of years old.

“It is more like they have been refound,” Chernly said. “Billions of people have been helped who have failed with so-called traditional or conventional medicine.”

Chernly has certainly seen both sides of the complementary vs. traditional medicine issue. He studied Western medicine first, worked in a hospital and taught in a medical school. Then he began experiencing back pain from a herniated disk. He knew about acupuncture, but didn’t try it, turning to pain pills instead. He even scheduled surgery to try and correct his chronic back pain. Before the surgery, he decided to try acupuncture, and in two months, his pain was gone.

“It was shocking,” Chearnly said. “I couldn’t imagine it could happen. I went back to acupuncture school in Taiwan, and I’ve been doing acupuncture for 25 years now.”

Chernly’s Texas license is No.AC00001---the first acupuncture license issued in Texas.

Teaching yoga doesn’t require a certification, although there are certifications available. Jefferson said that there is plenty of opportunity in the field, with yoga instructors working at recreation centers and health clubs. He has also been approached by corporations that want to include yoga as part of their employee wellness programs.

From The Dallas Morning News, 08/05/2000  (TOP)

Integrating Health Care:

Network of nontraditional providers helps lower price

 

The Dallas Morning News: Irwin Thompson

Dr. Chung Hwei Chernly works at the Acupuncture Center. "I've seen so many people who are really suffering, and they ... pay full price out of pocket in order to get relief, even though they have health insurance," he said,

By Amy Roquemore

SOUTHLAKE -Southlake resident Jim Jones must share some of the credit fort the idea behind his nontraditional healthcare provider network with, of all things, a desktop copier.

In 1994, while attempting to move a copier at the insurance agency he was running at the time, Mr. Jones sustained a serious back injury that rendered him incapable of almost ant physical activity. He was diagnosed with two bulging disks and encouraged to undergo major surgery.

“The doctor basically said I had two options,” recalled Mr. Jones, 39. “I could walk around like I was 80 years old for the rest of my life or I could have the surgery.”

He opted for the surgery.

But at a friend’s urging at the last minute, he visited an acupuncturist (Dr. Chernly). He say after two treatments, costing a total of $150, his symptoms disappeared. No longer able to justify undergoing the invasive procedure, he cancelled the surgery.

To this surprise, his health insurance company, which had been prepared to pay up to $20,000 for the back surgery, refused to reimburse Mr. Jones for even a portion of the acupuncture treatments.

“It was that whole experience that made me realize there was a real market for this type of health care,” he said.

Mr. Jones spent the next several years researching the benefits of many forms of holistic and alternative health care, including acupuncture, midwifery, chiropractic services and message therapy, which are typically not covered by traditional health insurance providers. In 1999, he formed his company, Holistic Healthnet Inc., which provides its members with discounted holistic and alternative health care services through a large network of practitioners in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Membership in the network is available to individuals and their families, as well as companies providing health care coverage for their employees. Holistic Healthnet also offers products, such as herbs, vitamins and supplements, to its members as a discounted price.

Mr. Jones is quick to say his health care network is not meant to replace traditional health care coverage. Rather, it is designed to be used in concert with member’s primary medical insurance.

“We keep trying to find a solution to our nation’s health care crisis,” he said. “And I think part of the solution is to have more than one option for treating injury or sickness. What we are doing at Holistic Healthnet is giving people another option.

“What we’re really doing is promoting the nitration of traditional and holistic and alternative health care.”

From Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 01/30/2000  (TOP)

Acupuncture pinpoints a spot for wellness center

Alternative health services are well-received in Northeast Tarrant, Hurst doctor says.

By Karen Brooks

Catering to a clientele that likes its health food and day spas, a well-known, acupuncturist is opening an ambitious wellness clinic in one of Northeast Tarrant County’s most affluent areas.

Dr. Chung-Hwei Chernly, who operates the Acupuncture Center on Grapevine Highway at the border of Hurst and Colleyville, plans to bring reflexologists, herbologist, licensed massage therapists, educational outreach and physical, speech and respiratory therapy to a new 20,000 square-foot building down the street in Hurst.

The $1.5 million center, which will have classrooms and 12 to 15 treatment rooms, is scheduled to break ground in February as Canaan Plaza at 701 Grapevine Highway. Construction is expected to be complete by September.

Chernly, who taught medical school in China before arriving in Texas in the late 1970’s, will be joined in the venture by Dr. Shirley Wang, an acupuncturist who practices with him at his current location.

Acupuncture relies on the body’s natural processes to promote healing and encourage health, experts say. Needles are inserted in specific places known as energy channels, or “meridians,” that connect one body part to another. An area of the hand, for example, might be used to treat a headache.

Colleyville city officials said the area market for this type of enterprise couldn’t be better.

Chernly, 55, already has a following in Hurst, where he sees about 300 patients a month at his 1800-square-foot office at 124 Grapevine Highway. Neighbor Colleyville is home to one of the area’s most prominent nutrition stores, Health Approach Market, as well as to chiropractors, massage therapists and day spas that offer the latest in skin care.

In Colleyville, where the average household income tops Northeast Tarrant at $139,000 a year and where home prices average close to $230,000, the more trendy, expensive health services are generally well-received, said Mike Soab, city economic development director. Although acupuncture isn’t always expensive, its image places it among many forms of treatments that aren’t covered by private insurance policies

“Not only do our people want to use these types of nutrition and health services, but they can afford to pay for it,” Soab said. “For the last 10 years or so, since Colleyville’s emergence as a high-income area, people have wanted these services but they’ve been driving to Dallas or Fort Worth or getting on a plane to Scottsdale to get it.”

Chernly accepts most insurance policies, so he treats people from all walks of life, he said. But people who are younger, more affluent and better educated often are more open to treatments other than traditional Western medicine, Chernly said.

“Acupuncture works so well, but in this society, people don’t think it’s mainstream,” he said, “And so they miss a great chance to be well.”

Chernly, a nationally certified acupuncturist and Chinese herbologist, retired as a captain and flight surgeon for the Chinese air force in 1977 and taught physiology at National Yang-Ming Medical School in Taipei, Taiwan, for two years. He came to Texas in 1979 and attended Southwest Medical School in San Antonio until 1981. He worked in the pathology department at Pioneer Park Hospital in Irving until 1985.

That year, Chernly became the first licensed acupuncture in Texas at opened the Acupuncture Center in Arlington. He moved the business to Hurst in 1991.

Chernly said be mixes his training in Western medicine with ancient Chinese treatments to battle problems ranging from smoking and obesity to chronic pain, stress and allergies.

Many of his patients are referred to him by more traditional doctors, especially patients who suffer from arthritis or from nausea caused by chemotherapy. About 30 percent of Chernly’s patients are from out of state, he said.

General practitioners and researchers in traditional Western medical circles still harbor reservations about the efficacy of acupuncture, but the practice has been steadily gaining popularity the past decade.

Acupuncture today may be closer to chiropractors in terms of mainstream acceptance. They have moved past their early, mystical reputation.

The National Institutes of Health in Maryland released a report three years ago stating that emerging evidence shows that acupuncture can be beneficial for patients suffering from nausea. Four years ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved acupuncture needles for use by general practitioners.

The same could be said about many alternative to traditional treatments and prescriptions, as Chad Bradford has noticed during his two years working at a Colleyville health store.

Bradford, and assistant manager at Healthy Approach, said he sees a difference between his customers there and those he encountered at the company’s Sunflower Store in west Fort Worth.

Health Approach customers ask more detailed questions, indicating that they are more conscious of herbal supplements and health food, Bradford said. They tend to be more knowledgeable about trendy treatments such as eliminating wheat from the diet to battle chronic sinus and allergy troubles.

A testament to the popularity of such services is the success of Healthy Approach, which sells food and supplements. After six years at its current location the store is preparing to expand to 2 ½ times its size, Bradford said.

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, his love endures forever. (Psalm 118:29)

你們要稱謝耶和華,因祂本為善,祂的慈愛永遠長存。(詩篇118:29)

All rights reserved © Acupuncture Center