June 30: The boy was just 8, but he suffered from Crohn’s disease, a painful intestinal inflammation. He was on medication, but struggled with frequent headaches, one of the potential side effects of the treatments.
Dr Lixing Lao, a licensed acupuncturist and director of the traditional Chinese medicine research program at the University of Maryland’s Center for Integrative Medicine, suggested acupuncture to the boy and his parents.

They agreed to try it and after a series of weekly treatments, the child noted a dramatic drop in pain. “In the beginning, it was done once a week for several months,” Lao remembers. “When the condition was controlled, it was less frequent.” Eventually, the boy didn’t need acupuncture to control the pain. Lao is one of a growing number of acupuncturists and other health-care providers who offer the ancient Chinese therapy to children. Bureau Report