On April 24, Dr. Carmela Osborne of Methodist Rehabilitation Center’s Pain and Spine Center in Flowood will present a free one-hour seminar about acupuncture therapy and its emerging role in pain management.

“It works very well for patients who might not be tolerant of certain medications or have not responded to other treatments,” said Osborne, a board-certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation physician who administers the acupuncture therapies.

The seminar will be held at 6 p.m. at Table 100 in Flowood, and hopes to demystify the centuries-old Eastern medical practice that has been more widely accepted in recent years as a complement to traditional Western medicine.

“We use acupuncture as a complementary approach at Methodist,” Osborne explains.  “Many patients benefit from physical therapy, from injections, from a multitude of the services that we offer. We offer acupuncture in addition to those treatments, for a comprehensive approach to pain management."

Osborne is one of a select group of physicians to be approved to perform acupuncture by the Mississippi Board of State Licensure.

“The benefit of having an M.D. perform acupuncture is that I also know patients’ other medical problems and the conditions that they have and how my treatment can interconnect with their other treatments,” Osborne said.

During the seminar, Dr. Osborne will share insights into the acupuncture process and offer examples of how effective the procedure can be. There will also be a demonstration and comments from recent patients who have experienced significant results through acupuncture.

“My very first acupuncture patient was a gentleman who had previous back surgery, and had chronic back pain since the 1970s that he rated at an eight on a one to 10 scale,” Osborne said.

That patient, Charles McAlpin, a former heavy equipment operator, pilot, police officer and self-professed “jack of all trades,” will be on hand at the seminar to share his story.

“I had just about tried everything that can be tried,” McAlpin said of his struggle with chronic pain so intense he had come to rely on a cane for walking. “I was eating pain pills like candy.”

After being referred by his rheumatologist to Dr. Osborne at Methodist Rehab, McAlpin learned that she was going to attend acupuncture training in California.

“I said, I tell you what I’ll do, I’ll wait till you get back, and let’s try that,” said McAlpin, who lives near the town of Oak Grove, La.

Osborne said that McAlpin has seen “dramatic improvement.”

“He’s had a series of acupuncture treatments, and he currently rates his pain as a zero to a one,” Osborne said. “He walks without a cane, and he’s gone from taking three to four pain pills a day to one on occasion.”

“I can walk on my own two feet again,” McAlpin said, adding he only takes pills now after particularly trying days working on his farm. “My life’s better on account of it.”

Those interested in attending the seminar are asked to register in advance by calling 601-936-8801. For more information on Methodist Pain and Spine Center, visit www.methodistpainmanagement.org.