Acupuncture Careers: Acupuncture Research and Private Practice
We talked with Ayla Wolf, LAc, DAOM & Sophia Bouwens, LAc about the acupuncture research careers they’ve built, specializing in neurology.
Dr. Ayla Wolf and Sophia Bouwens both work in private practice at Dr. Wolf’s clinic: Healing Response Acupuncture and Functional Neurology. There, they focus on neurological care. They specialize in care for strokes, traumatic brain injuries and concussions, migraines, and post-COVID. However, they also do so much more. Both engage in acupuncture research. Dr. Wolf is an associate professor at the Carrick Institute. Sophia sees patients at HealthPartners Rehabilitation St. Paul Neuroscience Center. Recently, they also launched a podcast: Life After Impact: The Concussion Recovery Podcast.
For Dr. Wolf, the combination of seeing patients and contributing to research and education is critical.
It’s important to have acupuncturists who are practicing every day and seeing real-world scenarios take part in research and guide the direction of research,” she explained.
“Even though we may get excellent clinical results, that is only seen as anecdotal evidence in the eyes of mainstream medicine, unless we have peer-reviewed clinical research to also back it up.”
Acupuncture Research on Post-Concussion Chronic Headache
In October, Dr. Ayla and Sophia were part of a team of researchers that published a pilot study. They assessed the safety of utilizing acupuncture for chronic post-traumatic headaches, and the difference in outcomes between one and two treatments per week. The results? Both groups showed an average of eight less headache days per month.
Dr. Wolf shared that another study reported 87% of patients were dissatisfied with their current treatment for post-traumatic headache. The successful results of the pilot study, and the demonstrated need for better outcomes, give Dr. Wolf, who designed the acupuncture treatment protocol, hope for future funding. “We are currently in meetings with Dr. Amanda Hermann at HealthPartners Rehabilitation St. Paul Neuroscience Center (the lead researcher on this study) to seek funding for larger studies utilizing the same acupuncture protocol used in this trial.”
This research is important for the wider medical community, but also for acupuncturists who treat post-traumatic headaches. Recently, Dr. Hermann presented the research at the Society for Acupuncture Research International Research Conference.
The Results of Collaborating with Medical Professionals
Sophia, who was instrumental in collaborating with the Neuroscience Center and performing treatments, has committed much of her career to educating and building relationships with medical professionals. “I think research in this field is paramount to better understanding how to influence our systems to balance, helping discover deeper understanding of body system functions and relations, and addressing big healthcare disparities and limitations at large in our U.S. system,” said Sophia.
“Acupuncture is still very much a mystery to many medical professionals,” commented Dr. Wolf. “Working alongside medical professionals is the best way to build these bridges of understanding and collaboration. Sophia Bouwens has been working tirelessly in her position at the Neuroscience Center to educate other medical professionals on the neurological underpinnings of acupuncture. She has presented at numerous educational round tables within the institution. As a result, she has really opened people’s eyes to the scientific basis of acupuncture, particularly for neurological disorders. Now she has a six-month waiting list at the hospital to show for it!”
Acupuncture and Functional Neurology
Both Dr. Wolf and Sophia trained at the Carrick Institute, where Dr. Wolf is now a faculty member. How does that fit with acupuncture?
“Functional neurology has always been inter-disciplinary in its approach to the nervous system,” said Dr. Wolf.
Acupuncture is simply one tool that is available to provide input into the nervous system to elicit a change in function and output. It has a particularly profound effect on autonomic functioning through its ability to modulate activity in the insular cortex, a region of the brain also important when it comes to chronic pain.
Functional neurology is an evidence-based and interdisciplinary field with a focus on sensory integration. One of the goals is to understand how the brain interprets signals from the environment. It looks at how the brain responds with an autonomic or motor response—appropriately or inappropriately.
Dr. Wolf is the only acupuncturist on faculty. However, she hopes more acupuncturists will integrate functional neurology in their practices, “Chinese medicine is and has always been a functional form of medicine. Learning functional neurology and having foundational knowledge of the nervous system has allowed me to examine patients in a much more comprehensive way, and show objective markers of change after treatments .”
The Impact of Acupuncture Research for Patients
At the end of the day, the research, teaching, and collaboration is in support of patients. Sophia, who has personal experience with traumatic brain injury, knows this all too well. “I’m interested in the social/global health implications as much as I am the neuro/physiological ones,” she shared. “It sounds like a big leap, but I honestly think if we look at the larger effects of acupuncture through a Systems Based Research lens; Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) could have impacts that span behind individual physical health; to social and public health arenas like lowering domestic violence rates.”
For Dr. Wolf, supporting patients was the major motivation for starting the podcast. “One of the most valuable gifts I have been able to offer my patients is information on why they are experiencing their symptoms, what tests need to be performed, and what treatment options are available. The book and podcast are my desire to get that information to more people worldwide.”
First, she wrote a soon-to-be-published book called Concussion Breakthrough: Discover the Missing Pieces to Recovery. The book is a troubleshooting guide for people looking for answers on post-concussion syndrome. “Knowing that many people with post-concussion syndrome have difficulty with their visual system and suffer from cognitive fatigue, I recognized that reading a book isn’t feasible for everyone,” she reflected. “I decided to start a podcast where we could take different topics and concepts from the book and bring them to life in a conversational way. The goal is ultimately to provide actionable information to people with post-concussion syndrome who are looking for answers.”