Dr. Kitty Wong-Robertson has hung up her shingle, so to speak, to practice a medical specialty new to Pratt but documented for 5,000 years in China.
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are considered to be alternative treatment in the United States, but in Asia, Western medicine and the old ways have achieved a balance.
“In Asia we combine them together,” Wong-Robertson said. She emphasized that she will never advocate that a person abandon treatments prescribed by a doctor or that they not seek medical treatment.
A graduate of Kansas College of Chinese Medicine in Wichita, Wong-Robertson is the tenth person in Kansas to be licensed in Oriental medicine. She will see patients on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Therapeutic Massage Office at 101 S. Iuka.
“She’s a very good fit for what we’re doing here,” said Cheryl Kumberg, a registered nurse and massage therapist. “A lot of people from Pratt drive elsewhere for Oriental medicine. You probably can’t find a qualified Chinese doctor between here and Colorado.”
Kumberg first became acquainted with Oriental medicine while visiting an aunt in California.
“It’s wonderful,” she believes.
Wong-Robertson will use acupuncture — stimulating the meridians of the body with thin needles that vary in length from half an inch to about three inches. She illustrated meridians as lines that lead throughout the body that control the various organs. What she described is foreign to the Western mind; what people need to know, she said, is “they come here, they feel better.”
Acupuncture doesn’t cure a disease but is useful for pain management, she said, mentioning arthritis, back pain, headache and fibromyalgia. It is a holistic approach, treating both symptoms and underlying emotional issues. For example, she said, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) may be triggered by the emotions.
Wong-Robertson also uses herbal products that are different from the ones found in pharmacy sections of local stores. Herbs can make Western medicine work better; a calming influence from an herbal tea can enhance traditional blood pressure medications.
There is some acceptance of Oriental medicine in the medical community, Wong-Robertson said.
Cynthia Strohl, a therapist at Therapeutic Massage Office, went to the same school as Wong-Robertson and “advertised the city of Pratt,” Kumberg said. She predicted that patients will come from other areas to see the Oriental doctor, eat lunch and go shopping.
“It’s going to be good for everybody,” she believes. “It’s a win-win.”
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Dr. Kitty Wong-Robertson has hung up her shingle, so to speak, to practice a medical specialty new to Pratt but documented for 5,000 years in China.
Acupuncture and Oriental medicine are considered to be alternative treatment in the United States, but in Asia, Western medicine and the old ways have achieved a balance.
“In Asia we combine them together,” Wong-Robertson said. She emphasized that she will never advocate that a person abandon treatments prescribed by a doctor or that they not seek medical treatment.
A graduate of Kansas College of Chinese Medicine in Wichita, Wong-Robertson is the tenth person in Kansas to be licensed in Oriental medicine. She will see patients on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Therapeutic Massage Office at 101 S. Iuka.
“She’s a very good fit for what we’re doing here,” said Cheryl Kumberg, a registered nurse and massage therapist. “A lot of people from Pratt drive elsewhere for Oriental medicine. You probably can’t find a qualified Chinese doctor between here and Colorado.”
Kumberg first became acquainted with Oriental medicine while visiting an aunt in California.
“It’s wonderful,” she believes.
Wong-Robertson will use acupuncture — stimulating the meridians of the body with thin needles that vary in length from half an inch to about three inches. She illustrated meridians as lines that lead throughout the body that control the various organs. What she described is foreign to the Western mind; what people need to know, she said, is “they come here, they feel better.”
Acupuncture doesn’t cure a disease but is useful for pain management, she said, mentioning arthritis, back pain, headache and fibromyalgia. It is a holistic approach, treating both symptoms and underlying emotional issues. For example, she said, IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) may be triggered by the emotions.
Wong-Robertson also uses herbal products that are different from the ones found in pharmacy sections of local stores. Herbs can make Western medicine work better; a calming influence from an herbal tea can enhance traditional blood pressure medications.
There is some acceptance of Oriental medicine in the medical community, Wong-Robertson said.
Cynthia Strohl, a therapist at Therapeutic Massage Office, went to the same school as Wong-Robertson and “advertised the city of Pratt,” Kumberg said. She predicted that patients will come from other areas to see the Oriental doctor, eat lunch and go shopping.
“It’s going to be good for everybody,” she believes. “It’s a win-win.”
