Question

What similarities and differences do you see between curanderos and acupuncturists in terms of who they serve, how they enter the field, and their current social and legal positions?

Answer 1

Acupuncturists

An acupuncurist will insert needles into a person’s body with the aim of balancing their energy.

This, it is claimed, can help boost wellbeing and may cure some illnesses.

Conditions it is used for include different kinds of pain, such as headaches, blood pressure problems, and whooping cough, among others.

However, according to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), there is limited evidence for its effectiveness in areas other than pain.

How acupuncture works scientifically remains unclear. Some people claim it works by balancing vital energy, while others believe it has a neurological effect.

Acupuncture remains controversial among Western medical doctors and scientists.

Acupuncture is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine. One meta-analysis found that acupuncture for chronic low back pain was cost-effective as an adjunct to standard care, while a separate systematic review found insufficient evidence for the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of chronic low back pain.

Acupuncture is generally safe when administered by an experienced, appropriately trained practitioner using clean-needle technique and sterile single-use needles

Curanderos

Curanderismo is a diverse folk healing system of Latin America. It began with the Aztecan, Mayan, and Incan tribes and their religious beliefs of harmony with nature, spirit, and self. The Mexican Indians had many gods; they believed that their gods punished sins with illness. Therefore, disease or illness was supernatural in nature. As a balance, some mortals, who were spiritually chosen, were given the power to heal the wounded spirit and cure the supernatural illness. This is the role of the curanderos and curanderas.

Many Hispanic patients who receive their health care at a public hospital system use the services of curanderos. This potentially has important implications for their health care.

Hispanics constitute about 11.4% of the US population, or roughly 31.1 million people, and are the single fastest-growing minority group in the United States.

They generally use prayer, massage, herbs, and reassurance to treat their patients. In addition, curanderos frequently share their patients' social class, background, language, and religion.

There are many different types of curanderos. Yerberos are primarily herbalists. Hueseros are bone and muscle therapists who emphasize physical ailments. Parteras are midwives. Oracionistas work primarily through the power of prayer. Other types include sobadors, who are masseurs, and brujas, who are witches.

Historically, in the United States, curanderos were only found in concentrated Amerindian populations. It was largely thought that Curanderos mainly practiced along the US/Mexico border. Recent historical research shows however that the practice of Curanderismo was not relegated to the American Southwest.