Little pins poke out of Diana Velascos head every which way. David Cheung, a licensed acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, is working his magic.

Cheungs father started his acupuncture business more than 30 years ago in Pendleton. Back then, David Cheung would scamper around the office along with his three siblings, placing heat lamps on the patient and mixing Chinese herbs for his father.

I considered other fields, but it was always within my personality to do something healing and with people, Cheung, 42, said.

Cheung hops around the state to see his patients now for his business, ABC Acupuncture of Oregon. Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are spent in Portland, Thursdays in Hermiston and Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays in Pendleton. He hopes to soon start visiting Heppner every few weeks.

Cheung said he sees more acceptance of the practice as of late it has become a common outside treatment with more and more insurance covering it.

Acupuncture is a simple idea in essence. The tiny needles are meant to stimulate blood flow and energy to an area to push along the healing process.

The principle behind it is that we believe the body can heal itself, Cheung said.

Velasco said she would often end up in the emergency room because of the pain of her migraines. They would give her medicine to make her fall asleep and send her home. After seeing Cheung once a week, her migraines disappeared.

Linda Skendzel had severe carpal tunnel syndrome. She couldnt sleep at night and over-the-counter painkillers no longer made a difference. Skendzel was going to have to take six weeks off of work for surgery, but she said thats not true anymore.

People with chronic pain understand that youre just willing to try anything, Skendzel said of when she showed up in Cheungs Hermiston office. Acupuncture really worked for me.

Although his clients boast success stories about acupuncture, Cheung admits the science of it is not understood.

There has not been much study there, he said. Theres been 2,500 years of healing, but not much study.

Acupuncturists require three to four years of graduate studies to practice in the field. Cheung said the philosophy of Chinese medicine is vastly different from Western medicine. There are hundreds of diagnoses in the West, and essentially a dozen in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Infertility, migraines and PMS, for example, all stem back to a problem in the liver. The treatment for all three afflictions is the same in acupuncture.

Western medicine looks at points in the body, whereas I think Chinese medicine sees it more as a whole entity, Cheung said.

As for needle fears, Cheung said he has them too. He said he uses extra tiny needles in his practice as a result of his sensitivity. Most dont feel an acupuncture needles prick, although they might feel some nerve stimulation.

I think when people are afraid of needles, theyre afraid of flu shots, theyre afraid of getting blood drawn. This isnt that, he said.

Contact Natalie Wheeler at nwheeler@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.