When you and I have a great acupuncture treatment, we tell a couple of friends or family members. When celebrities have success with this ancient technique, their publicists tweet thousands of fans and the media writes article about it. Just to keep you up to date, here are some of the celebrity enthusiasts.

On 8/27/10, the Associated Press reported that Kim Clijsters, the former No. 1 ranked tennis player, used acupuncture to help her hip problem which had troubled her on the court. The Belgian tennis player went on to have an amazing winning streak at the U.S. Open.

Basketball greats Charles Barkley, Kevin Johnson, Hot Rod Williams, Jeff Hornacek,  Steve Nash and Grant Hill all get acupuncture treatments to offset the pounding that their bodies suffer on the basketball court. Houston Rockets’ superstar, 7 foot 6 inch basketball center, Yao Ming, an amazing Chinese import, used Chinese medicine to help him recover after undergoing surgery on his ankle in 2007.

Happy moms Celine Dion and Helena Bonham Carter and soon-to-be mom Mariah Carey, all used acupuncture to enhance their fertility and were delighted with the results.

As a professional dancer (TV hosting produces other types of stress), Paula Abdul has had a long history with pain. She undergoes acupuncture treatment a few times a week for pain relief. Paula told Access Hollywood that the only drugs she takes are prescription medications that encourage nerve growth, related to her severe spinal cord injury. Other than that, she sticks to acupuncture.

A few years back, after Matt Damon was spotted with ear needles, his rep admitted that, “Matt had a terrible spasm in his neck/back and he had to have acupuncture Those are acupuncture needles in his ear.”

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are very effective treatments for many ailments as well as for maintaining overall well-being. The celebrities who I mention in this article are all people who want to remain active. We have seen that people copy celebrities’ bad habits – why not duplicate the positive examples and give acupuncture a try?