Are you suffering from allergies? Acupuncturist Susan Yen can help!

Posted by DAAN on May 12, 2009 under Acupuncture | Be the First to Comment

Acupuncture for runners

Posted by DAAN on April 23, 2009 under Acupuncture | Be the First to Comment

What’s the idea?

It is thought that the needles stimulate the brain to release endorphins, boosting mood and relieving tiredness, and trigger the immune system to help to ward off injuries, soreness and joint pain. Several small studies have suggested that it works for runners. One published last year in the journal Chinese Medicine found “significant differences” in muscle soreness among those who had acupuncture during an exhaustive training regimen compared with those who didn’t.

Who uses it?

The marathon superwoman, Paula Radcliffe, admits to being a fan. Athletes in other sports, including the tennis player Maria Sharapova, also use it.

Arthritis relief with Chinese herbs and acupuncture

Posted by DAAN on under Acupuncture, Disease | Be the First to Comment

An interesting Chinese medicine perspective on arthritis:

Arthritis is known in Chinese medicine as ‘’Bi’’ syndrome, Bi meaning painful obstruction. We say it is the result of the body being ‘’invaded’’ by external climatological factors such as wind, cold, heat and/or dampness. The symptoms manifested by the individual depend on which external pathogenic factor is strongest. Following is a listing of the four main patterns of Bi syndrome.

Wind Bi: Exposure to wind for prolonged time is an important cause of the Wind pattern of arthritis. Any Wind pattern is characterised by movement of symptoms hence its alternative name wandering Bi, last week it was shoulder pain, this week it’s the knees. There is joint soreness and pain which can move from joint to joint. Joint movement is limited, and there is often fever, as well as aversion to wind or windy weather.

Cold Bi: Joints which are cold to touch and frequently swollen too are referred to as cold Bi. With this type of By, the pain has a fixed location rather than moving about. One can get relief from applying heat to the area and exposure to cold will definitely aggravate the condition. Damp Bi: The damp pattern of arthritis is characterised by pain, soreness and swelling in muscles and joints, with a feeling of heaviness and numbness in the limbs. The pain has a fixed location and is aggravated by damp weather. When these patients move to a hot dry climate they often feel better.

Hot Bi: This type of Bi is commonly seen in Rheumatoid arthritis and gouty arthritis. It is characterised by severe pain and hot-red-swollen joints. Pain tends to be worse at night. Other symptoms may include fever thirst and anxiety.

I have classified arthritis into nice neat groups, in clinical practice it is not really like that and I would often see joint pain which is a mixture, in fact this tends to be the norm rather than the exception. Different types of arthritis respond different to acupuncture. However acupuncture is an excellent treatment choice for all types of arthritis because arthritis is characterised by obstruction and acupuncture moves obstruction!

More and more scientifically designed clinical studies support the use of acupuncture for arthritis. A recent study examined the effects of acupuncture on 32 osteoarthritis patients waiting for knee replacement surgery. After 9 weeks, patients receiving acupuncture treatment reported a decrease in pain, while pain increased in untreated patients. The patients with acupuncture treatment were able to walk farther and faster, compared to the untreated group.

Success of the treatment depends also on how effectively acupuncture can re-harmonise the body. It the arthritis is very deep-seated then at best, acupuncture may be able to offer pain relief and help the disease from progressing further. If the systemic imbalance is not so severe, then acupuncture may be able to offer a cure.

Cupping

Posted by DAAN on March 8, 2009 under Acupuncture, Alternative therapies | Be the First to Comment

Cupping is a traditional Chinese medical treatment, similar in purpose to acupuncture, in that it attempts to stimulate the body’s meridians, enhance the flow of Qi, and restore the body’s balance:

Cupping uses suction to draw blood to a specific point on your body, allowing the circulation of that blood to heal certain organs and body parts related to “meridian lines” running along your neck, legs, hands, and back. This three-thousand-year-old therapy has been called many things and each technique has been a little bit different.

In ancient China, it was first called “horn therapy” because healers used hollow animal horns on the body to get rid of pus. Bamboo cups have also been popular and are inexpensive to make but since the use of a glass cap was started for cupping, nothing else has rivaled it because the transparent nature of the glass makes it easier for the technician to see the state of the skin trapped inside of the rim. Traditional use involves a bit of alcohol in each cup before being lighted by fire (hence the alternate name “fire-cupping”) in order to warm but not burn the skin. Conventional “air” cupping usage nowadays strays away from open flames and focuses on the safety of the patient by using a pump mechanism to secure the vacuum instead of burning the oxygen out of the glass.

By using warmth and the pressure of the device creating a vacuum, cupping promotes the flow of blood and “qi”—also known as chi, Chinese for “natural energy from the Universe”—helping to decrease swelling, get rid of fever, comfort pain in the lower back and extremities, stomachaches, vomiting, diarrhea, asthma, and lung disease among others. Another less well-known type is called “wet” cupping where the skin is pierced before the cup is placed over the area allowing a small amount of blood to collect and is thought to relieve certain conditions. This is also known as blood-letting alongside the regular cupping process in most alternative medicine definitions.

How acupuncture can help you maintain your health

Posted by DAAN on February 6, 2009 under Acupuncture, Disease | Be the First to Comment

Acupuncture can help with a number of common ailments:

While it may be difficult to believe, the body wants to be healthy. Generally speaking, the human organism (or any living creature) is designed to thrive and function in an optimal state. Otherwise, we would not survive past perhaps a few years after birth.

So, what is the best way to keep our bodies in balance.

The answer may be found in acupuncture.

While this practice has been around for well over 2000 years, Traditional Chinese Medicine, or TCM, has only been recognized here in the United States in the last 30 years. It first gained notoriety in 1972 after President Nixon opened talks with China. James Reston, a New York Times journalist covering the event, had a medical emergency and underwent an appendectomy with acupuncture being used as the only anesthetic.

Today you, or someone you know, has been treated by acupuncture. What you may not know, however, is the huge range of afflictions that acupuncture can treat. Aside from back and neck-pain, acupuncture is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) to successfully treat a wide variety of illnesses including:

* Asthma/Allergies: Chronic asthma, allergic rhinitis, sinus infections, sinus congestion.
* Emotional Disorders: Stress, panic and anxiety attacks, depression, insomnia
* Digestive Disorders: Heartburn, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation/diarrhea.
* Pre and Post Natal Care / Pregnancy: Infertility, labor-induction (shorten delivery time), reduce morning-sickness symptoms including nausea
* Other: Dysmenorrhea, PMS, headaches, TMJ, tennis elbow, Bell’s Palsy, sciatica, weight loss, drug addiction

How I threw away the map and found the road to serentity

Posted by DAAN on January 16, 2009 under Acupuncture, General, Women's Health | Be the First to Comment

Acupuncture is bringing serenity to one’s life

I’m more than 12 weeks pregnant and it took a year-and-a-half of trying naturally and three IVF embryo transfers over six months to get there. But what did it really take? Of course, many different things had to come together. Timing is a tricky business.

People said I’d fall pregnant when I relaxed. I agreed. But it’s like the Seinfeld episode in which George’s father, played by the inimitable Jerry Stiller, walks around flailing his arms in the air shouting “Serenity Now!” with a look of furious desperation on his face. The more you try to force relaxation, the more absurdly under pressure you feel.

Chinese medicine and menopause

Posted by DAAN on October 26, 2008 under Acupuncture, Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Chinese medicine is shown to be effective in treating menopause

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine is a safe effective and drug free way to treat uncomfortable menopausal symptoms such as night sweating and Hot flashes. Over the last 5,000 years the Chinese have developed acupuncture and herbal medicine to activate the natural, self healing ability of the body. With such intense study and development, acupuncture has helped billions of people regain and maintain their health.

Acupuncture helps pregnant women follow daily lives

Posted by DAAN on October 19, 2008 under Acupuncture, Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Acupuncture can help pregnant women in crippling pain to go about their daily lives, according to a new study.

Up to one in five mothers-to-be suffer pelvic girdle pain (PGP) during their pregnancy, which can leave them struggling to do simple tasks.

The condition, which can be made worse by standing, sitting or even turning in bed, can be constant or involve a stabbing sensation or shooting pains down the back of the leg.

Around seven per cent of women struggle with the pain even after they give birth, leading many to take time off work.

Acupuncture is an ancient medicine that can improve wellness

Posted by DAAN on under Acupuncture, Culture | Be the First to Comment

Acupuncture can improve one’s well-being

It never ceases to amaze me that I practice a form of medicine that has been in use for more than 3,000 years. Oriental medicine was, in fact, developed and practiced in ancient China as a primary health care system. It was, and is still today, used to diagnose and treat illness, prevent disease and improve overall wellness.

The practice of Oriental medicine includes several different modalities of healing. Chinese herbs and acupuncture, diet therapy, exercise (tai chi and qi gong), and bodywork (accupressure and shiatsu) are all examples of Oriental medicine that are based in specific ancient healing principles.

Acupuncture as a complement to radiation treatment

Posted by DAAN on October 9, 2008 under Acupuncture | Be the First to Comment

Complementary treatments, like acupuncture, can increase the effectiveness of radiation treatment for cancer:

Acupuncture used with cancer and radiation therapy is well-researched and has several benefits. One is enhanced immune function. Specific acupuncture points can increase red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

Acupuncture also may stimulate steroid levels and other hormones, such as melatonin, that could have anti-tumor activity.

Many randomized controlled studies have confirmed that acupuncture calms nausea and vomiting. Furthermore, some acupuncture points increase the anti-emetic effect of drugs before and after surgery, and chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.

Acupuncture can be effective in managing pain in cancer and during radiation treatment. Acupuncture may also be helpful for post-radiotherapy contracture of the jaw muscle. Acupuncture can also be effective in managing edema. Additionally, acupuncture may help in the treatment of fatigue and body wasting through the modulation of cytokines and hormones.

Dry mouth from head and neck radiation therapy can cause loss of taste, difficulty speaking and swallowing. Acupuncture has been found to reverse those effects by increasing blood flow to the salivary glands. One study found an increase in salivary flow rate in all patients after acupuncture treatment and six months’ follow-up. After three years, those patients who chose to be treated with additional acupuncture demonstrated a consistently higher salivary flow rate.

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