Event Calendar

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Acupuncture - the painless poke

Alli Redding admits that since she discovered traditional Chinese medicine - in particular, acupuncture - things have just come together.
"I have a much more balanced life," says she. Redding firmly believes in this form of medicine, receiving the needle treatment herself once a week.
It wasn't until Redding was playing basketball and studying kinesiology at Simon Fraser University that she began to learn more about her body and ways of caring for it. "I was playing basketball and dealing with injury so it was nice knowing what was going on with my body," she said.
Redding discovered she preferred a more natural approach to treatment than pharmaceuticals. "What I really like about it is the holistic approach, how it looks at the mind and body," Redding said.
Working six days a week offering acupuncture treatment and manning the herbal dispensary, Redding treated physical ailments like colds and flu, back injuries, heart problems, and diabetes, as well as with emotional trauma, alongside Beijing doctors. And her services were welcomed by both patients and doctors, she said. "I think they were impressed we were interested in a medicine that was rooted in their culture," she said.
Redding was also impressed by how the Chinese have merged their traditional form of treatment with Western medicine, and she hopes to bring that fusion to the North Shore by showing people that acupuncture in particular can be an alternative treatment for many conditions - from aches and pains to allergies, common colds, depression, and addiction.
"I definitely feel like I'm playing a large educational role," said Redding of her duties as an Acupuncturist. And that secret Redding knows but is more than willing to share? "The needles don't hurt."

Acupuncture helps painful menstruation

Many women at one time or another experience some form of discomfort during their menstrual cycle. Cramping pain can occur before, during or after menstrual bleeding. Location of discomfort can be felt in the lower abdominal region and can extend to the low back. Quality of pain can range from sharp and stabbing to dull and achy, from mild to moderate and even severe in some cases.
In general, pain relief is one of the great success stories of acupuncture treatment. Particularly, acupuncture can help greatly minimize or alleviate altogether common pain experienced during menstruation. Treatment time for acupuncture can vary between 45 minutes to an hour with several follow-up treatments. Chinese herbal medicine also can be used in conjunction with acupuncture, to assist in promoting and maintaining smooth circulation of the body's Qi (vital force). Regulating Qi circulation will aid in prevention of cramps in future menstrual cycles. Herbal formulas are specially customized to fit the needs of each individual.
As with any medical concern, it is always important to be thoroughly evaluated by your medical doctor to rule out serious potential causes of painful menses such as inflammation of the pelvic region, endometriosis, etc. When looking for an acupuncture provider, find someone who is a licensed acupuncturist. Many insurance providers cover acupuncture treatments for various conditions.

Acupuncture and migraine

It is estimated that in UK alone, around 15% of the population suffers from migraine, out of which two thirds are women. Jane Elliot, a medical reporter at the BBC talks about migraine and acupuncture, to mark Migraine Awareness Week.

According to Jane, in ones childhood, migraine can give rise to a number of reactions such as vomiting and headaches, which might be triggered with the smallest of actions such as drinking too much juice, red wine, eating chocolates, exhaustion, or even getting too very excited.

Jane Elliot says “First comes hours of excruciating pain and feelings of depressing nausea, then a welcome relief as I eventually vomit and as the pain recedes and I can fall into sleep. “

Migraines normally last from few hours to few days continuously too. Jane relates that her migraines normally last for about eight hours on an average. Though she tried a number of drugs to prevent migraine, none of them were totally successful. Some of them worked on her attacks, but left her nauseated.

Jane was recommended Imigran Recovery, Sumaptriptan, the counter drug. Although it worked for her, she wanted to explore other alternatives as she did not want to be reliant on too many drugs. Jane was recommended and sponsored for acupuncture treatments by her mother, who heard about the relation between migraine and acupuncture in a TV show. Jane decided to give it a shot, without any initial hopes.

Christina, Jane’s acupuncturist advised her to change her diet habits. She was asked to cut down on caffeine and increase her water consumption instead. Acupuncture sessions involved gentle head massages and needles placed on specific points on her body.

The first week after the treatment was accompanied with two attacks and the week after that, one. During the third week, Jane was completely migraine free. After that, she was attacked by migraine about 3 months later only, which was also looked after by acupuncture.

The above is one of the many cases where acupuncture has proved to be successful in places where other drugs and medications have failed.

Acupuncture for pain relief

Nowadays, acupuncture is being recommended against almost all types of pains in various parts of the world. The success rate of acupuncture has assured most of the people about its advantages. Tara Nolan, a real estate agent, who was suffering from back and neck pains complained about not being able to drive without undergoing pain until a masseuse sent her to acupuncturist Paula Lord. Tara has now been taking acupuncture treatments since November.

Dr. Lord had a masters degree and a national license to practice this form of holistic medicine. "It is basically known for getting to the source of the problem”, says Dr. Lord. Tara stated that the treatment has helped with the after effects of chemotherapy too.

Acupuncture basically involves piercing tiny, sterile needles into specific points on the body, depending upon the pain or disorder suffered from. It works by maintaining the balance of the flow of energy through pathways called meridians inside the body.

"You could do all sorts of things for headaches. We decided to try a little experiment of our own. I've always had some knee problems dealing with ligaments, tendons and even arthritis. So we decided to give Dr. Lord a try. Now the question in all this is does it hurt? and the answer is not really!", says Tara.

Acupuncture can be a major source of pain relief for patients like Tara who suffer from continuous pain.

Acupuncture as an alternative treatment to quit smoking

Acupuncture is a traditional Chinese medical treatment, used to treat many diseases and even to enhance health and body strength. It is based on the old Chinese assumption that there are points of invisible energy scattered around the human body, which are called meridians, and acupuncture consists of inserting thin needles into these meridians. It works by stimulating the nerves and blood flow of the body.

Acupuncture is a method which is widely used today as a means to quit smoking. Unlike what it seems like, acupuncture is actually not painful and can be quite calming to some. Usually, the outer ears, among other specific points, is punctured in the case of smokers. After the needles are inserted, you will relax for about 30 minutes.

It should result in reduced cravings for nicotine and also reduction in the levels of withdrawal symptoms. The acupuncturist often suggests that his/her patient combine acupuncture with hypnosis sessions or laser treatment to get the best results. Acupuncture is a popular way to quit smoking because it is not invasive and ideal for those who refrain from taking strong medicines.

Generally, before your first appointment, an extensive questionnaire will gather information about your smoking history and health background. The form assists in identifying the behaviors, habits and triggers that lead to smoking. Taking into account each person's unique smoking habits and physical and emotional make-up, every patient's acupuncture treatment is tailor-made and designed for him or her. Usually, no two people are treated exactly the same.

Since the first month of quitting is probably the most difficult, the acupuncture program can ease you through this time. Up to the night before the first acupuncture treatment, you may smoke your last cigarette ever. There's another benefit to acupuncture for quitting smoking. Nobody really knows why, but it is a well-known effect. After the acupuncture, cigarettes actually taste foul. Cigarettes taste like a wet ashtray smells, and all smokers know how disgusting that is. After your acupuncture, even if you do try and have a cigarette, the taste will have you spitting until your mouth is dry and searching for mints to remove that nasty burnt taste.

It is absolutely essential that anyone who wants to go in for acupuncture to stop smoking, should go to a licensed acupuncture practitioner, because quacks could cause extremely detrimental effects to one’s body if anything goes wrong.

Acupuncture to cure infertility

After trying a number of various unsuccessful infertility treatment techniques, women all over are now going in for the most successful of recent treatments, the technique which combines the age-old acupuncture methods and the high-tech in vitro fertilization, which is finding a huge rise on the scales of popularity charts. Doctors state that the combination treatment has a success rate of about 75 percent. This treatment has proved to yield results even for couples who have not been able to conceive for years together through any other technique. One of them, Kristen Robinson, a former sales representative says "Combining Eastern and Western medicine just kind of helped everything work better,"

Acupuncture is an old Chinese method which was originated about 2000 years back, in which thin needles are inserted into specific points on the body. It is based on the belief that energy or “qi” flows through the body along various paths or meridians and this energy can be transferred from the paths which carry excess energy to the paths that are deficient by stimulating it by piercing needles at certain points. Doctors also believe that fertility drugs work better after acupuncture treatments.

In a study conducted on 160 women, it was found that 43% of the women who went through acupuncture treatments got pregnant compared to the 26% who were not treated with acupuncture.

Dr. Richard Wing of Reproductive Endocrinology Associates of Charlotte says "We don't really know how it works, but to the best of our knowledge, it's not harmful." He believes that adding acupuncture might improve ones chances for conception.
Dr. Russell Greenfield, medical director of Carolinas Integrative Health in Charlotte, said that acupuncture by itself can improve fertility by stimulating blood flow to reproductive organs and increasing the chances of normal ovulation. “What's beautiful about acupuncture is that it's a noninvasive method that trusts the wisdom of the body to operate properly” he includes.

Even though there are a number of success stories in which acupuncture has been proved to eliminate infertility, doctors are unsure of the treatment as it has not been proved scientifically. That is, the precise reason as to how acupuncture works is unknown.

The cost of acupuncture in Charlotte ranges from $40 to $100 for an hour long treatment and the average cost of in vitro fertilization in the United States is about $12,400 for one cycle.

Can acupuncture eliminate allergies?

Allergies have become invariably common among many people due to various factors. Acupuncture has always been regarded as an alternative treatment only for major diseases and illnesses such as arthritis, cancer etc. Recently, an acupuncturist in Denver has opened out that allergy can also be cured using acupuncture. This can be done using a special technique called NAET or Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Technique, named after Dr. Devi Nambudripad, who is an acupuncturist, a chiropractor, and a Ph. D. in nutrition. The NAET is a non-invasive, drug free allergy cure and is based on the supposition that blockages of energy in the body lead to allergies. It uses a combination of energy balancing, and procedures from acupuncture, allopathy, chiropractic, nutrition, and kinesiology.

During the treatment, the kinesiology muscle testing is carried out to detect what a person is allergic to, or affected by. After the root cause of the allergy is found out, the acupuncture treatment is carried out accordingly.

Linda Peri, a patient says “I had gone through everything else that was possible, and I was still very miserable. So, I said, 'What do I have to lose?' After about five to 10 treatments of Acupuncture, I felt like a completely different person."

Acupuncturists claim that after about 15 NAET treatments, mild to moderate allergies are cured completely.

Acupuncture offered in mainstream hospitals in the US

Though acupuncture has gained tremendous popularity gradually all over the United States, most people are still under the impression that alternative medicines and therapies such as acupuncture are rare and are available only in very few, atypical places. But contrary to the above misconception, the fact is that acupuncture treatments are now carried out in almost all the mainstream hospitals ubiquitously in the United States.

According to the CBS news, more than 25 percent of the hospitals across the United States offer alternative treatments. A lot of surveys were conducted to learn about the extent to which conventional and traditional treatments were being followed up, in the United States.

A survey on about 1400 hospitals in the US showed that one out of every four hospitals facilitates alternative therapies and treatments. A survey conducted by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the year 2002 showed that more 50 percent of the Americans felt that combining complementary and alternative medicines with conventional methods would work better. The American Hospital Association conducts surveys every two years and has come out with the fact that hospitals offering one or more complementary and alternative medicine have increased from 8 percent in the year 1998 to 27 percent in 2005. Many hospitals in the United States, such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, have begun to offer alternative therapies alongside Western medicine. Researchers found with complementary and alternative medicines are more common in the mid-west, such as Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin and less common in the west coast and in the south, such as Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee.

It was seen that the top six complementary and alternative medicines offered on outpatients were massage (71%), tai chi or yoga (47%), relaxation training (43%), acupuncture (39%), guided imagery (32%) and therapeutic touch (30%) and the top six offered to inpatients were massage (37%), music therapy (26%), therapeutic touch (25%), guided imagery (22%), relaxation therapy (20%) and acupuncture (11%).

Researchers Sita Ananth of Health Forum, an affiliate of the American Hospital Association, and William Martin, PsyD, of the College of Commerce at DePaul University in Chicago, in a news release, state "More and more, patients are requesting care beyond what most consider traditional health services. And hospitals are responding to the needs of the communities they serve by offering these therapies."

Acupuncture for Women's health

Women of all ages often face a lot of distress due to a large number of diseases, physical pains or abnormalities such as infertility, repeated miscarriage, menstrual pain, and irritation, musculoskeletal pain, headache, back pain and other such disorders, which not only lead to physical pain, but also lead to a tremendous amount of mental pressure. Most of the time, many of the above problems are left untreated with the misconception that it is totally unavoidable, which only increases the intensity of the problem.

We find that, for most women, pain relief from any of the above mentioned problems would mean popping a pill into the mouth and getting back to the usual routine. What one must realize here is that the temporary relief from pain is often accompanied with a lot of side effects and no permanent relief from pain. Acupuncture, the ancient art of healing, with the help of pins inserted at pressure points, which has now become common in the field of medicine and science, is found to be an excellent treatment for almost all the diseases that affect women of almost all ages.

Young women suffering from menstrual cramps and pains can now find immediate relief and can also regularize their menstrual cycle with the help of acupuncture. Acupuncture takes care of the infertility problem also and helps women attain pregnancy. Other problems such as neck pain, lower back pain, headache etc. can also find a permanent solution through acupuncture treatments. It has also been proved to be a cure for abdominal pain, where the patient normally receives about eight weekly treatments. It also helps in cutting down heavy bleeding and PMS, bringing in immediate results.

Menopause is said to be one of the toughest times in the life of a woman as the transition is often accompanied by poor sleep, fatigue, weariness etc. An acupuncture treatment not only decreases the weariness and fatigue felt, but also treats other disorders that tag along such as headache and stress. After the completion of the treatment, the patient starts feeling a kind of soothing and relaxing effect, calming the senses and bringing in good sleep. A study showed that about 70 percent of patients who were treated against depression during pregnancy showed good response.

Contact a certified acupuncturist now for more details.