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February 6, 2014 by admin
Source: Health CMI
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1245-prostatebreastcancer309
Acupuncture has long lasting effects in reducing hot flashes for breast and prostate cancer patients. The new findings prove that acupuncture reduces hot flashes by over 30 percent. Published in Supportive Care in Cancer, researchers evaluated 222 publications and chose 6 quality studies from this data as the basis for the investigation. All 6 studies were weighed for inclusion based on randomization, withdrawals and drop-outs, double-blinding and other criteria for the selection of quality research. The researchers discovered that acupuncture caused significant reductions in the frequency of hot flashes. In addition, the therapeutic effects lasted on average more than 6 months after the cessation of acupuncture treatments. The researchers concluded that acupuncture is both safe and effective for the treatment of hot flashes associated with cancer therapy.
Over 50% of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women have hot flashes. They are more common and more severe in women with breast cancer. Hot flashes are caused, in part, by cancer therapy medications including tamoxifen. Hormone therapies are often used to control the hot flashes but may cause side effects such as the increased risk of cardiovascular disorders and a higher incidence of breast cancer. The researchers note that acupuncture is safer and no major side effects occurred.
Elderly men experience hot flashes and the incidence increases significantly in men treated for prostate cancer with castration. Surgical and medical castration patients have a 58-80% incidence of hot flashes. The researchers note that this type of hot flashes “usually persists more than 5 years.”
The researchers note that acupuncture is a “treatment option that does not cause any serious adverse side effects….” They cited research suggesting that the mechanism for the effective action of acupuncture on the reduction of hot flashes may be the ability of acupuncture to increase “central β-endorphins.” They note that evidence suggests that the endorphins stabilize thermoregulation via cortical pathways in the hypothalamus. The researchers note that although studies demonstrate that acupuncture significantly reduces hot flashes in frequency, intensity and duration, it is not as effective as hormone therapy. The researchers also note that acupuncture has been shown to be significantly more effective than placebo controls for the treatment of hot flashes. Additionally, this study demonstrates that acupuncture has similar beneficial clinical effects as other nonhormonal treatment options including medications.
Taking a look at each of the investigations, there is a consistent finding of acupuncture effectively reducing hot flashes without any serious side effects. The effects lasted for a minimum of 3 months after treatment and up to no less than 9 months after completion of acupuncture treatments. The average improvement lasted approximately 6 months after completion of acupuncture treatments.
Research entitled Randomized, controlled trial of acupuncture for the treatment of hot flashes in breast cancer patients published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology documented a 30% reduction of hot flashes for women with breast cancer. The effects lasted for at least 5 months as measured by a follow-up appointment 5 months after completion of the last acupuncture treatment.
Research entitled Acupuncture for the treatment of hot flashes in breast cancer patients, a randomized, controlled trial published in Cancer Research and Treatment reported a reduction of hot flashes from 9.5 on average per day to 3.2 per day. Initially, the reduction was to 4.7 per day following 10 weeks of acupuncture therapy but continued to reduce to 3.2 flashes per day as measured in a 3 month follow-up appointment.
Research entitled Vasomotor symptoms decrease in women with breast cancer randomized to treatment with applied relaxation or electro-acupuncture: a preliminary study had similar findings. Women received 12 weeks of acupuncture care and the incidence of hot flashes decreased from 8.4 per 24 hour period to 4.1 after three months of care. At a 12 week follow-up appointment after the cessation of care, the incidence of hot flashes further reduced to 3.5 per 24 hour period.
Research entitled Long-term follow-up of acupuncture and hormone therapy on hot flashes in women with breast cancer: a prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter trial measured a reduction of 9.6 hot flashes per day to 4.3 after 12 weeks of acupuncture therapy. A 2 year follow-up measured a further reduction to 2.1 hot flashes per day.
Research entitled Reducing vasomotor symptoms with acupuncture in breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant tamoxifen: a randomized controlled trial measured a 30% reduction of hot flashes in women receiving acupuncture therapy. The initial intake measured an average of 8.4 flashes per day in the group of 38 women. This reduced to 5.7 flashes per day as a result of acupuncture therapy. A total of 36 of the 38 women returned for a 3 month follow-up appointment and demonstrated a further reduction to 5.6 hot flashes per day. Back Shu Points are depicted here.
A randomized study of 31 men with prostate cancer and hot flashes measured a significant improvement through the use of acupuncture care. Two separate approaches to acupuncture care were compared. Electroacupuncture was compared with manual traditional acupuncture. The electroacupuncture group reduced from the initial 7.4 flashes per day to 4.1 flashes per day, measured at the last acupuncture treatment. At a six month follow-up after the cessation of care, hot flashes occurred at a rate of 4.7 per day. A 9 month follow-up documented 6.2 flashes per day. The 9 month follow-up documented a 17% improvement over the initial baseline.
The traditional acupuncture group showed greater improvement than the electroacupuncture group for men with prostate cancer and hot flashes. The initial baseline started at 6.4 per day and reduced to 3.4 at the end of care. A 9 month follow-up measured a sustained 34% reduction of hot flashes at 4.1 per day.
All 6 of the studies demonstrated a minimum of a 30% improvement from the start of care for an average of 5.4 months as measured in follow-up appointments. The average improvement from the initiation of care to the last treatment averaged 43.2%. The researchers note that, “The reduction of hot flashes after acupuncture from our analyses indicated an almost 50%reduction of the number of hot flashes per 24 h and sustained at the last follow-up after the end of acupuncture. Thus, the effects of acupuncture are at least similar to other nonhormonal therapies [2–7] but with very few side effects. Acupuncture can be considered as a treatment option for
troublesome hot flashes in patients with breast or prostate cancer.”
Other researchers have drawn similar conclusions. A Yale University/University of Pittsburg study of women with hot flashes undergoing breast cancer treatments reveals that women receiving acupuncture have significantly less hot flashes. The randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial collected data “in the National Institutes of Health funded General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) associated with Yale School of Medicine and Yale New Haven Hospital (YNHH). The study was approved by the Yale University Institutional Review Board (IRB). Interviews, acupuncture treatments, educational sessions, and laboratory test specimen collection for all study participants took place at the GCRC.” The researchers discovered that women receiving acupuncture on average had a 30 percent reduction of hot flashes.
– See more at: http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1245-prostatebreastcancer309#sthash.hVIEtFYK.dpuf
January 29, 2014 by admin
Source: Fox News
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/11/29/acupuncture-could-help-in-dentist-chair/
Acupuncture may provide relief for dental patients who reflexively gag during procedures like teeth impressions, according to Italian researchers.
Up to 20 percent of the U.S. population has severe anxiety at the dentist’s office. People who cannot help their gag reflex may unintentionally deprive themselves of the best dental care, write Giuseppa Bilello and Antonella Fregapane, both from the University of Palermo in Sicily.
Acupuncture may be one strategy to solve that problem, the pair suggests.
“It is a small study, and that is one weakness,” Dr. Palle Rosted told Reuters Health. “But it is a good start.”
Rosted is a consultant acupuncturist with Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield, England. He was not involved with the current study.
The researchers recruited 20 people with a history of gag reflex in the dental chair to have upper and lower teeth impressions taken under normal circumstances and then immediately after acupuncture.
Participants ranged in age from 19 to 80. For the first round of upper teeth impressions, they reported an average gag reflex score of 7 on a 0-10 scale, with 10 representing the maximum nausea sensation.
During the second round, the researchers applied acupuncture needles about 30 seconds before taking impressions and left the needles in until the procedure ended. On average, gag reflex scores dropped to just 1.
The pattern was similar for gag reflex scores during lower teeth impressions done with and without acupuncture, according to findings published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine.
The researchers point out that they can’t be sure the improvements were due to the acupuncture needles themselves – in part because there was no comparison group that didn’t get acupuncture. Another possibility is that gag reflex scores improved because participants were more used to the impressions the second time around.
Still, “It has certainly given us some more evidence that acupuncture may be effective,” Rosted said.
The study’s positive result “is something that we doctors definitely need exposure to and to keep in mind as a possible option,” Dr. Preeti Nair told Reuters Health. “We rarely think of acupuncture, and usually use local anesthetics.”
Nair was not part of the current research. She has studied gag reflex at the People’s College of Dental Sciences & Research Centre in Bhopal, India.
One difference between a drug like local anesthesia and acupuncture could be side effects.
“We haven’t gotten all of the details in our hand, but with acupuncture, the side effects could be less,” Nair said. Much more research is needed on the subject, she added.
In order for a large, randomized controlled trial – the gold standard in medical research – to be done on this subject, dental offices and academic institutions may have to work together, said Chris Dickinson of King’s College London Dental Institute at Guy’s Hospital in England.
In England, the British Dental Acupuncture Society offers training for dentists in certain dental applications of acupuncture, said Dickinson, who was not involved in the new study.
“There are very few contraindications associated with acupuncture and dental operations that we’ve experienced,” Dickinson told Reuters Health. “But we don’t use the technique in patients with metal allergies, pregnant women and those with needle phobias.”
Dickinson noted that other acupuncture points could have been used for gag control such as ear points and LI4, also known as the Hegu point.
Researchers in the current study placed needles in the PC6, EX 1 and CV24 acupuncture points on the face and wrist.
“The message to dentists is that it’s a simple technique and easily learned,” Dickinson said. “It’s also cost-effective. Even though it does not work in every case there’s very little lost by trying it.”
In the U.S., acupuncture typically costs about $100 per session.
One of the positive aspects of acupuncture is that after an operation, a patient may choose to drive home, which is not possible with other treatments, such as general anesthesia, Rosted said
“The risk of causing harm with this treatment is nearly non-existent,” he said.
January 29, 2014 by admin
Source: Herald Sun
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/lifestyle/health/acupuncture-for-pain-relief/story-fnivsuep-1226812264932
Australian hospitals are finally catching up with what the Chinese have long known -acupuncture is a great alternative form of pain relief.
Acupuncture is fast gaining acceptance in mainstream medicine right across the Western world. It’s already used routinely in several Australian emergency departments and is now undergoing a randomised, controlled trial in three Melbourne hospitals to alleviate pain from acute migraines, back pain and ankle sprain.
Researchers at the University of York and Hull York Medical School in the UK have just mapped acupuncture’s effect on the brain and have found that it changes specific neural structures, deactivating the areas in the brain associated with the processing of pain. This is key, says Professor Marc Cohen, head of the trial and professor of complementary medicine at RMIT University. “We know that pain is the most common reason for people coming to emergency departments, and we know that it’s not very well treated in that a lot of people don’t get sufficient pain relief,” he says.
“We also know that pharmacotherapy, the main method of treating pain in emergency situations, has severe side effects. Some people can’t tolerate drugs, others find that opioid medication such as pethidine or morphine causes nausea and constipation. Once you give morphine you have to watch the patient for several hours and monitor blood pressure and nausea.
“What we’ve found anecdotally is that people who have come into an emergency department in pain and tried acupuncture, have had their pain relieved in a very short period of time.” Acupuncture can also be safely combined with most conventional drugs and treatments and has very few side effects.
Scientific proof
Today, acupuncture is one of the most accepted complementary therapies in the country, with more than 80 per cent of GPs referring patients to an accredited acupuncturist in the past 12 months. And, despite not being part of the standard curriculum, about one-fifth of GPs have gone on to do post-graduate training in acupuncture.
You can thank modern science for that, says Dr Morton Rawlin, vice president of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. “Acupuncture has gradually increased its acceptability over the last 20 years [because] it has good, double-blind, scientific proof that it is of assistance for pain and other disorders.”
But has it reached a tipping point? “We’re on the verge,” says Professor Cohen. “Emergency physicians and GPs have taken it up on their own initiative because they see the benefits. If we find positive results [in the study] it will open the door for it to be included in all Western emergency departments and that will be a major shift.”
Modern panacea?
So when should you be demanding acupuncture over mainstream medical treatments? “Acupuncture, like all modalities of treatment for different conditions, needs to be discussed by the individual with their doctor,” says Dr Rawlin. Professor Cohen agrees. “Everyone’s situation is individual, but the one thing I can say is that acupuncture can’t really hurt. So try it.” Just be warned: it’s not a panacea.
“Acupuncture won’t help everyone for everything,” says Professor Cohen. “But there are cases where people have gone the gamut of Western medicine, had no relief and then acupuncture has given significant relief. “Acupuncture provides a different perspective on a treatment program and, in the hands of a trained therapist, has been shown over thousands of years to be extremely safe.”
How it can help you
Dental anxiety
New British research shows acupuncture can calm dental patients and help post-operative pain.
More information: www.ada.org.au
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
A 2009 Swedish study found that PCOS can be relieved by the use of electro-acupuncture – where the needles are stimulated with a low-frequency current.
More information: www.posaa.asn.au
Depression
Chicago researchers found acupuncture may be an effective alternative treatment to antidepressants for depression during pregnancy. It’s also being increasingly used in psychiatric disorders.
More information: www.beyondblue.org.au
Breast cancer treatment
A recent trial of breast cancer patients in Norway found acupuncture provided a 50 per cent reduction in hot flushes.
More information: www.cancercouncil.com.au
Migraines
Randomised controlled studies have shown acupuncture can reduce tension headaches by half and ensure fewer headaches after three to four months than routine drug treatment.
More information: www.acupuncture.com.au
IVF
A 2008 review of seven clinical trials into acupuncture found that when given to women undergoing embryo transfer, acupuncture may improve rates of pregnancy for one in 10 women.
More information: www.ivfacupuncture.com.au
January 29, 2014 by admin
Source: Huffington Post
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-karen-becker/dogs-acupuncture_b_1331440.html
Acupuncture comes from the Latin words acus (needle) and puncture (to prick). Simply, acupuncture means pricking the skin with a needle.
This ancient Chinese healing art has been around 5,000 years for use in people. The earliest animal acupuncture charts — for horses — were from 136 A.D. So the technique has been used with animals for quite awhile as well.
Animal acupuncture has been popular in the U.S. for about 35 years, and its popularity continues to grow. As one of my colleagues at Cornell University points out, people are becoming more interested all the time in finding non-surgical, non-drug modalities to help their pets heal.
Explaining Acupuncture: Eastern and Western Perspectives
There’s a slight difference in the way Eastern and Western medicine explains how acupuncture works.
The Western viewpoint is that we are electrical beings — our brains and spinal cords are wired with electrical or nerve-based synapses. The nerves are connected by nerve bundles, which are used as acupuncture points.
The bioelectricity that zips through the nerves that wire your entire body can be modulated (acted upon) by inserting a metal needle into nerve bundles. (Metal conducts electricity.)
Insertion of an acupuncture needle into a nerve bundle is the equivalent of plugging into an electrical outlet in your home to route electricity to a specific appliance or electronic gadget. Acupuncture has the ability to reroute bioelectricity to different parts of the body, allowing for modulation of an animal’s neuro-electrical system with a metal needle.
The Eastern perspective on acupuncture is that this bioelectricity, called chi (pronounced “chee”), is the body’s vital energy force. Chi flows along nerve pathways called meridians. In Eastern medicine there are 12 major meridians in the body and 365 acupuncture points (nerve bundles).
By modulating (acting upon) the flow of chi or energy around the body through the use of metal needles, acupuncturists can help reduce inflammation, block pain, improve organ function, and balance the body’s energy systems.
How Acupuncture Is Used in Veterinary Medicine
Animal acupuncture is beneficial for small animals like dogs, cats, rabbits and ferrets. The technique is also becoming quite popular in large animal medicine for use with cows, horses, even exotics and zoo animals like camels and elephants are receiving its benefits.
The American Academy of Veterinary Acupuncture lists the following conditions as among the most responsive to acupuncture:
• Hip dysplasia
• Degenerative joint disease
• Degenerative myelopathy
• Epilepsy
• Asthma
• Urinary tract infections
• Inflammation (systemic inflammatory conditions)
I’m a licensed animal acupuncturist and use the technique frequently in my practice. I treat traumatic nerve injuries, lick granulomas, degenerative joint disease, arthritis, musculoskeletal problems, epilepsy, and allergic skin conditions.
Types of Acupuncture
The dry metal needle method is the traditional form of acupuncture, but there are more recent variations on that technique that are proving quite successful as well, including:
• Electro-acupuncture, which involves attaching a microcurrent of electricity to the metal needle to stimulate the body’s electrical flow.
• Laser acupuncture is the use of lasers rather than needles on acupuncture points. This variation can be beneficial for really wiggly pets or animals that object strenuously to being pricked with needles.
• Aqua-puncture is the placement of drops of sterile fluid under the skin at acupuncture points.
• Moxibustion is a technique that involves heating the acupuncture needles using mugwort, a dried, rolled herbal incense. It’s a great technique for warming the body and is especially beneficial for older, arthritic animals.
Determining the Success of Acupuncture Treatments for Your Pet
My advice to pet owners is to find an acupuncturist who has received formal training, and is licensed (this is extremely important).
The success of acupuncture depends on a few factors, including:
• The practitioner’s expertise
• The duration and intensity of the condition being treated
• The number, length and consistency of treatments
Statistically, about 25 percent of patients have an amazing response to acupuncture, showing major improvement to the point of a full cure.
Another 50 percent experience dramatic improvement, but with some symptoms still present. The remaining 25 percent have no response at all.
What these results highlight is that the art of medicine — matching up the type of treatment needed to successfully unlock a healing response in your pet — is an important part of deciding what modality to pick.
Sometimes a certain technique works immediately and dramatically. More often there is a period of trying different methods of healing to determine what procedure or combination of procedures provides the most benefit for the animal.
Acupuncture is a great alternative healing technique that has the potential to help your pet avoid the traditional drugs and/or surgery approach.
January 21, 2014 by admin
Source: Medical Daily
http://www.medicaldaily.com/traditional-chinese-medicine-rivals-prescription-meds-stalling-diabetes-progression-267244
One of the hallmarks of ancient herbal remedies is that they are steeped in mystery and wonder. Unfortunately, they’re also looked down upon in the medical community as hokum, relying more on the power of placebo than on real change. But a new study of traditional Chinese medicine suggests certain herbal remedies stalled the progression of diabetes just as well as prescription medication.
The stall came in the transition from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes. Before a person’s blood glucose level reaches clear-cut diabetes, it passes through a danger zone, where the levels are high enough to give doctors concern but still too low to be formally diagnosed as diabetes. It’s a critical moment, researchers argue, because the prediabetic often still has the choice to lean one way or another. As more than 79 million Americans currently live with prediabetes, developing effective methods to nudge people in the healthy direction becomes more urgent.
“Patients often struggle to make the necessary lifestyle changes to control blood sugar levels, and current medications have limitations and can have adverse gastrointestinal side effects,” said Dr. Chun-Su Yuan, University of Chicago researcher and one of the study’s authors, in a news release.
Yuan and his colleagues recruited 389 participants for their double-blind, randomized controlled study. Subjects either took a capsule containing a cocktail of 10 herbal medicines — called Tianqi — or a placebo. The study lasted a year. Each participant was instructed to take the capsule three times a day before meals. They also received a month of lifestyle education at the study’s outset and met with a nutritionist periodically throughout. Researchers checked in on a quarterly basis to measure subjects’ glucose tolerance.
The end of the trial showed promising results for the Tianqi group. While 36 participants had developed diabetes over the course of the study, in the placebo group that total was 56 — revealing to researchers, after they controlled for age and gender, a 32.1 percent preference for the herbal medicine. Researchers point out that the success of the Tianqi group rivals the prescription drug success of acarbose and metformin, with few side effects having been reported.
“Few controlled clinical trials have examined traditional Chinese medicine’s impact on diabetes,” lead author Dr. Xiaolin Tong, of Guang’anmen Hospital in Beijing, said in the release, “and the findings from our study showed this approach can be very useful in slowing the disease’s progression.”
Diabetes is characterized by an overabundance of glucose due to the body’s inability to produce sufficient quantities of insulin. A hormone produced in the pancreas, insulin regulates the levels of glucose in the blood. Patients with type 2 diabetes must receive periodic insulin shots via a pump in order to keep their blood sugar at healthy levels. Tianqi has long been revered for its potent combination of herbs, which have the ability to lower blood glucose levels and improve control of blood glucose levels after meals.
Given the present success of using the traditional herbs to curb the march toward diabetes, researchers hope to open up the field of study into traditional herbal remedies at large. “With diabetes evolving into a serious public health burden worldwide, it is crucial to take steps to stem the flood of cases,” Yuan explained. “Traditional Chinese herbs may offer a new option for managing blood sugar levels, either alone or in combination with other treatments.”
January 21, 2014 by admin
Source: Women’s Health Magazine
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/acupuncture-for-weight-loss
If you’re OK with the whole needle thing, ear acupuncture could be a great way to slim down, according to a new Korean study published in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine.
For this study, researchers wanted to not only test out the effectiveness of ear acupuncture in general in boosting weight loss, but also see which kind works best. They looked at two types of ear acupuncture: The first uses just one needle, which is placed in your ear’s “hunger point”—the point linked to appetite. The other kind uses five needles, which are placed in five different key points of your ear: one called the Shen Men, as well as those that are thought to be linked to the stomach, spleen, endocrine, and hunger.
Researchers looked at 91 overweight Koreans, giving some the “five point” treatment and others the “single point” treatment. Then, all participants were asked to keep a restricted diet and not do any additional exercise.
After four weeks, those in the five-point group showed a 6.1 percent reduction in BMI, while the one-point group showed a 5.7 percent reduction. So it looks like both methods may help boost weight-loss efforts—but that the five-needle technique may be slightly better if you’re interested in trying the technique.
January 11, 2014 by admin
Source: Acupuncture Today
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2004/may/05amaro.html
Some years ago, a group of esteemed scientists from the People’s Republic of China were invited to visit the United States by the American scientific community. This event ushered in an exchange of ideas and an opportunity for two great nations to be able to corroborate on a number of issues vital to the health and welfare of the world.
Over a period of two months, the Chinese scientists visited virtually every major research facility in the nation, followed closely by their American hosts, who were furiously taking notes and promoting discussion on matters from nuclear physics to aerospace, medical research and treatment approaches. The visit culminated in a banquet at Princeton University in honor of the Chinese scientists, which was attended by a virtual “who’s who” of the North American scientific world.
During the banquet, the moderator of the event posed the question to the chief Chinese scientist as to what he felt was one of the most significant things he had learned in America; what had impressed him the most about the United States that he would return to China and share it with his colleagues who were not present on this historic visit? The scientist rose from his chair, strode to the microphone, gazed over the crowd and stated in understandable English: “The number one thing that has impressed me the most about America is the common belief by the common person that there is no cure for the common cold.” The American scientists were totally caught off guard with this statement, as it was perhaps the farthest thing from anyone’s mind. It was not what they had expected to hear.
Even though the names of devastating flu are often Asian in character, and China has been credited or blamed with the development of some of the most deadly flu epidemics in the world, the Chinese – through effective acupuncture approaches – have had a major impact in altering the extreme symptomatology that accompanies both the flu and the common cold.
The following illustrated acupuncture approach is extremely effective in not only alleviating the symptoms associated with cold or flu but, if used early enough, may potentially prevent the symptoms and condition from developing at all. All of the points shown may be stimulated with noninvasive stimulation devices such as the teishein, electronic stimulation or laser, in addition to needles. One of the most effective approaches to successful treatment is to copy the images below and provide them for your patients for self-stimulation of the points throughout the day. Remember, this may be one of the most powerful effects for cold and flu you will ever learn.
One of the key points is the “miracle” point known as the “common cold” point on the thenar eminence, in line with an imaginary line drawn down the middle of the index finger. If a cold is present, or on the way, this point will be very sore upon palpation. The “sore throat” point is perhaps one of the most dynamic on the body for seemingly miraculous elimination and lessening of pain from sore throat almost immediately. LI 4, ST 36 and SP 6 are extremely effective points for boosting the immune system and are three of the most powerful points on the body for this purpose, when used together. Caution is urged in using these points for any female who may potentially be pregnant, as LI 4 and SP 6 are classic points known to create abortion. If there is a question of pregnancy, eliminate these two points; if not, they are dynamic. These points are historically used to promote delivery in the ninth month when the contents of the uterus are expelled. TH 5 and P 6 are, without question, two of the most effective points in affecting the immune system and building vital resistance. These two points are my personal favorites. This effect is through the extraordinary meridians.
Since the common cold is the most prevalent medical condition in North America, followed by low back pain, we should all be kept very busy in treating this malady. Colloidal silver has shown to be extremely effective in colds and flu, and is highly urged.
January 11, 2014 by admin
Source: AcuTake
http://acutakehealth.com/boost-your-immunity-with-this-2-minute-acupressure-routine
Acupuncture strengthens natural resistance to disease. It’s a simple idea and yet profound. Forget endorphins. Forget improved blood circulation. Forget placebo. This is how acupuncture works—by strengthening our natural resistance to disease.
Whether we’re talking about the flu, and hence its immunity-boosting ability, or back pain, acupuncture makes us stronger so that we can naturally resist illness and pain. This is true whether it’s happening due to fired up neurotransmitters or a practitioner with exceptional bedside manner.
In the end, acupuncture works by making us better equipped to cope physically and emotionally.
The Acupuncture Flu Shot
For the above-state reasons, acupuncture is primarily a preventive form of medicine—it makes us stronger so that we can avoid disease rather than dealing with it after it happens.
The following four acupuncture points strengthen immunity and will improve your chances of avoiding the flu this year. If you’ve already suffered through the flu, these four points will help prevent a recurrence.
In between regular acupuncture treatments—the best way to stay healthy throughout flu season—you can press these points yourself. You also can perform the routine on children or other loved ones who are in extra need of an immunity boost.
Kidney 27
Kidney 27 is an immune-boosting super star, and especially helpful for people who are prone to upper respiratory flu symptoms. The Kidney system is said to grasp Lung Qi, meaning it helps distribute the air that enters the lungs throughout the rest of the body. When this interplay doesn’t happen correctly, shortness of breath and cough can occur as well as fatigue because your body is not being properly oxygenated. Kidney 27 is easily accessible, located about one inch from the midline on the lower border of the collar bone.
Large Intestine 11
Although better known as a fever-reducing point, Large Intestine 11 also is used preventively for colds and flus, and other immune-compromising conditions. In fact, one well-known style of Japanese acupuncture (Kiiko Matsumoto’s) considers Large Intestine 11 to be the master immune point in the body. It’s actually a point that falls just slightly below and outside Large Intestine 11. The exact location is determined according to sensitivity in that area. The most sensitive spot is usually the most effective when pressed or needled. Find Large Intestine 11 at the lateral (thumb side) edge of the elbow crease. Learn more about Large Intestine 11′s uses and location here.
Lung 7
Make a thumbs-up sign. When you do that, you’ll see a depression at the base of your thumb (referred to as the anatomical snuffbox). From that depression, Lung 7 is located approximately two finger widths up your arm. This acupuncture point is good for bolstering your body’s defensive energy, helping to keep your immune system strong. Symptomatically, Lung 7 is a frequently used point for cough, headache and stiff neck.
Stomach 36
Stomach 36 is one of the most effective acupuncture points for strengthening the immune system and recovering from fatigue. Acupuncturists often incorporate this point into treatments because it is such an energizing point. Stomach 36 is found about a hand length below the patella of the knee, just outside the prominent tibia bone. Sometimes pressing this point, if it’s done firmly enough, will produce a strong sensation that travels down the leg. Learn more about Stomach 36′s uses and location here.
How to Do the Routine
Here are a few quick tips on performing acupressure on these points:
Before performing acupressure on any of these points, get into a comfortable position from which you can easily access all four points (don’t worry—not at the same time!).
Begin with Kidney 27 and work your way down the body. So, the order should be Kidney 27, Large Intestine 11, Lung 7, Stomach 36.
For Kidney 27 and Stomach 36, since you have both hands free, press the point on both sides of the body at the same time.
For Lung 7 and Large Intestine 11, try pressing the point on each side of the body to determine whether one side is more tender than the other. If so, focus your acupressure sessions on the tender side. If both are equally tender (or not at all), you can pick either, or take turns pressing the points on both sides.
Spend 30 seconds on each point. Apply firm pressure while breathing steadily into your abdomen. You’ll probably find this routine very relaxing, so feel free to repeat it. Especially this time of year, you can’t overdo it.
As a maintenance routine, shoot for doing the two-minute routine once in the morning and once before bed. If you start feeling fatigued, weak or like you might be coming down with something, up it to three times a day.
January 11, 2014 by admin
Source: AcuTake
http://acutakehealth.com/14-things-acupuncture-can-help-you-achieve-in-2014
The new year is officially underway, so it’s time to get serious about any changes or improvements that you’ve committed to making in 2014. How are you going to be healthier? In what ways will you be different at this time next year?
Acupuncture can help you get to that desired place. It can make you healthier and happier—in ways you probably never imagined.
Through receiving acupuncture, becoming aware of its principles, and incorporating acupuncture-inspired self-care techniques into your life, you can enjoy physical and emotional benefits that may have eluded you in the past.
This is your year! Here are 14 things that acupuncture can help you achieve in 2014.
Less stress
Acupuncture is well known for its ability to lower stress. It takes the edge off by removing you from the perpetual state of sympathetic dominance in which so many of us find ourselves. By mellowing out the nervous system, acupuncture will help you feel less affected by and better equipped to manage the stressful aspects of life.
Regular acupuncture treatments are fantastic for keeping stress in check. Acupuncture-inspired self-care goes a long way as well. Watch this video for a simple, DIY stress-reduction technique. Check out 10 tips from acupuncturists for lowering stress. And don’t miss this two-part series on acupressure points for stress reduction.
Stronger immune system
Acupuncture strengthens natural resistance to disease. Forget endorphins. Forget improved blood circulation. Forget placebo. This is how acupuncture works, by bolstering your reserve and equipping you to fight off pathogens.
Acupuncture strengthens the immune system so that you can avoid illness rather than dealing with it after it happens.
Learn about four acupuncture points that strengthen immunity. When used as part of a regular acupressure routine, these points can help you avoid the flu this year. And if you’ve already suffered through the flu, these four points will help prevent a recurrence.
Self-awareness
Acupuncture looks at how root imbalances affect the whole system. This means that when one thing is out of whack, it can affect you in multiple ways. By thinking of yourself as a complex, interconnected system, it becomes easier to understand why you might be feeling unwell. Acupuncture broadens your awareness of the things that can potentially influence your physical and emotional health.
A more youthful appearance
Acupuncture can make you look younger. Seriously.
Acupuncture strengthens your five most essential organ systems—Kidney, Spleen, Liver, Lung, and Heart—so that you are systemically healthier. This can not only make you feel younger, by improving your energy levels, but it can actually prevent physical signs of aging.
Smooth and glowing skin
If your battle against aging has mainly to do with your skin, you may have considered cosmetic acupuncture. Cosmetic acupuncture, or facial rejuvenation acupuncture, got a lot of press last year. Celebrities swear by it. Some acupuncturists are basing their entire practices on it. Indeed, natural alternatives to Botox and prescription acne medications are in high demand, and acupuncture is emerging as a leading solution.
Less pain
When people think about acupuncture and what it can help with, pain is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But acupuncture’s ability to reduce pain goes beyond the physical benefits, such as improved blood flow and the release of pain-relieving endorphins and serotonin.
There is a significant emotional component to pain, especially pain that is chronic. This is why so many cases of pain go unabated by pain killers and anti-inflammatory medications. Treating pain effectively—that is, treating it in a way that addresses the root causes—requires approaching it holistically. Acupuncture excels at this.
A flatter stomach
Acupuncture offers a whole new take on why many people suffer from bloating, as well as reflux, constipation, and other digestive disorders. The paired Spleen and Stomach are the main organs associated with digestion. This refers to the digestion of food as well as the digestion of thought. From an acupuncture perspective, over thinking, like over eating, can lead to bloating and digestive discomfort.
Quality sleep
Insomnia is stubborn. Tons of people have it—it’s one of the most common complaints seen by acupuncturists—but for many different reasons. Because acupuncture looks at each patient as an individual, regular treatments can be highly effective for people who haven’t found relief in sleep medications or other one-size-fits-all solutions.
More energy
Although it’s common to find yourself in “acu land”—a somewhat dazed, blissfully relaxed state—during and immediately following acupuncture treatment, the after effect is usually increased energy. Many people report having more energy in the hours, days and even weeks after acupuncture treatment. You may notice that you’re avoiding that post-lunch coma, feeling more motivated to hit the gym, or just sensing a little extra spring in your step.
More patience
Let’s face it: We’re impatient. Our go-go-go society and the technology we’ve come to rely on has acclimated us to quick fixes. It perpetuates the “I want it now” mentality that dominates most of our worlds. This creates chronic impatience.
Acupuncture, because it works but rarely overnight, can help us combat this. Acupuncture is an ongoing process that requires an investment of time and a willingness to let go of our desire for instant gratification. It will make you a more patient person.
Better sex
The multifaceted nature of sexuality means that many systems throughout the body play a role, and seemingly unrelated symptoms or habits can influence whether someone has a fulfilling sex life. Acupuncturists, because they are trained to view their patients holistically, are experts at making these connections and restoring balance so that you’re able to fully experience and enjoy sex.
Open mindedness
Acupuncture, although becoming more widely used, is still not the norm. Most doctors, as well as some family, friends and colleagues, regard mainstream medicine as the only acceptable form of healthcare. Acupuncture requires you to think about health in entirely new ways because it turns mainstream medical tenets on their head. It will remind you that there are multiple ways of seeing the world—and that “popular” doesn’t always equal “right.”
A boost in confidence
The driving idea behind acupuncture is that we’re already in possession of everything we need to be well. Acupuncture does not add or subtract anything. Rather, it prompts the body to do what it already knows how to do. It reminds you that you have the power to heal yourself.
This does not mean that external interventions such as pharmaceuticals or surgery should always be shunned—in many cases, these are life saving measures. But it does mean that becoming healthier, whatever that means to you, is within your control. This can be an empowering, confidence-boosting realization.
Greater compassion for others
When you understand yourself better, which acupuncture helps you do by making you more self aware, you become better at cultivating compassion for others. You’re not the only one who’s a mishmash of interconnected organs and meridians that can at any moment become out of balance, resulting in unexpected reactions. Acupuncture reminds us that we’re all interconnected—through our environment and the energies that we put out into the world.
So this year, when someone annoys you or hurts you or looks at you the wrong way, try to remember that it’s not about you. They’re on their journey at the same time that you’re on yours—toward health, toward happiness, toward whatever’s next. Acupuncture can help all of us get there.
Source: UCLA
http://exploreim.ucla.edu/news/acupuncture-is-an-essential-health-benefit-in-california-for-2014/
Breaking news: Acupuncture will be considered an “essential health benefit” in California and will be covered by individual and small group health plans starting in 2014.
The American Association of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AAAOM) EHB Task Force has worked hard over the past year to bring the health benefits of acupuncture into mainstream medicine.
On Sept. 30th, Governor Jerry Brown signed measures SB951 and AB 1453, to include covering acupuncture under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).The two measures included acupuncture as an “essential health benefit” that the state can begin to offer through federally subsidized plans for individuals and families as well as unsubsidized plans. Under this plan, patients will pay a $30 co-pay for acupuncture services to treat nausea and chronic pain starting in 2014.
This is a critical and exciting step forward in the integration of Oriental Medicine into the American healthcare system. Increasing the accessibility of acupuncture to the American patient base widens the variety of effective treatment options and will potentially improve the overall cost-effectiveness of our healthcare system.
http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=32662
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