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Source: News OK
http://newsok.com/acupuncture-helps-those-with-addiction-mental-illness/article/feed/864590
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Sometimes it’s hard for Sandra Bauer to stop shaking.
The 56-year-old Dover resident struggles with anxiety that can be hard to control. She takes medication and sees a specialist from Connections Community Support Programs’ Assertive Community Treatment team in Dover every month.
Last Tuesday, however, it was as if all that stress disappeared. Bauer felt at peace. Her mind was calm. But it wasn’t medication that helped her feel at ease. It was five needles carefully positioned in her ears.
Bauer experienced acupuncture detoxification.
Known as acu-detox, the therapy utilizes standard acupuncture techniques to relieve stress, withdrawal symptoms and anxiety common in people living with addiction and behavioral health issues.
“I was trying to keep thinking about the beach,” Bauer said. The relaxed feeling lasted for “quite a while,” she said.
Acu-detox therapy is making a comeback in Delaware’s substance abuse and mental health community. It is not new by any means, just uncommon. Though its roots are in Eastern medical philosophies, it’s been practiced in modern medicine off and on for nearly four decades. Experts stress that it’s not a standalone therapy, but used as a supplement to a person’s treatment plan.
Starting in the mid-90s, the Kent and Sussex County Detox program in Ellendale offered acu-detox for patients until the center closed after 15 years. Delaware’s only detox facility, NET Kirkwood Detox, offered the treatment, but has since discontinued it.
Staff at Connections are currently being trained in the therapy to treat people with substance abuse and mental health issues. It’s just another tool in their toolbox, said Cathy McKay, Connections’ president and chief executive officer.
The state’s drug epidemic has prompted officials to get creative with treatment options while securing millions of dollars in funding to counter the rising tide of drug use. Some of that money will go toward opening a new 16-bed detox center in Harrington, run by Connections, which will help people withdraw from alcohol and drugs. It is expected to open in August.
McKay said she would like at least three nurses trained in acu-detox so they can practice at the new facility and at other outpatient locations.
“There’s a lot of different ways for people to get clean and you want to offer all the options so that people can see what works best for them,” McKay said. “It’s our intention to use all means that are available, that are evidence-based and proven to work.”
While acupuncture can be done on any part of the body, acu-detox is a treatment specifically concentrated in the ears. Therapy is typically done with a group, but it can be useful in a one-on-one situation.
“The ear is a microcosm of the whole body,” explained Tita Gontang, a social worker for the state, acupuncturist and licensed acu-detox trainer. She led the training last Tuesday for the Connections community team in Dover that treated Bauer and others.
Trained in accordance to protocol from the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, Gontang worked at Ellendale years ago and has worked with local organizations to train staff.
The inner ear has five points that connect to bodily responses throughout the whole body, she said. The points are linked to “shen men,” the sympathetic nervous system, kidney, liver and lung.
Shen men represents a person’s chi, Gontang said, or their positive and negative energy. The sympathetic nervous system connects to a person’s fight or flight response and the kidney, liver and lungs represent organs that filter the body of toxins.
When touched by a needle, each point releases stress. The needles used to stimulate those points are fine and stainless steel – as thin as a strand of hair.
Think of the ear as a clock, Gontang said. An acu-detox specialist will place needles in the areas of 12 o’clock, 3, 6 and 12. They stay in the ear for about 30 to 45 minutes and fall out on their own.
Camden-Wyoming resident Lisa Parte, 50, closed her eyes to try to be as sensitive as possible to the acupuncture. Parte has insomnia, anxiety and admittedly “bad tempers.” She couldn’t get enough of the session.
“I get this real mellow feeling like I am in an open pasture,” Parte said.
Cheyenne Luzader, the integrative health coordinator for Beebe Healthcare, has been leading a small acu-detox program for smoking cessation over the last six or seven years.
In terms of addiction, nicotine is one of the most difficult to stop, she said. Luzader works with as many 10 patients a year for eight weeks.
“It’s part of a whole other protocol. Acupuncture is just one of the coping mechanisms,” she said.
Even so, Stephanie Raffer, a 35-year smoker, credits Luzader’s acu-detox with helping her finally break the habit. Nicotine lozenges and other cessation tools had never really helped, she said. Going cold turkey was too difficult.
She had acu-detox sessions once a week for about three months.
“You kind of close your eyes and you just wander away,” said Raffer, 63, of Rehoboth. “I found it very relaxing, which helped keep me from reaching for my cigarettes.”
According to the state, there are four licensed detox specialists in Delaware. Trainees can have a background in medicine or social work, but they must have 70 hours of training under their belts, Gontang said.
Jaimie Stafford, pschiatric nurse practitioner for Connections’ Dover Act team, studied the benefits of acu-detox during her master’s program at Johns Hopkins University and is excited to train with Gontang.
“There’s no stigma attached with this,” Stafford said. “It’s something everyday people do.”
At the same time, there’s no movement away from using medications, McKay said. Each treatment plan has to be individualized. Medication management works for some, talk therapy works for others.
“Nobody wants to take methadone,” she said. “I think you have to use all the tools in the tool box.”
Source: Health CMi
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1496-acupuncture-relieves-dizziness-and-vertigo
Acupuncture is safe and effective for the treatment of dizziness and vertigo for emergency room patients. Subjective and objective measures document significant positive patient outcomes in a recent investigation. Close up of needling. HRV (heart rate variability), Dizziness Handicap Inventory (DHI), and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of dizziness and vertigo show that acupuncture has an immediate and significant therapeutic effect.
The researchers note that although acupuncture has been used for the alleviation of dizziness and vertigo for over a thousand years, few modern studies investigated this clinical phenomenon. The goal of the study was to determine the safety and efficacy of acupuncture for the treatment of dizziness and vertigo in the emergency department of a hospital. Patients were recruited from the emergency department at the Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan. All patients were screened by an otolaryngologist and a neurologist for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Inclusion criteria included dizziness, vertigo, vertebrobasilar artery syndrome, Ménière’s disease, and vestibular neuritis.
Acupuncture
Patients were divided into acupuncture and control groups. Patients in the acupuncture group had acupoints ST36 (Zusanli) and PC6 (Neiguan) applied with single-use, sterile, 40 x 0.25 mm silver handled acupuncture needles. The needles were manually stimulated to achieve the de qi sensation. Needle retention time was 30 minutes per acupuncture session. The control group received sham acupuncture. Pasting of seed patches were applied to areas approximately 1 cm away from true acupuncture points. Massage and acupressure were not applied to either group.
The study conclusively demonstrates that the application of acupuncture to PC6 and ST36 results in immediate reductions in discomfort and improvements of VAS for dizziness and vertigo. The researchers note that the “study provided clinical evidence on the efficacy and safety of acupuncture to treat dizziness and vertigo in (the) emergency department.”
The choice of acupuncture points is consistent with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory. PC6 is indicated for the treatment of nausea, vomiting, asthma, swollen and painful throat, epilepsy, painful ribs and chest, gastralgia, hiccups, palpitations, and asthma. PC6 is located 2 cun above the transverse wrist crease between the tendons of the palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis. PC6 is a luo point and a confluent point of the yinwei channel. It functions to calm the heart, pacify the spirit, regulate qi, and suppress pain.
ST36 is 3 cun below ST35 and is one finger breadth from the anterior crest of the tibia in the tibialis anterior muscle. ST36 is a he sea, earth, lower he sea of the stomach, gao wu command, heavenly star, and sea of nourishment point. ST36 functions to order the spleen and stomach, regulate qi and blood, and tonify qi. ST36 is indicated for the treatment of gastroenteritis, ulcers, bellyache, abdominal bloating, constipation, dyspepsia, hypertension, epilepsy, and appendicitis.
Heart Rate Variability
A heart rate monitor was used to determine heart rate variability. HRV is the variation in time between heart beats and is an index of the body’s ability to maintain control of the heart beat rate and rhythm through vagus nerve activity. Prior research, including Anderson et al., demonstrates that acupuncture improves heart rate variability. A lowering of HRV is found in unhealthy and highly stressed individuals.
Acupuncture’s ability to raise HRV is of importance because reduced HRV is linked to mortality after myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, diabetic neuropathy, and low survival rates in premature babies. In this recent research, HRV changes were documented because predisposition to autonomic nervous system dysfunctions relating to Ménière’s disease and other causes of dizziness and vertigo may be reflected in HRV values. This new study documents acupuncture’s ability to benefit HRV values.
Source: Athens Banner-Herald
http://onlineathens.com/health/2015-07-07/acupuncture-different-way-deal-pain
In 1996, the FDA approved the acupuncture needle as a medical device.
Sara Hewitt Kupelian is not your typical medical-surgical nurse. What makes her stand out is that she is also a licensed acupuncturist. “Learning Chinese medicine and acupuncture takes real dedication and devotion,” says Kupelian, a registered nurse for 23 years. She estimates that she logged about 10,000 hours in class and studied for more than four years to prepare for the national certification exam.
Kupelian, who practices in Atlanta, started her training in Georgia, but later moved to Colorado to complete her master’s degree from the Colorado School of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Denver.
She decided to study acupuncture after her mother, who later died from complications of cancer, found relief from pain and nausea through acupuncture.
“In my mother’s case,” Kupelian says, “she was able to tolerate the side effects of medications better with acupuncture. It enabled her to reduce the amount of medications needed and to offset side effects with far more relief than anticipated.”
The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health defines acupuncture as “a technique in which practitioners stimulate specific points on the body — most often by inserting thin needles through the skin.”
According to experts in Chinese medicine, acupuncture can be traced back about 2,500 years. It has been practiced in the United States for perhaps 200 years. But not until the 1970s — when U.S. interest in China increased and Asian immigration surged — did acupuncture become widely known to the average American.
In 1996, the FDA approved the acupuncture needle as a medical device. Outcomes of acupuncture vary, but the aim is decreased pain, as well as improved control of chronic pain.
RELIEF OF SENSORY LOSS
“My (acupuncture) experience was a great one,” says Margretta Milburn of Sandy Springs, a recent client. In her 80s, she says she was looking for something to help her with certain types of sensory loss that seemed to come with aging. She turned to Kupelian for guidance.
“I’m open to trying new things,” Milburn says. She explains that for her treatments, the small needles were placed on her head and around her ears. It was not painful, she adds. Milburn was able to regain some of the senses that had slowly disappeared. Kupelian says in some cases, a loss of the senses of taste and smell can be restored using acupuncture.
IS IT ECONOMICAL?
Some insurance companies may cover the costs of acupuncture, while others may not.
Medicare does not cover acupuncture treatments for older Americans. Some Medicare Advantage plans may offer coverage for varying types of alternative treatments, but only if they are considered medically necessary and provided by a health care professional who participates within the plan.
According to Atlanta licensed acupuncturist Mark Lewinter, initial consultations, which are typically about 90 minutes long, can cost approximately $100 to $200, and follow-up visits can cost from $75 to $150 and typically last about an hour.
“At Metro Acupuncture, we focus on symptoms, of course, but also preventive care and lifestyle choices, especially nutrition,” says Lewinter, who works with Dr. Anna Kelly, also a licensed acupuncturist.
Lewinter’s interest in studying Oriental Medicine started at age 13, when he was diagnosed with cancer. While undergoing chemotherapy, he also received alternative medicine to facilitate his recovery.
Source: Philly Magazine
http://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2015/06/29/what-is-acupuncture-like-the-first-time/
I Tried Acupuncture for the First Time — And I Can’t Wait to Go Back
Growing up, I always had a book in my hand. In middle school, I read “A Mango Shaped Space,” by Wendy Mass, and it quickly became one of my all-time favorites. It was about a girl named Mia who saw shapes and colors for every word and sound she heard. Her senses were basically a jumbled mess. I found it weirdly fascinating! She frequently went to get acupuncture therapy and, although I read it so long ago, I’ll never forget how much she loved it and always looked forward to her next appointment. There are tons of other books and articles about acupuncture out there, but something about this one stuck me.
Since about seventh grade I’ve wanted to try acupuncture myself. But despite rave reviews, the fear of getting needles stabbed into my flesh always held me back from giving it a go. When I heard that Open City Healing Arts was having an Acupuncture Wellness Hour last Tuesday night, I decided what the heck? It’s time to stop being a chicken and try this. For real.
So with that philosophy in mind, I headed down to Midtown Village for my free fifteen-minute session. When I walked through the door my heart was racing, but the soothing music in the waiting room instantly started to calm my nerves. After about ten minutes of waiting, my turn was up. The nerves suddenly came rushing back and I quickly tried to think of an escape plan. But it was too late. I was already being led into a room where I saw about five other people lying motionless on the acupuncture beds. They’re gonna wake up and eat me, I thought, this is the start of the zombie apocalypse. Clearly my nerves were getting the best of me.
I took off my shoes and climbed onto the bed as Laura, my acupuncturist, slid a pillow under my knees. She explained that she would be doing a simple, calming routine that would give me a taste of what acupuncture is like. She cleaned five pressure points — the top of each wrist, my forehead, and the top of each ear — with an alcohol wipe. As I exhaled, she inserted one needle into each pressure point. I was super relieved after she put the first one in my wrist, because it just felt like a tiny pinch. When she stuck my ears, on the other hand, it hurt pretty bad. To give you an idea: It felt like I’d gotten my cartilage re-pierced — and if you’ve ever had your cartilage pierced, you know it hurts.
As I lay there, needles in, I tried to clear my mind, and sink myself deeper into the bed with every breath. At first, the only thing I could focus on was the tiny beat I felt pulsing away in my ears, but after about three minutes it went away and I felt myself starting to drift. Apparently it’s normal to feel like you’re going to fall asleep, and from the faint snoring, I could tell that some of the others definitely had. After about five or six minutes, I felt completely at ease. I was still aware of what was going on, but it felt like I was falling into a deep sleep without actually being asleep.
Laura came back and took the needles out after about fifteen minutes or so. She explained that a full session would last longer and we could try out some different pressure points, but I thought this was pretty awesome for my first time. I left feeling relaxed and, to be honest, a little dazed after almost falling asleep at 5 p.m. For the rest of the night I felt a little more free-and-easy than I normally do. Now I’m eager to try it again — and for longer next time! If it’s something you’ve been considering, I would highly recommend giving it a go. You may be surprised by how much you like getting poked with needles.
Source: Herald Sun
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/acupuncture-may-reduce-sneezing-runny-noses-and-itchiness-of-hay-fever-victorian-trial-finds/story-fnpp4dl6-1227419125552
ACUPUNCTURE as a treatment for hay fever is nothing to be sniffed at, with a new study revealing it can reduce sneezing, runny noses and itchiness.
The results of a Victorian trial of the ancient Chinese treatment found that it could help relieve symptoms for up to four weeks.
Up to 15 per cent of Australians suffer from hay fever.
Not only does it affect how sufferers function in their daily life, the sneezing, itchy nose and throat and nasal dripping can also affect sleep and decrease work productivity.
Researchers from RMIT and Monash universities conducted a trial to assess the effectiveness and safety of four weeks of acupuncture.
Patients were given 12 sessions of either a sham acupuncture treatment or the real version in the height of the hay fever season every year for a three-year period.
At the end of the four-week treatment they found symptoms of sneezing and itchiness of the ears were “significantly less severe” in the patients who received the real acupuncture.
It was also more effective in treating runny and itchy noses, but not beneficial for nasal obstruction.
Patients who received acupuncture reported a boost in their quality of life.
The positive effects appeared to last for another four weeks after the acupuncture treatment stopped.
The 175 patients were given permission to take a specified amount of short-acting antihistamines during the trial to relieve their symptoms, but acupuncture did not make a significant impact on medication.
One of the paper’s authors, Professor Frank Thien, head of the Respiratory and Sleep Medicine Clinical Research Unit at Monash University, said it was thought that acupuncture induced an anti-inflammatory response in the body.
“Acupuncture is an option for patients to use and we have shown it is safe and effective,” he said.
The study, published in the Annals of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, suggests that the long-lasting effects could prove useful if acupuncture was used a few weeks before the onset of the peak hay fever season to prevent unbearable symptoms.
However, it noted that further trials, including one that involved a placebo control and assessed cost effectiveness, should be conducted.
Source: CDA Press
http://www.cdapress.com/news/healthy_community/article_ed6fb661-5840-5c4f-8927-0938a44e905d.html
Most people when they think of acupuncture think of it as relieving pain or for its ability to control addictions. When I first graduated from acupuncture school, there weren’t many studies done on the effectiveness of acupuncture for pain, addictions or the myriad other things that acupuncture is effective for – at least not in this country! There were many studies done in China, Japan, Germany, France, England and other countries, but we would not accept those studies because they weren’t classified as “high enough quality.” So we had to wait until there was enough interest here to substantiate the cost to run studies in the U.S. Now, three decades later, we have lots of high quality studies.
In The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 2014 entitled “Acupuncture for Chronic Pain,” the answer to “Does Acupuncture Really Help Pain?” was answered. YES! The study specifically noted acupuncture’s effectiveness in reducing pain in the following conditions: back and neck pain, musculoskeletal pain, osteoarthritis pain, chronic headaches and shoulder pain. In practice, and in studies, we find acupuncture effective for many other types of pain such as migraines, stomach pain, several types of joint pain, neuropathy, overuse pains, etc.
The meta-analyses and reviews of acupuncture research from the U.S., U.K., Germany, Spain and Sweden were narrowed to 29 of only very high quality studies, concluding that acupuncture provided a “good response” to pain reduction. Even then they noted that the benefits of acupuncture in the treatment of pain were probably underestimated because in practice, acupuncture treatments are customized according to the individual patient – something that cannot be done in clinical trials or studies.
The researchers also noted how other countries have established guidelines that recommend acupuncture as part of standard protocol. On two different occasions after graduating from my acupuncture university in the U.S., I studied acupuncture in China. First in a hospital in Beijing, then 11 years later as an ambassador to compare acupuncture in the U.S. with that in China. Acupuncture is a normal part of treatment there. Whereas the hospitals in both countries have a physical therapy department, a respiratory therapy department, a laboratory, etc., in China, they also have an acupuncture department. When I worked there, we either went to the bedside to do acupuncture, or the patient came to the acupuncture department/clinic for treatments. Next to the medical pharmacy, there was an herbal pharmacy. The patient always came up with a medication prescription and an herbal prescription. It was just a normal part of the hospital routine.
After meticulous review of the high quality acupuncture studies involving pain management, the researchers established acupuncture as a “standard and effective tool for the treatment of pain.” This came just after researchers at Rutgers University Medical School discovered the mechanism behind acupuncture’s effectiveness in reducing inflammation, also validating the effectiveness.
Bottom line, if you are suffering from pain and inflammation, you might want to give acupuncture a try!
Source: Lompoc Record
http://lompocrecord.com/lifestyles/columnist/acupuncture-as-cancer-treatment/article_c8923268-ea53-59ee-a5cc-fb85998d82d0.html
Question: Can acupuncture help treat my cancer?
Acupuncture has been used to treat many different illnesses and ailments for over 4,000 years in China. It is a major component of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and has been gaining increasing interest here in the United States over the past four decades. It especially has become much more popular in the last decade when the Food and Drug Administration approved the use of acupuncture needles for general medicinal use in November 1997 after the National Institutes of Health consensus panel recognized the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating adult post-chemotherapy treatment-induced vomiting and nausea.
Acupuncture entails using small disposable stainless steel needles that are just slightly thinner than one human hair. These needles are inserted into the skin at various points on the body known as acupoints. There are more than 2,000 acupoints on the human body and each of these points have been shown to have specific functions for different conditions.
Acupuncture is based on the theory that the body’s vital energy (Qi, pronounced “Chi”) flows along certain pathways (meridians) throughout our body. The Qi flows in opposite forces (yin and yang) in order to maintain a healthy balanced state. TCM believes that when one is sick that this vital energy flow is out of balance because of certain blocks or stagnation in part of the meridian. The acupoints are the points on the body that each meridian comes closest to the surface of the body and so by placing a needle at a specific acupoint this opens the meridian in attempting to restore balance to the body Qi, affecting not only the illness but promoting positive spiritual, emotional and mental wellness as well.
Clinical studies have shown that some cancer patients treated with acupuncture are far more likely to either discontinue or at least lower the dose of pain medications while receiving their cancer treatments than those patients not receiving acupuncture. The strongest evidence on the usefulness of acupuncture in cancer treatment is that of reproducible studies showing acupuncture being able to significantly reduce the severity of nausea and vomiting often induced by treatment.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the NIH actively funds and helps to facilitate ongoing research and evaluation to better appropriate the use of complementary medicine such as acupuncture. Their website at http://nccam.nih.gov offers free information regarding studies including journal articles and reference material.
There are quite a few reputable acupuncturists in our area. However, it should be strongly emphasized that acupuncture not be considered a cure for the cancer itself. Acupuncture should never be replaced with conventional standard therapy, but clearly acupuncture can safely be used as additional-complementary therapy in the many side effects of the cancer itself and our current Western therapies.
Source: HealthCMi
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1485-acupuncture-regulates-insulin-and-glucose-in-diabetics
Acupuncture regulates glucose levels in diabetics and improves the performance of metformin, an oral diabetes medication. Combining electroacupuncture with metformin improves glucose lowering performance and regulation of insulin secretion. As a result of recent findings, researchers conclude that a combination of electroacupuncture with an insulin sensitiser may be a new treatment for type 2 diabetes.
Liao et al. conducted a laboratory investigation on the effects of electroacupuncture and metformin on insulin resistant rats. The researchers comment that their investigation design is a humane model in that the rats need not be killed at the completion of the experiment. Blood samples, insulin assays, and immunohistochemical staining with western blot revealed important facts about how electroacupuncture achieves its therapeutic effects.
Electroacupuncture combined with metformin results in higher insulin levels than using only metformin. The researchers note that while metformin increases insulin sensitivity and inhibits gluconeogenesis, it “does not directly affect insulin secretion in the pancreas….” This indicates that the higher insulin levels were due to the addition of electroacupuncture treatments to acupuncture point ST36 (Zusanli).
An acupuncture plus metformin group was compared with a metformin only group. The researchers discovered that electroacupuncture increases the expression of MAPK insulin signalling factors. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) regulate a variety of cell functions. The researchers note that higher MAPK levels in the electroacupuncture combined with metformin group were due, at least in part, to electroacupuncture induced muscle contractions.
Metformin mildly decreases plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels. However, the addition of electroacupuncture significantly enhanced this effect. FFA increases are associated with insulin resistance and reduced insulin sensitivity. The researchers note that the results suggest that adding electroacupuncture (EA) therapy to metformin intake ameliorates “insulin resistance caused by FFAs.”
The researchers note, “In conclusion, we found that EA–metformin resulted in a better glucose-lowering effect, higher levels of insulin secretion, lower plasma FFA levels and higher levels of MAPK than metformin alone. The glucose-lowering effect and increased insulin sensitivity associated with EA–metformin administration is governed, at least in part, by its ability to stimulate the activation of GLUT4 via upregulation of MAPK expression.”
The researchers noted several reasons for initiation of their investigation. Prior research by Lin et al. indicates that 2 Hz electroacupuncture at acupuncture point CV12 (Zhongwan) “reduces plasma glucose levels in diabetic rats.” Lee et al. discovered that electroacupuncture stimulates beta endorphin releases that increase insulin production in diabetic rats. Electroacupuncture at 15 Hz to acupoint ST36 induced glucose lowering responses through stimulation of cholinergic nerves and adrenal glands that subsequently stimulate the release of insulin signalling proteins. Electroacupuncture was also shown to enhance the expression of insulin receptor substrate 1 (IRS-1), an insulin signal protein that results in FFA decreases.
Liang et al. demonstrate that low frequency electroacupuncture improves insulin sensitivity in diabetic mice via activation of PGC-1alpha and SIRT1. PGC alpha is a master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis. The protein deacetylase SIRT1 is a metabolic sensor that affects PGC alpha. Together, the two substances are involved in metabolic fitness. Lagouge et al. note, in their study of the benefits of resveratrol on mitochondrial function and prevention of metabolic disease, that SIRT1 is indicated “as a key regulator of energy and metabolic homeostasis.”
Liao et al. note that human clinical trials “should be undertaken to obtain clearer information about the role of EA in GLUT4 translocation as well as the long-term effects on the control of DM (diabetes melitis).” They note that the data indicates that combining electroacupuncture with an insulin sensitizing agent may be a new treatment strategy for type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Source: Dallas News
http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/health-and-fitness/health/20150608-patients-find-relief-from-migraines-with-acupuncture.ece
Migraine sufferers Amy O’Brien and Bonnie Sue Garcia both needed relief without medication. Their separate paths led them to the same place: acupuncture.
O’Brien, who is pregnant and can’t take the migraine medicine she’s relied on for years, chose treatment with a licensed acupuncturist. Garcia, who started getting migraines right before she turned 50, found answers with a medical doctor who uses acupuncture in her practice.
“We’re kind of trying to keep a foot in Western medicine but bringing what Eastern medicine can offer on top of that,” says Dr. Claudia Harsh, a specialist in medical acupuncture and integrative medicine with the Integrative Medicine Program at Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center at Dallas. Harsh is Garcia’s physician.
Garcia turned to Harsh after taking migraine medication that only gave her temporary relief and unwanted side effects. She wanted to find the root cause of the debilitating migraines that had suddenly taken over her life.
“I had a pile of medication that I refused to take because it wasn’t making me feel any better,” says Garcia, whose neurologist then suggested Botox. “That just kind of freaked me out. That was my last straw. I’m not doing Botox in my head. I am not comfortable with that.”
Her research for a more holistic approach led her to The Pain Cure: The Proven Medical Program That Helps End Your Chronic Pain by Dharma Singh Khalsa. Next, she found out about the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture and Harsh.
“What I liked about her approach was that she interviewed you to try to understand your lifestyle, how much stress you have in your life and your nutrition,” says Garcia, who lives in Grand Prairie and works in banking in downtown Dallas. “I knew I was connected to the right person.”
O’Brien of Lake Highlands was also looking for alternatives last fall when her obstetrician-gynecologist told her that the excessive caffeine in Excedrin Migraine medicine was out of the question, as were Botox injections. O’Brien, who is due in August, says her migraines intensified in her first trimester.
“I went from having three to four migraine attacks per month to two per week where I was shut down 16 hours, can’t move, hanging out in the bathroom, dark, quiet, no lights, no sound, nothing,” says O’Brien, a physician recruiter for Staff Care in Irving. “I finally went to my doctor and said, ‘I can’t do this anymore. I have to go to work still.’”
O’Brien’s doctor said that his aunt was seeing relief through acupuncture. O’Brien booked an appointment with Ellee Carlson, a licensed acupuncturist at Southwest Acupuncture Clinic in Richardson.
“I wish I had known about this in the first trimester because that would have been fantastic,” says O’Brien, who has suffered from migraines since age 7. “For the longest time I didn’t know there were any options. I never would have thought about acupuncture, just because you don’t hear about it.”
Acupuncture for migraine pain relief is not new but it’s becoming more mainstream since the medical community began embracing it.
“I find that we’re slightly behind the curve here in Dallas. Certainly on the East Coast and West Coast, it’s almost standard that people would go and get acupuncture for pain,” says Harsh, who has a medical degree from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and completed medical acupuncture training at UCLA.
Both Harsh and Dr. Chaouki Khoury, director of the Baylor Headache Center, point to a German study led by Klaus Linde and published in 2005 in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The trial consisted of 12 sessions over eight weeks. Experts compared the effectiveness of acupuncture for migraines against no acupuncture and sham acupuncture.
The study showed an actual improvement for those receiving both acupuncture and sham acupuncture with no improvement for the control group. Khoury also cites another study published in the Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology in February 2015.
“That study compares the effectiveness of acupuncture therapy and conventional drug therapy on the psychological profile of migraine patients,” he says.
Khoury, who refers patients out for acupuncture, says studies prove acupuncture for pain does have benefits, but he and many medical experts work off the theory that its stress-and-relaxation techniques are key.
“Is it truly because we’re hitting the Chinese points of your soul and your love and all the different acupuncture points per se?” he says. “No … it’s a stress-and-relaxation technique, the same way as yoga helps with headache, as Pilates helps with headache, acupuncture helps with headache.”
So while experts helping migraine patients may have different working theories, their goal is the same: alleviating the pain.
Carlson, who treats O’Brien, says treatment strategy depends on pinpointing the migraine’s root cause, which may involve hormones, body tissue or nerves.
“My perspective is probably quite different because I am approaching the patient’s diagnosis from an Eastern medicine paradigm. While I definitely take their biomedical diagnosis into consideration, I do not select a treatment strategy based upon that. I approach the patient from a holistic perspective analyzing how the entire system is functioning and responding to external and internal disruption,” Carlson says.
O’Brien and Garcia say they believe the needles inserted into their shoulder muscle, neck and head are key to their relief.
Carlson inserts needles into her tight neck and shoulder muscles, O’Brien says, as well as the scalp and in her eyebrows since her migraines start behind her eyes.
Pressure-release valve
“As a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner, I assess the overall presentation, looking to discern the pathomechanism
behind the migraine and seek out the root cause. Are the migraines exacerbated by changing weather conditions? Fluctuations in the menstrual cycle? Certain foods? Stress? Muscle tension?” says Carlson, who has a bachelor of science in integrative biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a master of science (traditional Oriental medicine) from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in Chicago. “There are many possibilities, and it is my job to explore these options.”
After a few visits with Carlson, O’Brien says there was noticeable improvement.
“It’s amazing. I haven’t had to cancel any plans,” she says. “I don’t know where I’d be without her. I’d be miserable.”
Harsh and Carlson’s approaches are similar. Their initial assessment includes looking over medical history, lifestyle and nutrition. About eight to 16 needles are typically used in both Carlson and Harsh’s migraine treatment.
“It’s two paths up the same mountain,” says Harsh, who also is an OB-GYN with Texas Oncology. “We use the same terminology. Our perspectives are slightly different. I will always start with a medical model because I am a physician. But I try not to focus on the differences and say, ‘Hey, if I put a point in large intestine 4 on the hand, that’s where the licensed acupuncturist puts it, too.’ I might use different modalities and different nutritional supplements than they do — I don’t use herbs, for instance. Everybody finds the path that works for them.”
Patients O’Brien and Garcia have taken Harsh and Carlson’s nutrition, lifestyle and posture recommendations to heart. Both have scaled back on caffeinated drinks, and Garcia avoids nuts and yogurt, which seem to trigger her migraines.
After just a few 30-minute sessions of relieving tension in her shoulders and neck, “Those were the days I could sleep like a baby,” Garcia says. “If it wasn’t for me really pushing these doctors and doing my own research, I think I would have continued to struggle with them [migraines], and I refuse to live my life that way.”
Both O’Brien and Garcia say they are rethinking the stress in their everyday lives.
“We’re in a culture where we burn the candle at both ends and we get lauded for overdoing it and overbooking ourselves. It’s just not good,” says Harsh. “It will come out somewhere in our health, and migraines I think are kind of like a pressure-release valve.”
O’Brien expects to keep doing acupuncture even after her baby arrives. No need to take medicine. And that shift in her thinking is a healthy one, Harsh says.
“We have to change our mentality: ‘I hurt, let me take this pill,’ to ‘I hurt. Let me think about how I’m sleeping at night and what I’m eating and how I’m being nourished by the people in my life.’ It becomes a broader awareness of what’s going on in our lives, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing,” Harsh says.
Source: Health CMi
http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1482-acupuncture-improves-optic-neuropathy-patient-vision
Acupuncture benefits vision for patients with ischemic optic neuropathy. In a recent investigation, acupuncture improved visual acuity and light sensitivity while reducing defects of the visual field for patients with nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION). The researchers note the improvements suggest “that regular and continuous acupuncture treatment contributed to the recovery of the visual function of these patients. This may be because acupuncture promoted the blood circulation of artery in the brain and eyes and around the optic disc.” They add, “acupuncture repaired and reconstructed the visual pathways.”
Nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy is a common optic neuropathy for patients over the age of 50. Risk factors include diabetes and hypertension. Signs and symptoms include unilateral loss of eyesight, visual defects and optic disc swelling or paleness. Researchers from the Department of Ophthalmology at the China-Japan Friendship Hospital and from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine conducted the study. The researchers note “this is the first report about acupuncture treatment for degenerative damage of the optic nerve caused by NAION.”
Acupuncture
Sterile, disposable needles of 0.25 x 40 mm were used. The following acupuncture points were administered for patients:
BL1 (Jingming)
EX-HN7 (Qiuhou, M-HN-8)
GB14 (Yangbai)
DU19 (Baihui)
EX-HN1 (Sishencong)
EX-HN6 (Taiyang)
GB20 (Fengchi)
Pizhixue (Qiaoming)
LI4 (Hegu)
SJ5 (Waiguan)
Deqi sensation was evoked with manual acupuncture for select acupoints. LI4 and SJ5 were connected with electroacupuncture. Intensity levels were set to patient tolerance between 0.1 mA and 1.0 mA. The electroacupuncture device was set to disperse-dense waves. The acupuncture treatments were 5 times per week for 8 weeks. Needle retention time was 20 minutes per acupuncture session.
The total effective rate for visual acuity improvement after 8 weeks of acupuncture was 81.71%. Mean light sensitivity improved from 17.47 dB prior to acupuncture to 20.34 dB after acupuncture treatment. Mean defect improved from 9.39 dB prior to acupuncture to 6.30 dB after acupuncture treatment. The average latency of the P100 wave also improved with acupuncture treatment.
New cases of nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy affect thousands of individuals every year. A study conducted by the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minnesota) that was funded in part by Research to Prevent Blindness (New York) indicates that approximately “5,700 new cases of acute nonarteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy may be expected to occur each year” in the United States. Current therapies include glucocorticoids, hypotensive drugs, anti-vascular endothelial growth factor, hyperbaric oxygen, and optic nerve sheath decompression procedures.
The recent study conducted by researchers from the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and the China-Japan Friendship Hospital indicates that acupuncture is a safe and effective treatment modality for NAION. Given the clinical successes documented in the study, additional research investigating the potential synergistic and additive properties of acupuncture combined with conventional therapies may help to develop superior patient treatment protocols.
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Meridian Healing
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