Needling Addiction

Having worked in in-patient psych facilities as a nurse, I often wanted to do a little community acupuncture while the patients were in group therapy. The big problem (especially in KY where we received and "F" for mental health) is insurance companies don't want to pay for the minimum proven therapies, let alone anything extra like acupuncture. 28-day programs are reserved for those with tri-care, those with MDs who want to milk every possible day out of Medicaid/Medicare benefits (whether the patient needs it or not), or the affluent. Luckily, there are some progressive thinkers who see acupuncture as a useful tool for fighting addiction and helping prevent relapse. Acupuncture-based pilot program helps fight addictionsBY KELLI LACKETTMike Allen had tried to stop drinking before.And he'd...

Mentor Spotlight

The word about acupuncture facelifts is getting around thanks to the New York Times, and two of my mentors, Mary Elizabeth Wakfield (Constitutional Facial Renewal) and Martha Lucus (Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture), are mentioned. This comes just in time for my post-holiday promotions and will make a good addition to in-office literature. Skin DeepHold the Chemicals, Bring on the NeedlesBy NORA ISAACSPublished: December 13, 2007JANE BECKER, a composer and solo pianist, celebrated her 50th birthday at the dermatologist, paying $1,500 for shots of Restylane and Botox. But three months later, their wrinkle-smoothing effects wore off. So, she turned to a less-artificial youth tonic: facial acupuncture.Like many women who have tried acupuncture in pursuit of beauty, Ms. Becker hoped that having needles...

CEU/PDA Alert

I had a wonderful time at this year's Pacific Symposium in San Diego. Although I only went for the weekend portion, I have already implemented many of the principles I learned from Alex Tiberi, Kiiko Matsumoto, Effie Chow, and Mark Kastner. Yet between flight, hotel, food, rental car, and incidentals, I could have paid for a the next 10 years worth of CEU credits. Lately I have been doing the one hour CEUs by Bob Flaws from Blue Poppy which are excellent, but there is a new company that has also started offering courses for those of us who live in the (acupuncture) sticks. I have yet to participate, but I will provide an update and review when I take a class.Acupuncture continuing education courses online are offered by the Healthcare Medicine Institute (HealthCMI) at https://www.healthcmi.com/...

New Study

Polycystic Ovary Disease/Syndrome seems to be cropping up more and more. It seems every one of my female clients having fertility issues have all been diagnosed with PCOS and the medications they are prescribing to aid it are less than friendly. Noe the University of Virginia is announcing a call for volunteers for a study to test the effectiveness of acupuncture on this growing disorder. Unfortunately, they are going with sham acupuncture as the control rather than no treatment, or doing a drug versus acupuncture study, but at least it is a beginning.Acupuncture for P...

Stickin' It To Us

I came across this parody today that was marginally funny, although some of the other material on this site is downright hilarious. Have a laugh, check it out.Acupuncture Proven to Relieve the Suffering of the D...

Using the Needle After the Knife

Numerous articles came out today about the effects of decreasing the need for pain medicine following surgery. Of course, this came along with an onslaught of articles refuting the success of acupuncture for IVF, but I wanted to focus on the positive. Studies find acupuncture cuts post-surgical painTue Oct 16, 2007 5:35pm EDTWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The use of acupuncture before and during surgery reduces patients' post-operative pain as well as the need for pain-killing medication, researchers said on Tuesday.Researchers at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina analyzed the results of 15 clinical trials on the effectiveness of acupuncture -- a practice that originated in China of inserting thin needles into specific body points.They concluded that it is valuable for pain control...

A Weekend with Mei Zen

Since I can never get enough CEU's, this past weekend I attended the Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture for the Face and I wanted to share a breakdown of the 2-day seminar.The System: As I had to sign a releases that I cannot talk about specifics of treatment, I will leave the description general. As in other systems, Mei Zen includes a total body acupuncture treatment, uses the eight extraordinary point combinations, and is affiliated with a product line. What makes this system unique is that the same facial protocol is used on every patient and that it makes use of crossing and apex groups as described in the Huang Di Nei Jing. While I cannot disclose the points, I can tell you there are nearly 85 specialty needles in the face, all of which are inserted without a guide tube.After watching the...

Stabbed in the Back

The proclamation that acupuncture significantly outperforms conventional medication and physical therapy was published on multiple sites this morning. The only downside to the research is that they found sham acupuncture works almost as well, upping the potential for "quackery."Acupuncture better at treating low back pain than conventional therapyFrom our ANI CorrespondentWashington, Sept 25: A new study has revealed that six months of acupuncture is more effective than conventional therapy for treating chronic low back pain.The study conducted by researchers at the University of Regensburg found that both sham acupuncture and traditional Chinese verum acupuncture, seem effective in treating chronic pain."Low back pain is a common, impairing and disabling condition, often long-term, with an...

Funny Tidbit

Okay, this is not stricly acupuncture related, but it is amusing and possibly something to consider when treating patients with implants.Bee sting burst breast implantA Taiwanese woman's breast implant was reportedly burst by a bee sting.The 31-year-old woman, from Miaoli town, was wearing a low-cut dress while riding her motorcycle when her right breast was stung by a bee."My right breast disappeared in only two days," said the woman, who received the implant three years ago, according to Southern China City News.Surgeon Zeng Dingchang says the saline implant is supposed to resist pressure of up to 200 kg, and said it was "very strange" for one to deflate because of a bee sting."She is very skinny, and the implant made the skin of her breast even thinner, and therefore easy to penetrate,"...

Obituary of an Acupuncture Hero

I came across this lovely story and thought I would share.Peter Wang, 88, acupuncturist who bridged cultures: A Life StoryTeacher, author helped Chinese newcomers settle in NE OhioMonday, August 27, 2007Alana BaranickPlain Dealer ReporterAt his Chester Township acupuncture clinic, Peter C. Wang helped folks quit smoking, relieved their arthritis pain and immersed them in Chinese culture.The former Gates Mills resident, who died July 26 at age 88, opened the clinic with his wife, Rose, in the late 1970s."[Acupuncture] was something you didn't talk about then," said Ann Volk, who was Wang's patient in the late 1980s. "It had not gained the status that it has today. He gave successful treatments for weight loss, smoking, drinking. I had a cyst on the back of my knee. He helped me immeasurably."Wang,...

A Sign of Things to Come?

As the country moves toward self-funded insurance while listening to presidential candidates debate the merits of everything from national healthcare to requiring all employers to provide coverage, it is hard to predict where intergrative modalities will fit in. But they say everything starts at the coasts and moves inland. As usual, California is at the forefront of advancing coverage, and therefore legitimacy, of acupuncture practice.Bill would require insurance to cover acupunctureBy Hector Trujillo/Staff WriterA bill requiring health-care service plans and health insurers to provide coverage for acupuncture under a group plan or policy is being considered in the Legislature.Assembly Bill 54, introduced by Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, creates new coverage requirements on health-care service...

Acupuncture for Weight Loss

While I give dietary recommendations to the majority of my clients, I do not do a lot of acupuncture for weight loss as a stand alone treatment. I advise patients to speak with a nutritionist, preferably holistic, to devise a solid meal and activity plan. Here is an article from the ShanghaiDaily.com that gives an informative break-down with some free dietary advise - I would skip the "downward purging" though!TCM take on fat: Vent your spleenBy Zhang Qian 2007-8-15If you want to fight fat the TCM way, you should eat foods to promote a healthy spleen — like Chinese pearl barley, known as Job's tears — and drink lots of Pu'er tea. Both are also diuretics, writes Zhang Qian.A sun top, miniskirt and high-heel sandals - that's the outfit that catches men's attention and other girls' envy on the...

What's In A Name?

There has been some debate lately on the name "alternative medicine." Much of the head-butting between Western and Eastern styles of practiced had diminished as more and more primary health care providers are suggesting massage, yoga, and acupuncture. "Complementary medicine" has been the preferred term over the past few years, however that does not tell the entire story either. The new title seems to be "integrated medicine" which doesn't make any one therapy primary and allows for a broad range of therapies to be considered legitimate. Guess I am going to have to change the wording in my website!Integrating alternatives into Western medicineAmyGillentineAugust 10, 2007Alternative medicine isn’t really “alternative” any more — in fact, the medical community isn’t even using that term.Now...

Dynamic Duo

Several years ago a Mexican friend and I were discussing acupuncture when the subject of cupping came up. He exclaimed "my mom did that to us on our backs when we were sick as kids - it's a Mexican thing!" It is also an Oriental Medicine "thing." Imagine - two toatally different cultures developing the same type of treatment oceans apart. Now there is a deeper cross-cultural sharing as acupuncture sweeps Mexico thanks to an educational exchange with Viet Nam.Viet Nam, Mexico pin down acupuncture education deal(31-07-2007)HA NOI — Viet Nam and Mexico inked an agreement in Ha Noi yesterday to develop acupuncture education and exchange between the two countries.The plan, which will see Viet Nam help train Mexican doctors in acupuncture and set up a drug rehabilitation centre in Zacatecas, was...

Teeter-Tottoring with Community Acupuncture

Lately there has been much buzz concerning community acupuncture as such clinics have been popping up all over the country. These clinics offer acupuncture on a sliding scale fee from between $15-$40 per session with treatment taking place in a group setting, These patients are typically placed in a recliner rather than on a table, and remain clothed as the majority of points used are distally located. According to the Community Acupuncture Network:Acupuncture has been a community based medicine for most of its long history. In Asia, acupuncture has traditionally been practiced in group rather than individual settings. For acupuncture to be most effective, patients need to receive it frequently and regularly -- far more frequently and regularly than most insurance plans will pay for. As acupuncture...

I'm Back

It has been a couple of months since my last post and there has been quite a bit of news in the acupuncture world. More research and testimonials as to the effectiveness of Oriental Medicine, more worldwide and national coverage of local clinics and larger hospitals, more emergence of community acupuncture clinics that, depending on who you are talking to, undercut peers and undermine the profession or provide low-cost therapy to those who could otherwise not afford treatment, . . . more "asian medicine" clinics being busted for a phony prostitution front. Any way you look at it, acupuncture has been in the news while I have been away and I am ready to pick-up and resume inserting my 2 yuan. In the meantime, here are a couple of websites/blogs I have run into in the past few days. Enjoy!h...

Old Friends, New Clinic

This morning I was pleased to read that a former instructor of mine teamed up with one of my old buddies to open an integrative health clinic. Steve Swart, infamous at IICM for being the most hard line didactic and clinical instructor (and I aced his final thank you very much), and Robert Campbell, who I remember even in his first year investigating suppliers for his future herbal pharmacy, have opened an impressive center for holistic healing in an area where "alternative medicine" has become an anachronistic term. I remember reading a statistic that there were more acupuncturists per capita in Santa Fe then there were in the major cities in China! At any rate, this pair will doubtless win over the competition. Not-so-new healing center often a 'last resort'By Cindy Bellinger For The...

Upcoming Battle

Great, the FDA got board again. I understand the need for regulation, but juice? How do they plan to enforce banning vegetables and stones? And Mr. McGreggor though Peter Rabbit was a nuisance!The FDA is proposing stricter regulations for herbs, vitamins, vegetable juices and even “devices” such as massage oils, massage rocks, and acupuncture needles under a new guidance document up for review.According to the document produced by the FDA, use of CAM therapies has risen substantially over the last few years, with one third of adults reporting using some form of CAM in the last year. Interestingly, the docket also reports that visits to CAM practitioners outnumber visits to primary care physicians each year.The FDA claims that their regulations are simply a “guidance” as to what constitutes...

Self Acupuncture and the Fractal Body

When I first read the title I thought of one of my former classmates yelling about "recycled qi!" I have done my share of self-treatments and given many lessons to patients on how to use self-acupressure. However, I believe no matter how great of an acupuncturist or massage therapist you are, there is nothing like having it done by a fellow professional.The title nonwithstanding, Dr. Ye has developed a "fractal needle" system drawing on concepts from the Yellow Emperor's Classic and the use of one-needle treatments. A fractal is a repatative geometric figure within a structure. In acupuncture, you can think of the ear, hands, or feet being a fractal of the whole body. This is a bit on the esoteric side, so for a more complete description with case studies and treatment protocols, visit http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Acupuncture/ye62.htmIf...

Job Opening, Please!

The success of this hospital based holistic program makes me want to start my own business proposal. I think one of the misconceptions about CAM practitioners is that we all believe "it's my way or the highway." Granted, there are some who do shun all things western medicine, but the vast majority believe intergrating as many modalities as possible to bring about health and wellbeing is the preferred method of practice. Acupuncture meets antibiotics: Mercy Hospital supplements traditional care with holistic treatmentsMiami Herald, The (KRT) - Mar. 27, 2007Mar. 27--Two years ago, Ivan Toirac was admitted to Mercy Hospital in a coma following a drug overdose."All the doctors told us he was going to die, or was going to be like a vegetable for the rest of his life," recalled his father, Arturo...

New Information for the Conciarge

We all know spas have been expanding to include acupuncture services, but now hotels are starting to get into the game. And believe it or not, the treatment rates are decent and the hotels are not grossing a large profit of their customers! If you ever wanted to break in to hospitality, you may want to use this piece in your sales pitch.'Sticking' Your Guests for Profit3/19/2007 5:09:46 PMBy David WilkeningHighly competitive hoteliers looking for the next new innovative service might consider acupuncture. While the 5,000-year-old practice has been around a long time, it’s certainly far from commonplace, but some hotels are seeing green by sticking it to their guests.The reaction when it was offered recently at the Spencer Hotel in Chautauqua, New York, was all positive, says owner Helen...

Newsletter

I received an interesting e-mail today from a place calling themselves "the International Institute of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture." The headlines were:1 - Eliminate a headache in 15 seconds2 - An alternative to the Acupuncture needles3 - Special tuition offered by our International Institute4 - General notesI did a quick browse and skimed the headache article, read the theory that underwire bras are pressing on the YangMing merdian which "accumulates energy in the breast, and becomes, with time, a stagnation and accumulation of the energy CHI. This could very well be an important cause of Breast-Cancer." Then there were several "teasers" on subjects including obesity, infertility and a piece on magnetic, needle free acupuncture. Nothing much came up a Google search of the founder of...

Runner's World

While I do not identify myself as a runner, I have managed to put away a few small races and even a mini-marathon. Needless to say, I have had my share of knee pain and ankle twists. When I sprained my ankle several years ago in a canyon, I had it lanced and cupped and within two days it was like it never happened. I have also seen my share of plantar faciitis in practice and have to admit I always feel like a bully when I administer treatment - having needles placed in your heel no matter how thin they are is uncomfortable. While most of us see patients at the chronic stage of the disease, it is a joy to be able to treat at the onset of injury. For athletes, this is especially true as it gets them back in training all the faster.Can Acupuncture Heel an Injury?When one of our staff members...

Pretty Inside, Pretty Outside

salesmanship has never been my strong point which is why facial acupuncture can be such a great marketing tool. People may shout "placebo" when a friend tells them their depression/pain/allergies are better with acupuncture, but they can't dismiss the effects when they see the results for themselves. Just one treatment can bring back a healthy, youthful glow, diminish a few of the deeper face lines, and provide a noticeable lift. Not only do you get a "qi lift," but you also get an acupuncture treatment that works on the constitutional level. Take that, spa facial!Facial Acupuncture Said To Help Aging ProcessSeema MathurReporting(CBS 42) AUSTINWrinkles and loose skin are a part of aging for most. But, can some well placed needles slow that aging process?Experts say acupuncture has been around...

New Pennsylvania Law

When I was practicing in Texas, we had a similar law that required a patient has been referred to an acupuncturist. One of the sneaky ways that I was told by the local board to get around this was to have a separate form where the patient gave the name and address of their PHP, verified they had seen an MD for the condition, and was referred by the physician to get acupuncture. Since most patients see acupuncturists after they exhaust all other possibilities, it was never a problem. Last time I checked, neither acupuncture, chiropractor, or naturopathy were extensively covered in med school, yet we had to be given "permission" while chiropractors and naturopaths were allowed to practice unencumbered. At least in Pennsylvania, the scales are beginning to balance.PA Law Change Makes Alternative...

Points for Plants

Wow - better botany through acupuncture - who would have thought?Researcher patents use of acupuncture on plantsLONG-TERM PROJECT: Hsiao Gui-wen spent eight years drawing up a comprehensive map of plant acupuncture points and another seven years perfecting the treatment By Chung Li-huaSTAFF REPORTERS Sunday, Jan 07, 2007, Page 2Can acupuncture be used on plants?After experimenting for 15 years, Hsiao Gui-wen (蕭貴文), a researcher of Chinese medicine, has uncovered the acupuncture points on plants.When applied to fruit-bearing plants such as peach and apple trees, acupuncture not only advanced the harvest time by a month and a half, but also decreased damage by blight.The technique has been patented, and many interested businesses now are in negotiation for the rights to use the technology.Hsiao...

New Year, New Face . . . Sort of

In Louisville, there are at least two new plastic surgery offices opening near my practice in addition to the several "botox beauty boutiques" that promise to smooth out any flaw you can think of with laser, syringe, or scalpel. Acupuncture facials can be a hard sell - people who are considering botox or face lifts are probably not going to embrace acupuncture because the results are too slow. The occasional Hollywood personality testimonial may bring some of these people in, but the majority are going to be existing clients or those who would not try anything more invasive than Oil of Olay. Here is some help in bringing that awareness. Put a New Face on the New YearWritten by StaffFriday, 05 January 2007Okay, that may be a bit extreme, but with all of the natural and less invasion alternatives...