This photo came to me in a Facebook feed and I thought it would help set the appropriate tone as we reflect back on 2011 and create our mindset for 2012. Happy New Ye...
Primer on Happiness
This photo came to me in a Facebook feed and I thought it would help set the appropriate tone as we reflect back on 2011 and create our mindset for 2012. Happy New Ye...
Quick Coherence for Holiday Peace
We have been using a lot of Biofeedback for soldiers with PTSD to decrease anxiety and increase mindfulness. I am currently in the process of reviewing the emWave by HeartMath to determine if it is a good fit to use and recommend at Jing, and one of the initial practices suggested is a short heart meditation that does not require the aid of a device. Detailed information is available on their website along with a number of free tools and research. Try out this quick, proactive practice for your own centered presence before taking on holiday traffic or that pesky family drama!Step 1: FocusBring awareness to the area around your heart in the center of your chest. Place your hand over your sternum to help maintain this focus.Step 2: BreathBegin by taking your normal breaths gradually deepening...
Quick Coherence for Holiday Peace
We have been using a lot of Biofeedback for soldiers with PTSD to decrease anxiety and increase mindfulness. I am currently in the process of reviewing the emWave by HeartMath to determine if it is a good fit to use and recommend at Jing, and one of the initial practices suggested is a short heart meditation that does not require the aid of a device. Detailed information is available on their website along with a number of free tools and research. Try out this quick, proactive practice for your own centered presence before taking on holiday traffic or that pesky family drama!Step 1: FocusBring awareness to the area around your heart in the center of your chest. Place your hand over your sternum to help maintain this focus.Step 2: BreathBegin by taking your normal breaths gradually deepening...
Top 5 Self-Care Experiences of 2011
Many patients ask me what I do for my own self-care regimen - after all, if you are going to preach it, you need to practice it. One of my main sources of R&R are spa adventures both for my own personal enjoyment, but also as a way to research a variety of therapies to recommend as part of a total individual treatment plan for my patients. This year I had the opportunity to try several modalities in various locations across the country, and the following are my reflections on those experiences.Maya Abdominal Massage - I have only had one "full body" massage in my life where abdominal work was part of the treatment. I have asked a number of massage therapists why, and answers range from "nobody likes it" to "we didn't learn that in school." I agree, it feels a little weird...
Top 5 Self-Care Experiences of 2011
Many patients ask me what I do for my own self-care regimen - after all, if you are going to preach it, you need to practice it. One of my main sources of R&R are spa adventures both for my own personal enjoyment, but also as a way to research a variety of therapies to recommend as part of a total individual treatment plan for my patients. This year I had the opportunity to try several modalities in various locations across the country, and the following are my reflections on those experiences.Maya Abdominal Massage - I have only had one "full body" massage in my life where abdominal work was part of the treatment. I have asked a number of massage therapists why, and answers range from "nobody likes it" to "we didn't learn that in school." I agree, it feels a little weird...
A little Monday Morning Advocacy from the Coalition for Safe Acupuncture Practice
I received this in an email newsletter this morning and I believe it is important to get this information out. While crossover practice exists in multiple western medicine disciplines, proof equivalent training is always part of the equation. I have long maintained there is a problem with MDs, DOs, DPTs, and DCs being able to take a quick (if any) course of acupuncture and have it fold into their scope of practice. Stating that techniques like dry needling are not TCM and therefor do not require TCM theory is fine, however there is ample training in technique and clinical supervision that is necessary regardless of the guiding theory. By that rational, anyone who draws blood, administers injections, pierces body parts, gives tattoos, or otherwise has a needle meeting skin as part of their...
A little Monday Morning Advocacy from the Coalition for Safe Acupuncture Practice
I received this in an email newsletter this morning and I believe it is important to get this information out. While crossover practice exists in multiple western medicine disciplines, proof equivalent training is always part of the equation. I have long maintained there is a problem with MDs, DOs, DPTs, and DCs being able to take a quick (if any) course of acupuncture and have it fold into their scope of practice. Stating that techniques like dry needling are not TCM and therefor do not require TCM theory is fine, however there is ample training in technique and clinical supervision that is necessary regardless of the guiding theory. By that rational, anyone who draws blood, administers injections, pierces body parts, gives tattoos, or otherwise has a needle meeting skin as part of their...
Cold & Flu Self-Care
With the wind and cold kicking up and the holiday bustle putting us in contact with as many germs as there are shoppers, I find myself frequently handing out the following self-care education. These tips are excellent for anyone with low immunity, undergoing stress, suffering from allergies, or actively ill. Enj...
Cold & Flu Self-Care
With the wind and cold kicking up and the holiday bustle putting us in contact with as many germs as there are shoppers, I find myself frequently handing out the following self-care education. These tips are excellent for anyone with low immunity, undergoing stress, suffering from allergies, or actively ill. Enj...
"Melting You Icebergs"
A Facebook professional contact posted this recently and I thought it was worth sharing because, chances are, you are reading this on a computer and susceptible to frozen icebergs! Shoulders.You keyboard right? Midway between the far end of your shoulder and your spine there is a gathering point for stress. It feels both good and bad whenever someone presses on it. 1 iceburg on each shoulder. Not quite as bad as Atlas. So let's melt them.Push your shoulders up to your ears or as far as they will go. Then let them fall slowly and SOFTEN. Think of hot butter. Think of ice melting. Move your right hand to your left shoulder and gently GRAB that point and squeeze, not like you are wrestling with an enemy, but like you are embracing a wounded loved one. With care. And work...
"Melting You Icebergs"
A Facebook professional contact posted this recently and I thought it was worth sharing because, chances are, you are reading this on a computer and susceptible to frozen icebergs! Shoulders.You keyboard right? Midway between the far end of your shoulder and your spine there is a gathering point for stress. It feels both good and bad whenever someone presses on it. 1 iceburg on each shoulder. Not quite as bad as Atlas. So let's melt them.Push your shoulders up to your ears or as far as they will go. Then let them fall slowly and SOFTEN. Think of hot butter. Think of ice melting. Move your right hand to your left shoulder and gently GRAB that point and squeeze, not like you are wrestling with an enemy, but like you are embracing a wounded loved one. With care. And work...
Engage With Grace
Death. The big "D" word. We only die once, yet the subject is often taboo to discuss even when terminal illness or unexpected event occurs. Just as preventative healthcare is preferable to interventional disease care, having these kinds of discussions are important not just for the one who is dying, but for those who are left to grieve. Many acupuncturists provide palliative care both for the individual and their families and can play a role in facilitating these discussions. When you and your family know the answers to the following questions, the burden of decision-making and potential for conflict in the midst of grief and shock...
Engage With Grace
Death. The big "D" word. We only die once, yet the subject is often taboo to discuss even when terminal illness or unexpected event occurs. Just as preventative healthcare is preferable to interventional disease care, having these kinds of discussions are important not just for the one who is dying, but for those who are left to grieve. Many acupuncturists provide palliative care both for the individual and their families and can play a role in facilitating these discussions. When you and your family know the answers to the following questions, the burden of decision-making and potential for conflict in the midst of grief and shock...
Acupuncture's Method of Action: Adenosine (?)
"A patient's report of pain is to be believed." This basic assessment is taught to all aspiring healthcare providers. Their report of pain relief, however, is often accepted only if there is a scientific explanation. Acupuncture is constantly being called quack medicine with all of it's "Qi" and "meridian" hocus-pocus, while patients who support it's efficacy cajoled for being so simple or desperate that they experience nothing more than a placebo effect. Thanks to an ever-expanding body of research, we may start referring to "Qi" as both energy and chemical transmission.Researchers from the Center for Translational Neuromedicine in Rochester now offer another plausible scientific explanation for the analgesic effect of acupuncture. A study on peripheral nervous system pain in animals...
Acupuncture's Method of Action: Adenosine (?)
"A patient's report of pain is to be believed." This basic assessment is taught to all aspiring healthcare providers. Their report of pain relief, however, is often accepted only if there is a scientific explanation. Acupuncture is constantly being called quack medicine with all of it's "Qi" and "meridian" hocus-pocus, while patients who support it's efficacy cajoled for being so simple or desperate that they experience nothing more than a placebo effect. Thanks to an ever-expanding body of research, we may start referring to "Qi" as both energy and chemical transmission.Researchers from the Center for Translational Neuromedicine in Rochester now offer another plausible scientific explanation for the analgesic effect of acupuncture. A study on peripheral nervous system pain in animals...
Pain Relief for Veterans
For several years, the military has recognized the benefit of incorporating acupuncture therapy in a holistic treatment plan for PTSD and substance abuse issues, even if they generally do not used trained, qualified, and licensed acupuncturists to perform it. As miffed as I am that they allow the "jab-and-go" providers instead of hiring people with an actual degree in the medicine (yes, I am jealous . . . and available for collaboration), at least they recognize the contribution of the modality. Our soldiers and veterans are returning with some interesting autoimmune and auto-inflammatory diseases at a rate higher than the general population. Rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, pernicious anemia, chronic recurrent multifocal osteomylitis - whether contracted by inhaling burning trash,...
Pain Relief for Veterans
For several years, the military has recognized the benefit of incorporating acupuncture therapy in a holistic treatment plan for PTSD and substance abuse issues, even if they generally do not used trained, qualified, and licensed acupuncturists to perform it. As miffed as I am that they allow the "jab-and-go" providers instead of hiring people with an actual degree in the medicine (yes, I am jealous . . . and available for collaboration), at least they recognize the contribution of the modality. Our soldiers and veterans are returning with some interesting autoimmune and auto-inflammatory diseases at a rate higher than the general population. Rheumatoid arthritis, scleroderma, pernicious anemia, chronic recurrent multifocal osteomylitis - whether contracted by inhaling burning trash,...
Providers Treating Providers
The past several days I noticed many people posting about a study reporting the increasing popularity of acupuncture and other CAM among healthcare providers over the general population. Shock? Nope. I see my fair share of MDs, RNs, NPs, DPTs, PharmDs, LMTs and folks who work in the healthcare administrative arenas. They, more than anyone else, see the end effects of poorly managed chronic illness and reactive rather than proactive self-care. Contrary to popular opinion, they often make the best patients . . . and even joke about how bummed out they are that this stuff actually works!My only gripe with the CAM classifications in the study is they include self-administered therapies like nutrition (which is an alternative to what, exactly, starving?) and exercises like pilates and yoga. I do...
Providers Treating Providers
The past several days I noticed many people posting about a study reporting the increasing popularity of acupuncture and other CAM among healthcare providers over the general population. Shock? Nope. I see my fair share of MDs, RNs, NPs, DPTs, PharmDs, LMTs and folks who work in the healthcare administrative arenas. They, more than anyone else, see the end effects of poorly managed chronic illness and reactive rather than proactive self-care. Contrary to popular opinion, they often make the best patients . . . and even joke about how bummed out they are that this stuff actually works!My only gripe with the CAM classifications in the study is they include self-administered therapies like nutrition (which is an alternative to what, exactly, starving?) and exercises like pilates and yoga. I do...
Engineering Explanations
Lately I have noticed my usual answers to the common questions "how does acupuncture work? I mean, what do the needles really do?" have not been working for the folks who want an explanation in 20 words or less. Although I provide excellent literature on theory, a few months ago I jettisoned my TCM explanation and shortened it to "the needle sensation helps direct the release and flow of endorphins to stimulate the body's self-healing processes." This seems to satisfy those who find things like Qi and meridians either too esoteric or too hippy dippy to accept as viable healthcare. As it turns out, my simple explanation has evidence-based research to back it. The Columbia University electrical engineering department and University of Hong Kong medical faculty of the collaborated on a study...
Engineering Explanations
Lately I have noticed my usual answers to the common questions "how does acupuncture work? I mean, what do the needles really do?" have not been working for the folks who want an explanation in 20 words or less. Although I provide excellent literature on theory, a few months ago I jettisoned my TCM explanation and shortened it to "the needle sensation helps direct the release and flow of endorphins to stimulate the body's self-healing processes." This seems to satisfy those who find things like Qi and meridians either too esoteric or too hippy dippy to accept as viable healthcare. As it turns out, my simple explanation has evidence-based research to back it. The Columbia University electrical engineering department and University of Hong Kong medical faculty of the collaborated on a study...
The "Other" Provider: It's Time to Talk
Despite most intake forms including a section for vitamin, supplements, and other therapies, many people keep complementary and alternative treatments from their primary care provider. Sometimes this is because of a lack of knowledge that a particular health behavior is an actual therapy, that it has the potential to interfere with conventional treatment, or that it should be reported. Providers neglecting to ask, lack of time to bring up the topic, and concern of provider disapproval or embarrassment over what they might think also contribute to underreporting. Although we are moving to a partnership model of healthcare, many of those...
The "Other" Provider: It's Time to Talk
Despite most intake forms including a section for vitamin, supplements, and other therapies, many people keep complementary and alternative treatments from their primary care provider. Sometimes this is because of a lack of knowledge that a particular health behavior is an actual therapy, that it has the potential to interfere with conventional treatment, or that it should be reported. Providers neglecting to ask, lack of time to bring up the topic, and concern of provider disapproval or embarrassment over what they might think also contribute to underreporting. Although we are moving to a partnership model of healthcare, many of those...
"Will Acupuncture Work for Me?"
The July/August 2011 issue of the Clinical Journal of Pain includes a German randomized-control study investigating potential patient characteristics that could predict positive outcomes to acupuncture for the treatment of chronic pain. Nearly 10,000 individuals were included in the study, all of whom received routine standard therapies with half receiving acupuncture over a three-month period. Although not statistically significant, the acupuncture group showed greater pain relief than the routine treatment only group. Potential predictors of positive outcomes include living in a multi-person household, former positive experience with acupuncture, female gender, and failure of other therapies. These results support the contention that acupuncture, like many other therapies, is a helpful...
"Will Acupuncture Work for Me?"
The July/August 2011 issue of the Clinical Journal of Pain includes a German randomized-control study investigating potential patient characteristics that could predict positive outcomes to acupuncture for the treatment of chronic pain. Nearly 10,000 individuals were included in the study, all of whom received routine standard therapies with half receiving acupuncture over a three-month period. Although not statistically significant, the acupuncture group showed greater pain relief than the routine treatment only group. Potential predictors of positive outcomes include living in a multi-person household, former positive experience with acupuncture, female gender, and failure of other therapies. These results support the contention that acupuncture, like many other therapies, is a helpful...
Acupuncture and Herbs for Burning Foot Pain
Chief Complaint: Severe burning foot painWestern Diagnosis: SciaticaMedical History: Patient suffered traumatic fall and damaged sciatic nerve resulting in burning foot painPulse exam: slightly rapid and wiryTongue exam: pale pink body, thin white coatOM Diagnosis: Decided not to treat root. Only treating branch, so diagnosis was channel obstruction or “blood stagnation”.Treatment Principle: Stop pain, Remove obstruction, Move bloodPoint Prescription: Ear points: shen men, occiput, brain. E-stim on shen men and occiput. GB31 opposite sideHerbal Formula: Yan Hu Suo Zhi Tong WanResults: After 10 treatments two times a week, patient could put weight...
The Treatment of Sciatica Pain with Acupuncture
Chief Complaint: sciaticaMedical History: The patient’s history included having his right femur crushed in a car accident 50 years before, and right knee replaced 3 1/2 years before.Questioning exam: A seventy-nine year old man presented with sciatic pain which had begun 6 weeks before, in the early winter. The pain began in the lumbar area and traversed down the posterior aspect of the right thigh, calf, and into the 4th and 5th toes, following the Urinary Bladder channel. In addition, pain also went into the right inguinal area and down the medial aspect of the right thing, following the Liver and Kidney meridians.OM Diagnosis: Wind...
Chief Complaint: Chronic Pelvic PainWestern Diagnosis: EndometriosisMedical History: 30y.o. female presents with main complaint of chronic lower pelvic pain. Patient states she got off of Aleese (birth control pill) approximately 6 months ago and began experience pelvic pain around ovulation and menses.Symptoms: irregular pattern of menses, occasional spotting around ovulation and pre-menses, pain during intercourse, slightly painful bowel movements, a dislike of touch around the area, large clots, thirsty, constipation. Patient has had history of dysmennorea as an adolescent and visited her family physician who began her on birth control...
Acupuncture Treatment of Ganglion Cyst
Chief Complaint: 1x1x1x inch. right wrist lumpWestern Diagnosis: Ganglion cystMedical History: Right handed computer/mouse userQuestioning exam: Cosmetic reasons:[/b] looked prominent though painless.OM Diagnosis: Phlegm accumulation based on local Qi and blood stagnationTreatment Principle: Local needlingPoint Prescription: Looking up medical acupuncture and general acupuncture websites I could not find any particularly relevant informationHerbal Formula: N/ALifestyle Prescription: Wrist support, exerciseResults: After one treatment, basically my idea was just to “puncture” the cyst and using direct moxa on site, within 24 hours the cyst fluid...
Herbs and Acupuncture for Dark Scanty Menstrual Flow
Chief Complaint: dark scanty menstrual bloodMedical History: Patient is a 35 year old pilates instructor.- very active lifestyle with a 4 year old daughter- eats irregularly and often on the run- healthy pregnancy and no surgeries or major illnessQuestioning exam: – blood dark in colour, brownish purple and scanty with some clots.-energy levels very low lately-some lower abdominal cramping first day of menstruation-fatigue worse during and just after menstrual cycle-complexion palePulse exam: thin, choppy, wiryTongue exam: pale purple tongue more pale on the sidesOM Diagnosis: Liver blood deficiency and blood stasisTreatment Principle: Tonify...
Research: Acupuncture and Moxibustion for IBS
An article examining treatment modalities for irritable bowel syndrome revealed acupuncture is promising as a stand-alone or adjunct therapy. In all of the studies below, improvement was demonstrated by adding or using acupuncture to treat IBS symptoms. Although sham groups also showed improvement, I do not agree with the authors that this means it is all an "in-your-head" placebo effect, especially as the last study cited showed the best improvement came from a combination of acupuncture and moxibustion therapy. Many "sham" controls elicit a therapeutic effect because all forms of acupuncture release endorphins, but the effect is more masking than curative. Long-term relief comparison studies between sham and true acupuncture are remarkably absent in the literature and are necessary...
