Acupuncture

Most of you have heard of acupuncture and have an idea about what it is and what is involved in treatment. So you’re interested in acupuncture and are wondering how it works, and how it will work for you. Read on. This is what to expect when you come in for a visit and how acupuncture works on a physiological level.

What is it?

Acupuncture is the insertion of hair fine needles into the skin. Because these needles are so fine, patients rarely feel any sensation, and most people are so relaxed, that they fall asleep in the treatment room. I will select a set of points based on what condition you are coming in with and further tailor that selection based on what type of constitution you have. I find this information by asking you lots of questions about your health, lifestyle and family history. I will check your pulse, and look at your tongue. These are the classical methods of Chinese medical diagnosis and they have been perfected over the 5000 year history of this extraordinary medical tradition.

How does it work?

I could explain this to you using the “lingo” of acupuncturists, saying things like yin, yang, meridians and qi, but most of you would roll your eyes and crave a more hard and fast explanation. For this reason I find it extremely valuable to talk about the actual clinical changes the body makes in response to a needle penetrating the skin.

Western medical research has shown several ways acupuncture changes your blood chemistry to affect a positive healing response within your body. This medicine is extremely respectful of the body, not overtaking its systems with medications, or twisting and tying it into correct function through the use of surgery. We gently coax the body back to health by supporting the system and using the innate healing energies that we all contain within ourselves.

This is the physiology of Acupuncture:

1. Acupuncture boosts your immune system and prompts it to function properly. This response occurs because your body views the needle as a foreign object (albeit a therapeutic one), so it boosts the system to protect the body.

2. Acupuncture prompts the release of feel good neurotransmitters like serotonin and noradrenalin which help immensely in the treatment of mood disorders like anxiety, depression and stress management. (As an added bonus, higher levels of serotonin have been linked to weight loss)

3. Endorphins are released. Endorphins are your body’s natural pain killers (stronger than morphine). So acupuncture is excellent at reducing or eliminating pain.

4. In addition to moderating pain through endorphin release, acupuncture also overwhelms and closes down the transmission of pain signals reaching the brain. This means that you don’t experience the pain because your brain never receives the message that you’re in pain. In China, acupuncture is used as the only anesthesia in some surgeries.

5. The last theory says that the body boosts blood supply to wherever the needles are located. This is extremely useful in helping the body to recover from acute or chronic injuries. Within your blood supply, you have all the ingredients needed to heal tissue damage. Acupuncture can reduce swelling, bruising, scarring and other problems we have with healing injuries, including preparing your body for surgery and giving you a speedy recovery post-surgically.

What can I expect during a treatment?

Initial:

Please allow 90 minutes for this appointment. We will do an in-depth medical history, I’ll tell you my Chinese diagnostic impression and prescribe your treatment plan. This is dependant on how long you’ve had your condition, how severe it is and your body constitution. I’ll make some dietary and lifestyle recommendations to help you heal as quickly as possible and then you will have your first acupuncture treatment.

Follow-up appointments:

This visit is 45-60 minutes. I’ll check in with you and we will talk about any changes you’ve had since the last treatment. We will talk about herbal treatments, and I may or may not modify your point selection, based on how you present and you’ll receive your acupuncture treatment.

How many treatments will I need?

This is dependant on many factors, but the general rule is that if you are suffering with an acute condition it will resolve quickly. Chronic conditions take more time (because you’ve been dealing with them longer).

Chinese Herbal Medicine

Herbal traditions have been around much longer than acupuncture and are extremely effective at treating complex internal disorders. There are hundreds of classical Chinese formulas to choose from, so a proper diagnosis is necessary in to prescribe the correct formula for the condition. Just like acupuncture, herbal medicine is tailored to the individual needs of the patient.

Danielle uses formulas in pill form. With the busy lifestyles we all lead, we find that it is much easier to comply with this form of herbal medicine, rather than bulk or granule formulas.

Cupping and Gua Sha

These two therapies are less known, but very effective at treating a number of different illnesses. Cupping involves suction over the skin using sterile glass cups. It is effective for myofacial syndromes and stiff, sore muscles. It can also reduce congestion in the lungs, increase blood flow and pull out toxins from the body.

Gua Sha is a scraping therapy used to treat pain and stiffness of the muscles.

Both therapies are very comfortable. They typically leave a red or purple mark for up to a week at the treatment site.

Tuina Chinese Massage

The direct translation of Tui-Na is “push-pull”. It is a massage technique practitioners of Chinese medicine use when there is blockage of smooth flow of energy in the body. This can be experienced by the patient as muscle knots, subluxation of joint structures, muscle spasm and specific syndromes like “Frozen Shoulder”.

Tuina is manipulation of soft tissue structures with the hands followed by some assisted stretching designed to realign the body’s structures and increase range of motion, returning your body to its optimal state and decreasing pain.