The most important relationship I seek to nurture in the treatment room is the one a patient has with their own body. We live in a culture that teaches us to override pain, defer to outside authority, and push through discomfort. Patients often arrive hoping I can “fix” them, but the truth is, we can’t do the work for them. We can offer guidance, insight and support, but healing requires their full participation.
One of the longest nerves in the body is known as the vagus nerve (VN). The VN is the 10th pair of cranial nerves that originates at the brain stem in the medulla oblongata. This nerve is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which is a part of the ANS. Research suggests ear acupuncture can activate the VN.
Migraines are unilateral, throbbing headaches, often with concurrent nausea, photophobia, and phonophobia. Approximately 10% of the global population suffers from migraines, with women more than three times as likely as men to experience them. Medication remains a mainstay treatment option, making nondrug alternatives critical to safer practices. New research suggests auricular acupuncture may be one such alternative.
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How much training in gua sha did you get in acupuncture school? If it was not much more than an introduction, now is the time to revisit this powerful healing modality. I’ve found gua sha to be one of my go-to skills to address myofascial dysfunction, all sorts of pain, limited range of motion, and even to promote general well-being. Let’s discuss the keys to effective gua sha treatment, which I hope will get more acupuncturists using it in the clinic.
Many psychological disorders, such as depression and anxiety, have been linked to the autonomic nervous system (ANS) being out of balance. In Chinese medicine, the liver and gallbladder oversee the nervous system. Heightened emotional states will create heat in the liver, which leads to tension in the nervous system. We can see how these emotions cause harm by examining passages from the Huang Di Nei Jing.
As licensed acupuncturists, many of us practice as independent contractors, often working within collaborative settings such as private medical clinics or fertility clinics. These partnerships are often fruitful for patients and the providers involved. However, working within another practice’s infrastructure raises questions that extend beyond patient care. Among them: Who owns the marketing copy that describes your work?
Morton’s neuroma, a painful condition affecting the ball of the foot, particularly between the third and fourth metatarsal bones, is a common condition treated by acupuncturists, as well as podiatrists and orthopedists. Characterized by inflammation of the common digital plantar nerve leading to the toes, this condition can cause sharp, burning pain, tingling, or numbness.
Space exploration challenges nearly every system of the human body, making space medicine fundamental. While aerospace medicine has primarily addressed these concerns through engineering, exercise protocols and pharmaceuticals, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) offers an additional, holistic framework for adaptation. This article explores how TCM theory and practice could inform future astronaut and space tourist health strategies.
For novel health challenges such as COVID-19 – as well as non-mainstream therapies such as acupuncture, which may be seen as “novel” despite their long history, case studies and series are critically important in documenting the methods and results of individual patient encounters. The more such studies are published, the better grounded research protocols can be in actual clinical practice, which improves the quality of the evidence base for guiding practice as well as policy.
Interestingly, although lots of attention has recently been given to the role psychedelic medicines employed in therapy could play in healing PTSD and trauma generally, new research has just been published showing acupuncture can also be of significant help in alleviating this widespread disorder, and may act similarly to psychedelics on a particular quality of our brains to heal and remodel themselves: neuroplasticity.
The recession conversation is ongoing, but no one can deny that costs are increasing. No practitioner wants an existing or new patient to delay booking an appointment due to concerns over cost. Follow these three C’s to keep your practice thriving during these challenging times.
Acupuncture injection therapy (AIT) is a sophisticated, results-oriented modality grounded in the principles of Eastern medicine. While it incorporates the use of injectables such as vitamins, homeopathics and natural substances, it is not a biomedical technique borrowed from Western allopathic practice. AIT is a uniquely Eastern method that enhances traditional acupuncture by utilizing fluid as a stimulating agent – always with the framework and philosophy of acupuncture at its core.
Structured water (H3O2) can be considered a fourth state of water between liquid and solid. It has the hexagonal structure of ice; however, missing a critical bond, it behaves more like a gel than a solid, but retains some of its crystalline structure.