To date, more than three dozen randomized controlled studies have been published showing that acupuncture point stimulation can treat or prevent nausea and vomiting. Most acupuncturists and doctors of Oriental medicine appear to prefer using the P6 or Neiguan point, which is located approximately the width of three fingers up from the inside of the wrist. Acupressure has also been employed to relieve the symptoms of nausea and vomiting, sometimes in conjunction with acupuncture, sometimes as a stand-alone therapy. Many practitioners prescribe acupressure bracelets, which apply pressure to certain points without the use of needles. And because the P6 point is easy to reach, many patients can be instructed to apply acupressure themselves to help reduce nausea.
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupressure, acupuncture, nausea |
Depression can be situational or chronic (longstanding) and has many possible causes. Acupuncture is an effective therapy for the treatment of depression because the treatment naturally increases the brain’s production of the mood elevating chemical serotonin. Depression can also be caused by chronic pain, and as acupuncture stimulates the natural production of pain relieving endorphins, pain as a contributing source to depression is also successfully treated. I may also co-treat a patient with a physician or a counselor– to address the problem with concurrent approaches.
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupuncture, depression |
Veteran practitioners know the limits of their medical discipline. Though acupuncture excels at preventative care, treating pain, and many chronic diseases, many conditions are best treated by Western Medicine such as trauma, acute infections, atypical sudden onset headaches, essential hypertension, cancer (though acupuncture provides excellent adjunctive care), and acute abdominal pain. Knowing the appropriate place of each medical discipline and when to refer to others is medicine at its’ best.
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupuncture and western medicine, limits of acupuncture |
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupressure, dysmenorrhea, menstral cramps |
A placebo is a treatment that works because the patient believes or expects it will work. Placebos have been well-studied and can be effective about 30% of the time. For a treatment to be considered effective, studies must show the treatment is about 2 times the effective rate of the placebo response or 60%. Many studies have demonstrated that acupuncture treatment provides an effectiveness rate of about 80% for many pain related conditions– well above the placebo threshold. Additionally, acupuncture treatment provides reproducible changes in circulatory system, blood chemistry and brain activity in both humans and in animals. This is why I enjoy treating skeptics– you don’t need to believe in acupuncture to get results!
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupuncture, placebo |
When I was just married, my new father-in-law took me deep-sea fishing and I had terrible nausea from seasickness. I was a student in acupuncture college and so decided to treat my nausea with acupuncture. This must have looked very unusual, but luckily my father-in-law did not judge me for my unorthodox activity, even out among all the other fishermen! Nausea treatment using acupuncture has been subjected to numerous rigorous clinical trials. The results of many studies and consistent clinical success has secured acupuncture as a preferred treatment for nausea often recommend by many physician and clinics worldwide and is also covered by most insurance companies. Nausea can accompany morning sickness, motion sickness, inner ear problems and is a common symptom during chemotherapy.
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupuncture, nausea |
As a student in China, we asked our teachers to find us some Shingles (Herpies Zoster) patients to treat to see how well acupuncture worked on this condition. The next day and for the next month our clinic was packed with shingles patients in every stage of the painful disease. We finally were forced to say, “no more!” We knew how well it works! I still am curious how they found so many patients with shingles. I imagine a truck, driving around neighborhoods near the hospital with a loudspeaker blasting, “Attention: anyone with shingles come to the hospital, some American doctor’s want to practice on you!” So I can state with conviction that acupuncture works well to reduce the pain and speed the healing process from both acute and chronic shingles.
Posted in Health Corner | Tagged acupuncture, herpies zoster, oriental medicine, shingles |
