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Cancer

What Makes Acupuncture Superior at Helping You Feel Better?

Part 2 of the series:

How To Get the Best and Quickest

Results out of Your Acupuncture Treatments?

Acupuncture needling is the most powerful and direct method that releases tense, constricted muscles and fascia, improves blood flow, stops release of inflammatory chemicals from nerve endings, relaxes the mind, and heals the spirit at the same time. ~ Michele Arnold, D.A.C.M., L.Ac.

Acupuncture should always be the first choice of therapy to reduce pain, release tension, and calm the mind!

Acupuncture therapy is superior in that it can treat a mechanical Musculo-skeletal condition or a chronic systemic imbalance. A chronic system problem is a nervous system dysfunction stemming from a constitutional-spiritual imbalance.  

  • The goal of acupuncture treatment is to support the spiritual constitution.
  • and restore function in the Musculo-skeletal system. The present condition. 
  • This is treating the present condition, and the person’s constitution at the same time.

How Do We Know if the Condition is Mechanical or Chronic Systemic?

We will take a history of your problem to determine whether it is a mechanical, or a chronic systemic imbalance.

A mechanical condition is a Musculo-skeletal problem of recent and known cause. It is the present condition. 

  • The problem has been occurring for less than 60 days up to about 6 months.
  • There may be weakness, and motor inhibition is more one-sided.
  • It has happened without an emotional-spiritual component.
  • The problem will resolve over a normal time frame for the expected tissue healing.

A chronic systemic problem is from a dysfunctional nervous system. The emotional-mental-spiritual aspects are affected. 

  • The condition appears or is worsened by emotional-spiritual influences.            
  • Usually, the pain or problem has been ongoing for 6 months or more.
  • There may be multiple conditions and symptoms.
  • Hypersensitivity in tissue
  • Increased neurogenic inflammation. Can cause adhesions, maladaptation. 
  • Occurs in unsettled nervous system. Often can occur after one small usually innocuous event or stimuli.
  • Person not taking care of themselves, not sleeping, not eating well, not moving, anxious, nervous, depressed.

How does a problem become chronic, and why does it affect the emotional-mental-spiritual aspects of a person?

  1. The nervous system and your brain memorize the pain impulses.
  2. The brain moves the memory into the part of brain responsible for emotions and memory, the limbic system.
  3. This explains why intense feelings of anger, sadness, or fear can trigger, amplify, or create pain sensation even without a physical cause, or long after the injury has healed.
  4. When in fight-or-flight mode it tends to amplify the pain where it doesn’t match up to any real diagnosis or structural abnormality.

How is the Mechanical Musculo-Skeletal Condition Treated with Acupuncture Therapy?

If it is a mechanical problem, we will use a method called Exstore. Exstore means examine and restore. The exam is to locate the tissue involved in your pain. We have found that even in cases when x-rays, MRI or other imaging reveal some pathology such as degenerative disc disease, bulging disc, osteoarthritis, etc., the source of pain can usually be traced to tension, or imbalance in the muscular system. The doctor tests the strength of the muscles to find which ones are neurologically inhibited (weak).  This will tell us the motor inhibition (when a muscle works sub optimally) that is responsible for movement and stability of the scapular and pelvic skeletal girdles. The weak or flawed muscle often forms a knot called a ‘trigger point” that is involved in your pain. Next, we restore by using electro-acupuncture. It creates a “healing response” where the body goes into “repair” mode and there is an acceleration of healing time for many injuries.        

The doctor will place 2-4 needles into the inhibited motor point of the muscle. Then the needles are connected to an electrical device, which will make the needle gently vibrate. This vibration has an anti-spasmodic effect and will work to undo the tension in this taut muscle, while also inducing the release of endogenous opiates to help mediate the discomfort.  

How is a Chronic Systemic Condition Treated with Acupuncture Therapy?

The idea is to use Acupuncture to Restore the Spiritual-Constitutional Nature. 

If your pain is found to be a chronic systemic nervous system imbalance, we will use the Meridian feedback system to determine your unique five-element constitutional factor. At the same time each person may have at any moment their present illness or condition. There is a connection between the condition and the constitution. Both the present condition, and the constitution need treatment.

The constitution is in essence your spirit you were born with. The spirit is the electro-magnetic spark of life that is infused within our mind, eyes, tissues, and physical body. That is why when our spirit is out of alignment the body tells us through physical signs and symptoms. The spirit is also manifested through our thought patterns, emotions, belief systems, behaviors, actions, and how we deal with daily activities of our lives.

Everyone is born with a unique constitution comprising of both strengths and weaknesses. The spirit is encoded from the five-elements found in nature at birth. This innate state is balanced and healthy with the capacity to heal physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. In the state of being human, we experience life, and are always moving towards our natural state. The constitution is both our physical and non-physical nature.

The spirit of the five-elements manifests through one of our meridian-organ systems.  All humans experience and express main emotions and their derivatives of:

  1. Anger, frustration, irritability, resentment. Wood-the Liver/Gallbladder system.
  2. Joy, exhilaration, mania, apathy, shyness, embarrassment, humiliation. The Fire I-heart/Small Intestine system.
  3. Over-thinking, worry, disgust, distaste. Earth-Spleen/Stomach system.
  4. Sad, grief, loneness, disappointment, loss of a dream, regret.  Metal-Lungs/Large Intestine System.
  5. Fear, fright, shock. Water-Kidneys/Urinary Bladder System.
  6. Shame, guilt, desire, hate, personal and social boundaries. Fire II-Pericardium/Triple Warmer Fascia System.

How Does a Diseased Spirit Cause Disease and Pain?

  1. Thoughts affect our attitudes, actions, and personal behavior. How we react to stress, and our thoughts we tell ourselves are determined by our Root causative Factor, which is our spirit. This is our disposition toward a particular element in nature related to our 5 viscera and emotions. Anger, Love-Joy, Disgust-Preoccupation, Grief, fear-surprise. Each element has both positive and negative attributes. We are human. We all possess each emotion and express each when needed. When out of balance we tend to feel and express one predominate emotion inappropriately. We inherit our disposition or acquire it early on in childhood development.
  2. When under uncontrollable stress from outside pathogenic factors, or internal emotional-spiritual factors one may lose control over the functioning of one of the meridian-organ systems. To strengthen one’s spirit means to restore control over one’s meridian-organ systems.
  3. There is known to be a direct link between hormones, thoughts, and emotions. Each of our endocrine glands play a part in our autonomic nervous system. The sympathetic nervous system on overdrive keeps us stuck in the fight-or-flight response with increased cortisol and stress hormone production. When continually stressed the rest and digest response from our parasympathetic nervous system is turned off. Parasympathetic stimulation is found at the cranial nerves III, VII, IX, and X-the Vagus nerve, cervical vertebrae C1-C8 and sacral nerves S2, 3, 4.

Five-Element Constitutional Diagnosis and Acupuncture Treatment

The diagnosis of the spiritual constitutional factor is attained by the doctor observing the patient’s expression of the spirit through the facial color, body odor, sound of the voice, and emotion. Other diagnostic methods may include observing the tongue, feeling the radial pulse on the wrists, kinesiology muscle testing, and palpation of the meridian-organ reflex points on the body. There may also be a questionnaire about how one deals with daily life stressors, and dramatic life experiences.

  1. The aim of the constitutional acupuncture treatment is to support and heal the spirit while transforming the present condition back to their original state of health.
  2. The acupuncture points chosen are based upon the imbalanced organ-meridian, as well as creating vibrational geometric patterns between the acupuncture points.
  3. The stainless-steel needle acts like an antenna.
  4. When needles are placed on the body in a specific order drawing a 3-dimensional geometric shape. Like a tetrahedron, sphere, triangle, square, or figure eight.
  5. This opens the spin fields of each acupuncture point creating vibration.
  1. The vibrational energy field connects to the energy fields of the universe and the cosmos.
  2. The connection assists us in discovering higher levels of consciousness where we can become aware of our higher selves.
  3. This leads to a more flowing, harmonious state of being.
  4. The acupuncture can guide the patient in discovering which ways they have allowed themselves to deviate from their original nature. From self-awareness they can now be in the position to change their thoughts and spirits so as to move into the direction of health. Changed thoughts and spirits go directly to the root causative factor of disease.

Problems likely to be due to a Five-Element Constitutional Imbalance

  • Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), inflammatory arthritis
  • Auto-immune disorders
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Neuropathy
  • Chronic pain and tension
  • Post-herpetic neuralgia
  • Frozen Shoulder
  • RSD/CRPS
  • Sleep disorders
  • Depressive and anxiety disorders
  • Chron’s Disease and ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel disease, chronic constipation
  • Obesity or anorexia.
  • Emotional dysregulation
  • Asymmetry, scoliosis.
  • Thyroid disease
  • Hormonal imbalance HPO-Axis.
  • Migraines, Headaches
  • Heart disease
  • Cancer
  • Everything not mechanical!

Where Does Acupuncture Fit in with All This?

All the healing power of the body is stored in the blood. Impaired blood circulation in any region of the body can result in pain and dysfunction. Acupuncture opens blockages and stimulates Blood and Qi-energy circulation.

Acupuncture is the only known therapy that can simultaneously…  

  1. Assist one in releasing the emotionally charged energy that is unfavorably influencing them.
  2. Acupuncture can assist in creating the opportunity for awareness of self and mind-shen.
  3. Release constrictions in wound up shortened tense muscles
  4. Stimulate motor points of inhibited muscles.
  5. Neuromodulate the nerves bringing more blood flow, nerve function, and curbing the release of inflammatory chemicals while stimulating release of healthy chemicals, ions, and water.
  6. Improve Qi-energy and blood flow.
  7. Reduce pain.

When there is pain and dysfunction the first thing that needs to be done is to reduce the pain. Then, the range of motion can improve, and then flexibility along with strength. It generally goes in that order, but there may be overlap as you reduce pain, you start to move your body, more pain releases, there is more flexibility, then the weakened muscles become stronger and stronger.

Acupuncture should always be the first choice of therapy to reduce the pain and calm the mind.

Give us a call to schedule your appointment today! (858) 613-0792 or TEXT: (858) 613-0793. 

In health and healing,

Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Michele Arnold

What is the Real Source of My Pain or Disease?

Part 1 of the series: How To Get the Best and Quickest Results out of Your Acupuncture Treatments?

Your healing, pain, and general health are deeply affected by your nervous system. When it is on overdrive from emotions like fear, grief, anger, the stress hormones released depress your immune system and slow recovery. A dysfunctional nervous system can be the source of your chronic pain.

Acupuncture is one of the best modalities that can address pain, calm the mind, lift the mood, and stimulate regeneration. It can help normalize a dysfunctional nervous system, which is at the root of chronic pain.

Pain is considered chronic if it has been around for over three months. This is because the pain becomes hard wired into our systems. The source of pain:

 

 

  1. Mostly from irritation and inflammation of soft tissue.
  2. The pain can be severe because there are over a million pain receptor sites per square inch of soft tissue.
  3. This affects your nervous system.
  4. The nervous system and your brain memorize the pain impulses.
  5. The brain moves the memory into the part of brain responsible for emotions and memory, the limbic system.
  6. This explains why intense feelings of anger, sadness, or fear can trigger, amplify, or create pain sensation even without a physical cause, or long after the injury has healed.

No Separation between the body and mind.

Think about it. Circumstances in life can create a hyper-vigilant nervous system stuck in fight-or-flight mode. Even without any imminent danger. When the body is constantly bombarded with stress hormones, it will develop physical symptoms. Physical symptoms are indicators that you are being triggered firing up your nervous system, even if you don’t feel emotionally stressed. The brain processes emotions and physical pain the same way. That makes it clear that there is no separation between the body and the mind.

If you don’t recognize the mental-emotional pain or stress, your body will manifest them as physical symptoms. Patterns from the normal stresses of every life can be held in the body as tension. Stress does not always mean unhappy, sad, anxious, depressed, angry, or that you aren’t living your best life you want to live.

We all experience the ups and downs living with our thoughts moment to moment. A person can be perfectly happy with no real-life stressors to worry about and then begin to experience chronic pain. Perhaps this person had an injury of a muscle strain, the pain is intense, and he or she is having difficulties with normal daily activities like putting a shirt or jacket on. If there is too much worry, and disregard for the time needed to heal, the thoughts circle around that there must be something really wrong. This person might start telling themselves that they aren’t getting better, and that they won’t be able to return to their normal selves again. They keep this pain and injury on the top of their mind. They may even start to feel angry and frustrated about it. Perhaps even scared. The feeling of sadness and grief may creep in as they long for their old self to do things they love to do but can’t anymore. The pain is now associated with these emotions. There is the self-pressure, and pressure from others to feel better that isn’t consistent with the time it takes for normal healing of soft tissue.

Pain makes us crazy. I get it. I’m not pointing my finger at you. I’ve been there. Even with everything that I know clinically, I have had pain that made me feel as if I would do anything to make it stop along with the need to find out the cause. When clinically, and logically I knew it was a soft tissue strain or sprain.

Tension is at the root of it.

Repetitive and minor strains are the worst. They occur from doing a common activity that you frequently engage in.  It usually begins while holding tension in your body while doing the activity. Tension held in our body is mostly subconscious tightening of the muscles in tandem with holding our breath. Our breathing is not deep and relaxed. A fleeting stressful thought causes us to tense up. This is not a good thing when our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones need the blood circulation to deliver oxygen, and nutrients, and to remove waste products. With tension our nerve endings secrete inflammatory chemicals instead of feel-good chemicals, water, and ions. The inflammatory chemicals are sticky like glue. The tension becomes tight bands, knots, nodules, trigger points, and soreness. The shortened constricted muscle limits our range of motion. The knots, and bands further block the free circulation of Qi-energy and blood. Think of Qi-energy as breath, oxygen, water, and electrical conduction.

“When there is free flow of Qi-energy and blood there is no pain. When there is a blockage of Qi-energy and blood there is pain.” Old Chinese Medicine proverb.

Don’t Ignore the Pain. It is a sign of tension and negative thought patterns.

Many of us will just shirk it off when we feel a minor annoying pain. The problem with ignoring the pain is that we don’t remove the irritation causing the pain. This is like continually banging your head against the wall and wondering why it hurts. Eventually the problem worsens, and our body must scream louder for us to hear it. Thus, the irritation is both, the repeated activity irritating the soft tissue, and the unpleasant thought patterns. I would like to point out that inactivity, not enough movement causes just as much a problem, if not more.

Note that tension and thought patterns can come from good things too. For example, you are working on putting together an upcoming happy event like a wedding, or anniversary party. There is a lot to do, and you have a lot on your mind! You might forget to breath when putting your to do list together. You might be very focused and intent on the project and forget to relax your muscles and joints. You have tightness in your neck and upper shoulders. You bend over to pick something up, and bam! Back spasm. You can’t ignore this type of pain.

So, the next time you experience pain don’t ignore it. Reflect on what were you doing, and where has your mind been around the time you started feeling bad. Remove the irritation by letting the painful area rest from the activity causing the problem. Apply moist heat, gentle massage, easy dynamic movements with gentle stretching.  Adding acupuncture can make a big difference as well. Let go of the thoughts that no longer serve you.

You Don’t Know What You Did?

The source of the original problem could have happened within the past two weeks, or emotionally within the past year!

You might be dismissing something like staying in one position too long, standing too long, poor posture like excess lordosis (sway back). Perhaps you were sitting too long, driving too long, you were cold, or felt a cold draft. Perhaps you were picking something up bending over at the waist while rounding the lumbar, or bending at the waist while twisting, or reaching for something in an awkward position. Lifting something too heavy. Twisting the lid off a jar, wringing out a towel, carrying a baby. You were doing activities that can be disastrous like vacuuming, mopping, scrubbing the floor, laundry, dishes, making dinner, making the bed, and caring for others that require you to lift them. Now that you know these activities can be problematic you are dismissed from household chores! I’m joking of course because somebody’s got to do it. Realize that just about anything can be on this list! Do these activities mindfully with proper body mechanics, breath, release the tension, and stay present. 

Sometimes when you start feeling better, and then experience a really bad day, you can’t figure out what caused it to come back. Perhaps during therapy, you may have noticed a significant reduction in pain, but still be in the healing phase. There is a chance you tried to do too much too soon causing you to suffer from a relapse. Therefore, before returning to pre-injury activity levels it is recommended to wait until you can do the activity without pain for 14 days. If it doesn’t return you can consider the problem healed.

If the pain doesn’t go away, or it gets better, but returns, or it varies up and down I will bet there is something you’re doing that you’re not aware of that is hindering the recovery. People will often exclaim, “I didn’t do anything, I don’t know why it hurts”!

Changes in Pain

Changes in pain can be indicative of healing, such as a reduction in intensity level of the pain, frequency becomes less, and the quality of pain may change. Of course, if pain worsens, comes more frequently, and causes more limitations in your life it is a sign that either you have had a flare-up from something you did, or it is getting worse.

Keep in mind that as your problem is healing there might be pain that varies in intensity. It might come and go. It might seem to move where initially it felt very diffuse that you couldn’t pinpoint the exact pain spot. Then it becomes more focused at an exact point. Or, in the beginning there is extreme pain that is felt at a precise location. Over time the intensity reduces, and it becomes very vague.

The quality of how it feels might change from sharp, shooting, throbbing, deep ache to milder occasional sharp pain that leaves quicker. Discomfort of paresthesia or neuropathy can be numbness, tingling, burning, crawling, itchy, loss of sensation and proprioception. When the nerves begin to heal, and the blood circulation improves the sensation can be uncomfortable. It might be hard to decipher good bad from the bad. Pinprick test, light touch, and proprioception improvement might help you realize whether you are feeling the discomfort of improved Qi-energy and blood flow.

We can create stress and tension from:

Common pent-up emotions and maladaptive coping mechanisms. These things cause us to tense our muscles.

  • Pressure self-imposed: the drive to be perfect and good. The drive to get the work done. To focus intently.
  • Self-denial for things you really desire. You let someone else have it. You fall on the sword. Leaves you feeling sense of loss. Guilt. You do it because of the self-imposed Pressure to be good, for approval, to be accepted.
  • Life pressures of work, career, family, social, peers, financial, illness, aging, mortality, children, events, caregiving, etc.
  • Displaced anger, which is a conscious thing.
  • Childhood emotional needs not met creating low self-esteem, always looking to fulfill those. Feeling sad, hurt, angry from neglect, abuse, disapproval.
  • Feeling put out by being the good guy. You expect something in return. It is not really from the goodness of your heart. There is a spark of anger for always being the good guy. This is self-denial again.
  • Deep dependency needs. Take care of me. Tell me what to do.
  • Survival pattern to keep you from directly feeling the distress. To keep you from expressing the emotions like anger or rage, which could be problematic for your job, career, relationship, etc.

How Does the Mind Keep You in Pain?

The muscles are reacting to the emotional-mental stress by becoming tense, rigid, hardened, and as a result, pain and/or dysfunction may occur.

  1. Striated muscle tension leads to tension headaches, fibromyalgia, stiff neck, and shoulders.
  2. Smooth muscle tension leads to irritable bowel (IBS), migraines, abdominal pain, nausea, bladder spasm.
  3. Cognitive-perceptual disruption causing visual blurriness, mental confusion, memory loss, dizziness, pseudo-seizures, tinnitus.
  4. Conversion leads to falling, lack of proprioception, unsteadiness, aphonia, paralysis, or weakness.

The following is quoted from acupuncturist, Rick Bernard in his book, Orthopedic Electroacupuncture, “When a muscle reacts to psychological stress, contraction and shortening of the muscle occurs. This contraction inhibits blood flow to the muscle resulting in oxygen deprivation to the muscle, or “ischemia” of the muscle. The classic symptom of this phenomenon is a burning sensation, though dull ache is possible as well. As these emotional stress patterns become sustained, the severity of the pain increases, and can even cause referred pain if the nerve becomes compressed by the tense muscle. The muscle can become inhibited and weak as well. It is easy to lose count of the patients who develop sciatica during a particularly stressful period of their lives, probably caused by the tensing of the piriformis muscle applying pressure on their sciatic nerve.

*This network of soft tissue including muscle, ligaments, tendons, fascia are all affected by our thoughts and emotions. When we become emotionally tense, our supporting tissue that hold our bones in place, react to this vibration. It is inevitable that the physical body will mirror and reflect the emotional one. Acknowledging this, is the first step in taking the steps necessary in healing and recovery.”

Consider the following list of interference the mind can play against our own healing. If you are experiencing challenging chronic pain, consider the possibility that you might fit with one of these reasons.

  1. Many people don’t want to commit to recovery. They don’t want to give up their pain. The unwillingness to let go and move forward is the greatest obstacle to healing.
  2. Anger contributes to obsessive, repetitive thought patterns, rigid beliefs, being like a piece of wood, unbending, not willing to consider possibilities, and having excuses for why that solution or suggestion won’t work, or why you won’t do it.

Why, what would be the point of holding onto pain?

  1. Pain is powerful. You feel powerful and at the same time powerless.
  2. You are truly a victim.
  3. Others demand less of you.
  4. You demand less of yourself.
  5. You can hide behind it.
  6. You may demand others close to you to take care of you.
  7. Pain or disease becomes a way of life. It becomes your identity, even an occupation.
  8. It’s familiar and comfortable. Change brings fear. Change is met with resistance and produces anxiety.
  9. MRI scans reveal the brains of chronic pain sufferers shrink. They have reduced cognitive function, have more difficulty making decisions, it is difficult to think clearly. Fortunately, when the pain resolves, the brain can return to normal size and function.

Becoming aware is the first step necessary so that you can make the necessary changes to move on.

Stop Talking About Your Pain

Here is something different you might not have heard before. If you are addicted to complaining, and you feel a sense of belonging by being part of a chronic pain group you might not like this at first. You might be resistant to the ideas. This is a sign that you would benefit from this. Don’t tell me that you never complain because you do, even if it’s to yourself.

This is about the neuroplasticity of your brain. The ability to rewire it. If you are stuck in the pain loop it needs rewiring.

  • It seems like a good idea to join a pain group because it makes you feel validated, and that you are not alone. There is a sense of belonging. This is established within the first few sessions. You might feel like you have learned some great tips and advice from others about what has helped them. After you get what you need it is best to move on.

Dr. Hanscom, MD writes (2019),

  • It is normal and understandable to keep sharing your pain and problems with other people, which further reinforces it.
  • Solving chronic pain involves stimulating your brain to form new circuits (neuroplasticity) in the direction you choose. 
  • A critical step is to stop discussing any aspect of your pain.

This is because the repetition of the thoughts become embedded in your brain and become progressively stronger. What I notice, is people expect the pain before they even do anything. Do you grimace, and brace yourself before you sit up, lie down, or move your arm?

Doctor Hanscom states, “The attention paid to these circuits reinforces them. It is understandable that you would want to discuss your misery with anyone who will listen. It has engulfed your life, you are miserable, it does feel better to vent, and you often develop a common bond with other people who are in chronic pain. You spend little time with enjoyable and creative experiences. What is this behavior doing to your pain circuits?

Research shows that belonging to a pain support group lessens your chances of healing.1 There is often a lot of mutual complaining about care, their families not paying enough attention, poor medical care, the doctors not listening and failed procedures. They are all legitimate complaints, and it is completely understandable why you want to share your troubles and get support. But from a neuroplasticity viewpoint, it is a disaster.”

 So not sharing your pain means:

  • No complaining unless you do it directly to the person who can resolve the issue.
  • No giving unasked advice – especially to your partner or children
  • No criticism
  • No gossiping

You will realize how much of your life energy is being consumed by discussing it and since it is often such a deep behavioral pattern, it is difficult to change.

Discussing your troubles and pain doesn’t help you develop a healthy brain and in fact accomplishes the opposite of what you want. You are reinforcing the pain circuits – both mental and physical. That is why the recommendation of this article is simple – stop negativity – all of it.

What I will add is this:

  1. Stop searching the internet regarding information that supports your pain. If you have a diagnosis what more are you looking for? (I’m not talking about a rare disease or cancer where you need to be proactive in finding treatment)
  2. Stop posting on social media your pain or problems.
  3. Stop posting on social media information that supports your pain.
  4. Stop trying to prove your pain is real. It is, so you don’t have to prove it.
  5. Stop looking at the past.
  6. Start looking into the future with a state of optimism. Be grateful, present, and patient.
  7. Start understanding life is up and down, it is not always what we want, we can’t control it. Let things go that no longer serve you. It is not about always being happy.

Here are Dr. Hanscom’s References:

  1. Friedberg F, et al. Do support groups help people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia? A comparison of active and inactive members. Jrn Rheum (2005); 32:2416-2420.
  2. Ferrari R and Deon Louw. “Effect of a pain diary use on recovery from acute whiplash injury: a cohort study.” Biomed & Biotechnol (2013); 14: 1049-1053.
  3. Eisenberger N, et al. “Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion.” Science (2003); 290
  4. Cole SW, et al. Social regulation of gene expression in human leucocytes. Genome Biology (2007); 8:R189. doi:10.186/gb-2007-8-9-r189

Where Does Acupuncture Fit in with All This?

Acupuncture is the only known therapy that can simultaneously…

  1. Assist one in releasing the emotionally charged energy that is unfavorably influencing them.
  2. Acupuncture can assist in creating the opportunity for awareness of self and mind-shen.
  3. Release constrictions in wound up shortened tense muscles
  4. Stimulate motor points of inhibited muscles.
  5. Neuromodulate the nerves bringing more blood flow, nerve function, and curbing the release of inflammatory chemicals while stimulating release of healthy chemicals, ions, and water.
  6. Reduce pain.

When there is pain and dysfunction the first thing that needs to be done is to reduce the pain. Then, the range of motion can improve, and then flexibility along with strength. It generally goes in that order, but there may be overlap as you reduce pain, you start to move your body, more pain releases, there is more flexibility, then the weakened muscles become stronger and stronger.

Acupuncture should always be the first choice of therapy to reduce the pain and calm the mind.

 

Acupuncture needling is the most powerful and direct method that releases tense, constricted muscles and fascia, improves blood flow, stops release of inflammatory chemicals, and relaxes the mind at the same time. Michele Arnold, D.A.C.M., L.Ac.

Call our office today to schedule your appointment! 

(858) 613-0792 or Text (858) 613-0793.

REFERENCES

  1. Ma, Yun-tao; Cho, Zang Hee. Biomedical Acupuncture for Pain Management – E-Book. 2005. Elsevier Health Sciences. Kindle Edition.
  2. Dharmananda, Subhuti, “Restructuring American Acupuncture Practices”, May 2003. http://www.itmonline.org/arts/restructure.htm
  3. Duhigg, Charles. The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Random House. 2012. NY.
  4. Hanscom, David. Do You Really Need Spine Surgery? Take Control with a Surgeon’s Advice. 2019. Vertus Press: Oakland, CA.
  5. Bernard, Rick. Orthopedic Electroacupuncture. eBook edition.
  6. Wong, Joseph Y. A Manual of Neuro-Anatomical Acupuncture, Vol I: Musculo-Skeletal Disorders. 1999. The Toronto Pain and Stress Clinic, Inc. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Cancer Treatment Side Effects? Acupuncture to the Rescue

Cancer Treatment Side Effects? Acupuncture to the Rescue

Cancer treatments can cause a variety of other side effects that also need to be addressed. More and more research is showing acupuncture as a viable option for additional pain management for those receiving chemotherapy or surgery and for the common side effects those treatments can bring. These side effects can include neuropathy, dry mouth, constipation, anxiety, and nausea. continue reading »

Tips to stimulate poor appetite when recovering from surgery, chemo, or illness using natural methods

Watch my video where I share with you some ideas about what foods can help along with using aromatherapy and acupressure.

Parsley Magic to Medicine

Flat Parsley Leaf

Parsley is Nature’s Top Rated Leafy Green

This garden herb was thought to possess magical properties.  During the middle ages its uses ranged from healing snake bite, banishing freckles, as an aphrodisiac, and as an antidote for epilepsy.  It is believed to have originated in Southern Europe with popularity spreading across the Middle East. There are over 30 varieties. Today we know it as a great source of antioxidant power.  Let’s take a look at some awesome medicinal uses of parsley.

  • A tea for women.  Due to it’s high content of folate it helps ensure a healthy pregnancy. High in vegetable calcium, and chlorophyll a daily cup of parsley can help slow the aging process.  It also contains plenty of iron for iron deficiency anemia.  It works as a diuretic, sooths PMS, and benefits the facial complexion because of the beta-carotene content. 
  • Immune, cardiovascular, and cancer prevention. Parsley is full of four major antioxidants such as coumarins, flavonoids, monoterpene, and polyacetylene, which appear to block the synthesis of cancer-promoting prostaglandins. Plus, 10, 000 IU per 1/2 Cup of beta-carotene, and daily vitamin C.  
  • Eases joint pain, rheumatism, fatigue, kidney and urinary tract infections (UTI). The mineral content of potassium, calcium, phosphorous, and iodine explains these benefits.

Chinese Herbal Medicinal Properties of Parsley

It is thought to be warming, spicy, bitter, and salty in flavor. Dietary benefits are as follows:

  • Improves digestion
  • Detoxifies meats and fish
  • Hastens recovery of measles
  • Promotes urination, and dries watery mucoid conditions such as, obesity, bladder mucus, swollen glands, breasts, and stones in bladder, kidney, or gall bladder.
  • Strengthens the adrenal glands, optic nerves, and benefits the brain. 
  • Useful for ear infections, ear ache, and deafness.
  • Freshens the breath for halitosis, strengthens the teeth.
  • It makes a beautiful garnish on the plate.

Caution: It dries up milk production, thus it is not to be used for lactating mothers. 

How to Use:

  • Drink 2-3 cups daily of fresh or dried parsley tea. Take 10 sprigs, gently bruise, and steep 1-2 minutes in hot water, strain, and enjoy. 
  • Or eat 1-2 ounces of fresh or lightly cooked parsley daily. 
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