All About Acupuncture Needles
You’ve got questions about acupuncture needles, we’ve got answers!
How often do I need acupuncture?
Take a deeper look into what goes into how often we recommend you have acupuncture.
Does Health Insurance Cover Acupuncture?
Understand the complexities of how to have your health insurance cover for acupuncture treatments.
Having Fun.
How to have fun in a structured setting and how it can benefit your health.
Acupressure for Back Pain
As we officially start summer I have been hearing a lot of my clients talk about getting active again. And sometimes, we tend to go a bit overboard.
Of course there are the typical recommendations - be sure to stay hydrated, stretch, do an epsom salt soak, and trigger point massage. I am going to add one more for you today. Acupressure.
Acupuncture points on the hand are great at treating new and acute pain (among MANY other things). They are also super easy to reach which makes it simple to treat yourself.
Science, acupuncture + space...
How does acupuncture actually work? We don’t know exactly how acupuncture works, from a western medicine perspective that is. There are many theories. However, they are just that, theories. And none of these scientific theories really encompass all that acupuncture can do.
Connection
We need connection, in the form good relationships, more important than we think, but it doesn’t have to take as much effort as we think either.
Let’s cut the crap…
We all know that we don’t want BS. And sometimes it’s hard to know what is BS and what's not. In East Asian medicine, that is the role of the small intestine, to separate pure from impure. What is good for you from what is waste. It totally makes sense when they say, you are what you eat. Your cells are literally made from the food and drink that you consume. Now what about the mental, emotional and spiritual side?
Does acupuncture help with pain?
With acupuncture, we relieve pain. That is our broad speciality. Here is a list of the pain I helped to relieve today: back pain, neck pain, jaw pain, knee pain, buttock pain, shoulder pain, headache pain, menstrual cramp pain, emotional pain . Once your pain decreases, even a little, it allows you to have more energy, better focus, better sleep and a better mood. In short, with a little relief you have a better quality of life.
The magic within acupuncture.
Mary and I were talking about the magic of acupuncture. It feels like it is not something that I, as an acupuncturist, should be saying; that what I do is magic. I feel this way because it almost seems as though I am de-legitimizing the medicine. Magic is not science, magic is hocus pocus. But if we're to be fully honest, acupuncture is a black box effect. We don't really understand the science of when we put a needle in a very specific point how, from a western medical perspective, how it actuates the change that we see - less pain, more energy, better focus, a sense of calmness... Magic seems to be a way of explaining how something works when we don't understand it yet.
Searching for better sleep
Sleeping through the night, feeling rested are all important to your health and can be super frustrating when it doesn’t come easily. Without a good night’s rest, even a small problem can seem insurmountable!
In the clinic, I recommend to my patients some simple dietary modifications. By increasing your intake of specific nutrients, and eliminating hidden stimulants, you can develop better sleep patterns. If you’ve not been sleeping well for a while, you probably have tried these tips and others. Acupuncture and/or herbs might be the trick.
The Power of Adding 1 Small Habit
We all know that there are things we could do to improve our health. And I would argue that we know WHAT many of the changes are. When we think about doing all of those, it’s too overwhelming. If we choose just one goal, make it really simple, we’re more likely to achieve it and make it a habit.
Quick tips to avoid sore muscles.
It is officially spring and I can really feel that strong spring energy. You’ve probably felt it even if you haven’t had a name for it. It’s the energy to get up and get moving, to start doing and creating. It’s the energy behind spring cleaning and well, overdoing it. If you too are guilty of over doing it, here are a few things that you can do that might be able to help out.
Your Health. Your Power. Relieve Neck Pain.
I have been seeing a lot of clients who are looking for relief from neck pain this month. I want you to have the power to make improvements in your own health. So, I’ve written down a few acupressure points that you can massage when you neck is not allowing you the freedom to do what you want.
Does acupuncture work?
Does acupuncture work? Yes.
Does acupuncture work for pain? Yes.
Does acupuncture work for acute pain from injury? Yes. What about chronic pain? Yes.
Back Pain? Knee pain? Neck pain? Back pain? Hip pain? Shoulder pain? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes.
What about for pain where we don’t know the source? Can acupuncture help that? Yes.
And can acupuncture help for emotional pain like stress and anxiety? Yes.
What’s an acupuncture treatment like?
This is the question I often get once someone finds out that I’m an acupuncturist. Their question is full of curiosity as well as hesitation. Many people find acupuncture mysterious, foreign and often assume untrue things about it. Today I thought I would shed light onto what an acupuncture treatment is really like, and why people who are “needle phobic” even end up so relaxed during the treatment that they take a nap.