Para Local Media

Even though it is a few hours away, the more professional exposure acupuncturists can garner in the local media, the better for the region in general. I must admit though, I like to take a peek into other people's practices and see not only how they do business, but also how they answer questions like "what exactly do the needles do?" or "how does acupuncture work?" Personally, the more ways of answereing the same questions I have in my memory the better. Not only does that let you tailor patient education accordingly, but it keeps you from getting tired of listening to your own speeches!

A Pinpoint Cure Acupuncture offers area residents an ancient alternative to modern meds
By ALYSSA HARVEY, The Daily News
Monday, October 30, 2006 11:20 AM CST

A little more than three years ago, David Mefford felt physically ill.

“I had lots of problems,” the Bowling Green man said. “I never felt well.”Then he heard about Dr. Barbara Mikicki and her husband, licensed acupuncturist Mick Mikicki, who practice the ancient Chinese procedure that places fine needles in specific parts of the body to treat certain health problems. They're part of the Center for Integrative Medicine Acupuncture and Natural Health in Clarksville, with branches in Paducah and now Bowling Green.

“I started seeing her because she helped my sister with back pain,” he said. “After a couple of treatments, I felt better than I have in 40 years. I see her once a month to help keep my system functioning.

He urged J.V. Case of Bowling Green to try acupuncture 2 1/2 years ago.

“I have deteriorated nerves in my legs and feet,” Case said. “I go once a month.”

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Rock Climbing, Climb Smart 2006

It's funny I've never blogged on rock climbing- I've put some of my photos on rockclimbing.com, but never blogged about it.

I'm really a boulderer at heart, I've discovered- I'd prefer to do risky new moves 10 feet off the ground than an easy 5.8 climb 200 feet off the ground. But I'm just getting back into it after a while, so I'll get more adventurous soon, I 'spect.

A group of us (mountaineer friends) went to Climb Smart this last wknd, and it was quite an experience all the way around.

Somewhere in here we have to have Timmy O'Neill, because he's such a cool freak and made the wknd a lot more fun than it would have been without him.

He did a lot of the emcee'ing at the Saturday night event... I wish I had taken pictures, because he came out through the fogger, strobe lights and heavy-beat dance music in his Halloween costume, an irish green superman complete with cape and tighty-whitey undies carrying a bucket full of free ice cold beers that he handed out while doing the Mick Jagger head thing to the music. And his new hair style is longer, and half of it sticks out at a defiant 45 degree angle.

He intro'd a Reel Rock film he was in, "First Ascent"- it was awesome- thrilling, touching, cool, great film-making. And he did the raffle too, in a stimulating rapid-fire manner that entertained most, but irritated one guy (who got irritated at other things that wknd- takes all kinds).


Enough about Timmy already. Except he also taught us some cool stuff in the bouldering class- how to smear on the "quartz manzanite dude"- maybe he didn't say dude, but that's how it sounded- "This is quartz manzanite, dude! It grips yours shoes."

Anyhow, my friend Arthur and I met up with Lauren and Adam and (his girlfriend) Julie. They're new to climbing (you can see info about their first bouldering and rappelling at Lauren's blog) and so the clinics etc. were going to be great for them. It helped all of us- Arthur and I got advanced tips on technique and anchoring (trad climbing) and the others got some good beginning info. We capped it off by climbing up to the first rappel station on Moosedog Tower.

A few other standouts I should mention are:

Saturday night's dinner: The refried beans tasted like they'd been cooked in an ashtray and the rice water supersoft and tasteless, but the catered enchiladas were ok (though we had no way to cut them) and the guacamole made up for it, a little. I found out today there had been ice cream and brownies they forgot to bring out! Hey man!

The 1 billion names of Lauren: Arthur and I for some reason had a total blast giving Lauren funny new names. It started when I saw that his cell phone name for her was Lauren von Hiker. Her real last name is Hogerheiden, so it's a german thing I guess. Anyhow, some of the better ones were:

• Lauren von Hikenberger (or 'von Hikenberger' or 'Hikenberger' for short)
• Lauren vince vaughn Hikenberger
• Laurence Olivier von Heikenbrenner
• Lauren von vacob vinglehiker schmidt (actually I finished that one here- it was a tongue twister)
• Lauren von Hikenstrudel (I just made that one up too. You get the gist.)

Ah, and the campfire guitar playing of me and Andy (some guy I'd never met)- great chemistry, two great guitarists and some truly inspired moments. As a humble guy, I'm saying it was good, real good. Everyone loved it and wouldn't let us stop playing!

And who could forget the beautiful moments we spent together digging sand and filling erosion holes? I'm not exaggerating when I say we all wept tears of joy and gratitude for this opportunity. Ok, I am exaggerating. We couldn't believe you had to give up an entire afternoon or morning to do a service project and how disorganized they were about it, but then we only paid $70 and 6 seminars are probably worth $400 alone, not to mention the camping, food, free prizes and entertainment.

The raffle and free prizes flying through the air Saturday night- I caught a Royal Robbins hat and a chalk bag.

Speaking of chalk bag... this guy Greg who camped next to us came to the costume party as a Chalk Bag- quite ingenious and low tech- a trash bag, chalk all over him, and the word 'chalk' spelled in green with tape on the back of his white t-shirt.

Arthur and I thought it was hilarious and deserved our full support, especially in light of some of the less appropriate, less imaginative, and frankly incomprehensible competition Chalk Bag was up against. So from the very beginning of the evening, we occasionally yelled out "CHALK BAG!" and more and more so as the costume competition approached.

It caught on... a guy in front of us started yelling it too. Our section of the room was the most passionate about any one competitor- that gave Chalk Bag a fighting chance to win the whole thing.

Chalk Bag's big nemesis turned out to be a guy dressed up as a swimmer- his costume? Goggles, a towel, and a speedo. "Check that out," said Timmy O'Neill, giving us plenty of time to do just that horrid thing.

Chalk Bag strove to protect his innocence by shielding his eyes with his hand, and moved a few competitors away from what Timmy called "Greg Lube-anus". Judging was done applause-o-meter style, and we wore out our throats and hands giving Chalk Bag the support he deserved. He won- it was the funniest thing, we were just giddy, having overthrown a serious election, exerting our will and our humor on the drunken mass of Climb Smart climbers.

Yes.

Long live Chalk Bag!

(Get fun t-shirts and mugs of chalk bag and more here)

Top 12 Conditions

I received this information as a part of a Continuing Education opportunity which was a poor disguise for a product promotion, but the list is valid, nonetheless.

The Top 12 Conditions Patients Seek Acupuncture For

1. Orthopedics/Pain Management

2. Facial Rejuvenation/Anti-Aging

3. Fibromyalgia

4. Peripheral Neuropathy

5. Respiratory disorders

6. Hypertension

7. Headache

8. Depression

9. Chronic Fatigue

10. Digestive Disorders

11. Constipation

12. Gall Stones/Kidney Stones

Routine Treatments

The piece below is an exert from a longer article, "Prescription: acupuncture." The description of the treatment is something I have used before on Fibromyalgia patients, but do not like doing as a typical treatment. I suppose I am a bread and butter practitioner - I do an assessment, put needles in point by point and obtain Qi, manipulate the needles, let the patient have some relaxation time, then take them out. There may be some cupping, Tui Na, or other procedures performed, but that is the gist.

I am not a fan of poking people more than necessary. Repeated insertion in the same point, especially if it is the same needle, does not sit well with me. I once read a Bob Flaws comment that discussed putting in the needle, getting Qi, manipulating the Qi, then withdrawing the needle and moving onto the next point. I tried it. I didn't like it. Neither did my patients. Personally, I enjoy the rest I get when the needles are in and I can imagine the flow of Qi and the rebalancing energetics. Many of my patients comment it is one of the few moments of solitude they get all week and that it is a chance to relax and take a quality cat nap. I guess I am old fashioned in my routine, but when you have 3000 years of tradition behind you, old fashioned may not be such a bad thing.

One session

Evelyn Olson has suffered from low back pain for years.She uses her walker to maneuver into a treatment room at Johnson Chiropractic and Acupuncture and is helped onto an electronic tilt table. The table is lowered backward into position. The lights are dim, the room is warm and soothing music floats on the air.

Johnson swabs various spots scattered over Olson's ears, head and face with alcohol using gloved hands.Johnson unwraps a tiny sterilized needle and gently inserts it into a spot on

Olson's ear, tapping the needle softly. He repeats the procedure 10 times.Olson, 75, rests quietly for several minutes, then the needles are removed and thrown away. She rolls on her stomach, and Johnson repeats the procedure across her back.

Western methods of treatment weren't relieving Olson's pain. "My internal medicine doctor encouraged me to start" acupuncture, she says.After nine months of treatments, her pain has improved and she has more energy.

"My pain is better but not gone. Acupuncture helps the body heal itself," Olson says.

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061016/LIFE/610160301/1004

Bold Statement

Chinese acupuncture can cure 461 diseases, expert

461 diseases - I cannot wait to read the list . . . and the research paper. Sweeping claims about the effectiveness of acupuncture can be professionally dangerous as it brings us down to the trend level. However, if the claims can be backed by solid research and the diseases categorized in the way it is being proposed, then claim away.

Tianjin, Oct. 14 (Xinhua): Chinese acupuncture can cure 461 diseases, said an expert with Chinese Acupuncture Clinic Research Center in north China's Tianjin city.

Du Yuanhao, 43-year-old doctor, gave the conclusion after four-year's study on the acupuncture functions together with his team.

According to Du's findings, most of the diseases to which acupuncture is effective are in the nervous system, the digestive system, the genitourinary system, muscles, bones and skins, such as stroke, diarrhea, enteritis, dementia and skin rashes.

The points for acupuncture are in flesh, and that is why the treatment can be effective to diseases in muscles and skins, Du said. "Besides, points are rich in nerves. Thus it can also cure diseases in the nervous system and other systems whose functions are directly controlled by nerves."

Although acupuncture is convenient and with less side effects compared with other forms of medical treatment, it couldn't cure every disease. As for these 461 diseases, Du noted, its effects are different.

The professor is now working at classification for the 461 diseases. "I am going to categorize them into three levels -- those could be cured solely by acupuncture, those to which acupuncture is the major treatment and those with acupuncture as assisting treatment.

Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine with a history of over 2,000 years. It involves insertion of fine metallic needles on the body to relieve pain and cure diseases.

Catch-up

Mixed feelings on this one. From a liability standpoint, it is nice to have the MD look at someone first - if they can't catch it, we can't be expected to. On the other hand, our diagnosis procedure is a totally different system from the allopaths and most of us to not treat via medical acupuncture. My question is, do the chiropractors and naturopaths have to get an MD clearance too.

Philadelphia Inquirer
Acupuncture treatment. The Senate unanimously approved legislation to require patients to get a diagnosis from a physician, dentist or podiatrist before receiving acupuncture treatment for more than 60 days. The bill goes to the House.


When I flew on Southwest Airlines this past week, I came across an article in their in-flight magazine concerning the hospital-turned-hotel trend. Expansion of services include in-room massage and salon services along with gourmet chefs, private rooms with cots for family sleep-overs, and chandeliers in carpeted hallways (can we say MRSA?). The results have been decreased pain medication requests and hospital stay time which leads to decreased medical costs overall. With hope and additional research, there will be a stronger acupuncture presence in these facilities that will expand nationwide after a time.

Acupuncture Helps Ease Post-Surgical Ills
ISLAMABAD: Acupuncture, already shown to help ease the nausea patients often suffer after having surgery, may actually work better than drugs, U.S. researchers reported on Wednesday.
And patients were happier with the treatment, the team at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina found.

The researchers studied 75 women having major breast surgery such as breast augmentation, breast reduction or mastectomy.

All needed general anesthesia to be rendered unconscious and immobile. This often causes nausea upon awakening.

The 75 women were randomly divided into three groups. One group received acupuncture, another group was given an anti-nausea drug called ondansetron, sold by GlaxoSmithKline under the brand name Zofran, and the third group received neither.

Two hours after surgery, 77 percent of the patients given acupuncture had no nausea or vomiting, compared to 64 percent for those given the drug and 42 percent who received nothing.

Writing in the journal Anesthesia and Analgesia, Dr. Tong Joo Gan and colleagues said they used an electro-acupuncture device that delivers a small electrical pulse through the skin, rather than traditional needles.

"The patients in our randomized trial who received acupuncture enjoyed a more comfortable recovery from their surgery than those who received an anti-sickness medication," Gan said in a statement.

"In the areas of postoperative nausea and vomiting control, pain relief, and general overall satisfaction, acupuncture appears to be more effective than the most commonly used medication, with few to no side-effects."


Great maketing and method of bringing acupuncture to the folks who would normallu not try acupuncture because of the expense. And at only one day a week, these guys are doing a great service while maintaining the integrity of the profession.

Business bringing affordable acupuncture
Times-Standard

The Times-Standard
ARCATA -- In October The Oasis: Chinese Medicine & Healing Arts Center will begin answering a call to offer affordable alternative health care.

A regularly scheduled Monday clinic will allow many people who could never before afford acupuncture treatments, another option.

”We have people calling us every week, asking us if we accept Medicare or Medi-Cal,” says Oasis owner John Servilio. “We have to tell them 'no' because Medi-Cal pays as little as $5.79 per visit, which doesn't even cover our administrative costs and supplies. And our sliding scale, which is one of the most reasonable in the county, can still be too steep for people who realize that they will need to come in for a course of treatments.”

In response, a new bare bones, $20 flat-rate session fee for treatment has been developed. The clinic will be open to all clients without an income eligibility process.

Clients will be treated on a first-come-first-served basis and intakes will be private but acupuncture sessions will take place in a shared treatment room. To make the process more affordable, instead of the larger massage tables used, clients will be resting zero-gravity patio loungers.

While this might sound less than ideal to some, it is modeled after the more successful low-cost acupuncture clinics like Quan Yin in San Francisco.

”Our bodies have an amazing ability to heal themselves given the opportunity and a little nudge in the right direction,” Servilio said the clinic will begin on Oct. 16.

The Oasis is located at 940 Ninth St. in Arcata. For more information call 826-2700.