Jen Aniston Tries Acupuncture On The Advice of Sheryl Crow

Smart, talented women share acupuncture secrets.OK! magazine has a story that Jennifer Aniston took advice from Sheryl Crow and began acupuncture treatments. I guess Sheryl, who the magazine called “something of a health guru” had great success with her own Traditional Chinese Medicine.How did it work on Jen? “It’s reduced her stress, made her skin glow, helped her with weight loss and made her

Personal Eclipse

Ever feel you don't get enough of my posts? : ) Well I also write once a month for the site Hopeful Parents. Here's my (or I should say my mom's ) latest post, thought you might find it interesting.

This site is devoted to parents. It has seemed appropriate that, a couple of times in the past, I’ve turned over my monthly blogging spot to my mother, a clinical psychologist. I am doing it again

"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden." Orson Scott Card

Suffer With Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)? Chinese Medicine Can Help You

Digestive problems are common reason people come to my office. Both acupuncture and Chinese herbal Medicine can help with many uncomfortable symptoms. Such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea and nausea to name a few. All of these problems can happen when you are suffering with IBS. Chinese Medicine can help.....From: The Portland Acupuncture Blog By: Amy Chitwood Burslem LAc There are an

Tales from the Undertrained and Over-initialed

This story has been posted all over The Book of Face today by some fellow acupuncturists, and in keeping with my last blog entry I am following suit. Enjoy!

Abbreviated Courses In Acupuncture For Physicians Pose A Serious Problem

• Sometimes, understanding one’s background can clarify their particular point of view. So in the spirit of “full disclosure” I would like to tell you a little about mine.

  I began my medical career in 1979 when I received my MD degree from Albany Medical College. I trained in diagnostic radiology at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. I entered private practice and spent 20 years doing full-service hospital radiology. It was at the end of these 20 years that changes occurred in my life, changes that made me look at my direction and commitments. It was at that time in my career when I discovered acupuncture, and the power this medicine has to heal. Please understand, I was awestruck at the conditions acupuncture could effectively treat —- conditions that from my previous medical training I knew were precisely those no one wanted to get stuck with because there was no effective treatment. I am a fellowship-trained interventional radiologist, and I have put needles into arteries, veins, solid organs, abscesses, tumors, pleural cavities, peritoneal cavities….you name it. But I had never felt the pull of Qi on a needle, I had never intentionally manipulated a needle to achieve a specific energetic effect, I had never contacted the energy of a meridian, nor used needles themselves, as instruments of healing. Here was a whole new science to learn. And the amazing thing is that it has a 3000 year history with millions upon millions of people undergoing clinical trial in China for 30 centuries!

  Read More

Information About Organically Raised Meat

Yesterday I wrote a post about when to consider buying organic fruits and vegetables. I wanted to follow that today with some information about organic meat. Organically grown meat is considerably higher in price than conventionally grown meat so here are some facts that may help you to make your decision about when to buy organic.Organically raised animals have several factors that work in

How to Decide When Organic Produce is Worth The Extra Money

Organic fruits and vegetables can be expensive and I pick and choose the ones I buy. The big factor that influences my decision about buying organic produce is the level of pesticides used in their production.Organic produce contains fewer pesticides. Pesticides are a problem because:*Pesticides can accumulate in your system. Most of us have been exposed to pesticides for so long that our

Suns Forward Grant Hill Gets Acupuncture Regularly

Last month NBA.com published a story about Grant Hill and other Sun's players who have used acupuncture to recover from injuries and ease pain. Below are some excerpts from the article."Hill is a 37-year-old NBA veteran who's had more surgeries than some medical classes over the past decade. He's doing anything he can to extend his 16-year career."" "I've always been open to different ideas,"

More of Dr. Oz's Thought's on Acupuncture

On this blog I've already written a couple of posts about Dr. Oz's fondness for acupuncture. Why should I end a good thing? Here is more from this celebrity doctor on the merits of acupuncture.On Oprah.com Dr. Oz was asked the questionQ: Does acupuncture really work?My Answer: Of Course!Dr. Oz's Answer: "Those little pinpricks can be an effective way to manage pain. Specifically, studies show

Doctors, excuse me, CHIROPRACTORS, using "Biomedical Acupuncture" as a Loophole for Practice

And not just chiropractors. Dentists, occupational therapists, physicians, and physiotherapists can all get on the medical acupuncture bandwagon. Some of these programs range from a whopping underwhelming 300 hour certificate to a dismal weekend course. Of course the proponents of this farce claim that acupuncture theory is too esoteric because it does not rely on sound anatomy and physiology.

Funny, I took A&P as well as biology, chemistry, biochemistry, lab data, western physical exam, nutrition, psychology, surface anatomy, and western pathology when I was in school. And those were not even 25% of my nearly 3000 hour graduate program!

But of course, this is all old news. The Medical Acupuncture Association has been around for ten years. And this is hardly the first time I have ranted about other disciplines encroaching on our territory without proper training.

What has me hot under the collar this time is the claim TCM is anecdotal while biomedical acupuncture is scientific - check out this zinger of a story.

The fact these "dry needling" techniques they teach in these seminars stems from over 3000 years of acupuncture theory and practice is apparently of no consequence. Oh yes, it is okay to jab needles into muscles and random trigger points (that's ashi points, those that have a real education in acupuncture know that already) and claim it has a "real" effect because it is causing a micro-trauma that stimulates the body's healing response. Not like that qi stuff that stimulates the body's healing response, no sir. When the point is needled, you are feeling the exact same sensations whether you call it a major quadratus lumborum trigger point or "Pi Gen," the difference is that in TCM, you are not just treating the branch symptom, you are treating the root cause.

The other reason I am so irritated is I just know insurance is going to start covering this nonsense. I already live in a state where legitimate acupuncturists cannot get in-network but at least chiropractors are banned, in theory, from practicing acupuncture without an acupuncture license for the moment (although they STILL put themselves in the phonebook under "physicians MD and osteopaths OD").

While the AAAOM is working to get professional parity through supposed acupuncture doctoral programs, our profession, which still does not have a national title and basic scope of practice, may just get pulled out from under us.

Acupuncture for pain relief

A study published May 30, 2010 through the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, New York found that acupuncture stimulates the release of the naturally occurring chemical Adenosine faster than pain medication. Adenosine is a chemical  released to help increase blood flow and dull the sensation of pain.

 From an article in News by the Second:

"It’s an interesting contribution to our growing understanding of the complex intervention which is acupuncture” said Josephine P. Briggs, M.D., director of The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at Rochester University.

Acupuncture for Eye Disorders

Acupuncture has been found to improve the eyesight of children suffering from lazy eye. Professor Dennis Shun-chiu Lam, who led the research, said the acupuncture accelerated the treatment response, improved the overall treatment results and shortened the total treatment duration. See details from the study here.

Acupuncture Linked to a Natural Painkiller - Adenosine

A new study about acupuncture has been getting a lot of attention the last few weeks. The research was published in Nature Neuroscience on May 30 2010. This study links acupuncture to the stimulation of a chemical compound called adenosine in the body. Adenosine is a painkiller the body makes when we are injured.Maiken Nedergaard , the neuroscientist who led the research, said: "Acupuncture has

Always Keep A Sense Of Humor

“If I had no sense of humor, I would long ago have committed suicide.” Mahatma Gandhi

Cordyceps - An Amazing Herb Used In Chinese Medicine

Cordyceps is a very popular tonic in Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is often used in formulas and alone. Some people feel it rivals Ginseng as one of the best tonic herbs out there. To learn more about this powerful herb read on.From: The Portland Acupuncture Blog By: Amy Chitwood Burslem LAc Photo from:http://www.chinese-herbs.org/cordyceps/Cordyceps sinensis, or Dong Chong Xia Cao is yet

Get Acupuncture and Help Raise Money For The Gulf Oil Disaster

Do you need some acupuncture? Do you want to help the birds and the habitat of the Gulf Coast?You can do both on Saturday, June 26, 2010 at the Gulf Oil Disaster Fundraiser. The event is being held at 4101 N. Western Ave., in Chicago from 9:00 - 4:00. Mini and full treatments will be available, so make an appointment now! The Suggested donation is $30 for mini, $60 for full treatments. To make

Yoga On The Lake !

Those of you who know me personally know that I love yoga on the lake and it is back! These are great FREE Classes held Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings all summer here in Chicago. Maybe I'll see you there!

Acupuncture Reduces Pain and Increases Bite Force in Patients With TMJ

From Acufinder.comAcupuncture Effective for TMJ Patients suffering TMJ (temporomandibular joint disorder) can find relief from acupuncture. Research conducted at the Ribeirão Preto Dental School, São Paulo University in Brazil, found that after 3 months of acupuncture, patients with TMJ experienced significantly less pain, increased strength of their bite and decreased EMG activity of the