At Essential Medicine we practice integrative modern acupuncture that merges tried and true ancient principles with cutting edge evidence based bio-medicine. Our patients get excellent results because we address their individual health concerns through a customized, carefully balanced and multi-faceted approach.
The first known medical record of acupuncture is found in The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine, dating from 206 BCE. This makes acupuncture well over 2000 years old. Even though this medical system originally comes from a very different era and culture, it is just as applicable to our modern times here in America, if not even more.
The modern human lives in such an over stimulating and taxing environment. We are inundated with constant information in the form of news, television, social media, advertising. Our nervous systems are constantly in overdrive, and it’s no wonder the average American reports “stress” as a top health concern. Yet, that’s not all, too make matters even worse, our bodies are processing more chemicals and toxins than ever before in the form of additives in foods, pesticides, and heavy metals.
Acupuncture can help the nervous system to tune-down and can help the body to detoxify by improving detox pathways. There is a breadth of research showing acupuncture’s ability to engage the “rest and digest” parasympathetic nervous system and modulate over active parts of the brain. There is no better time to use this ancient, time-honored medicine.
A woman’s health is an essential factor in the ability to bring life into this world, and many obstacles have arisen in the modern world to complicate the delicate process of life’s creation. There are so many systems in the body and external factors that can stand in the way of a woman’s ability to conceive. The emotions that arise from the process of unsuccessful conception create tension in partnerships and a potential stress cycle that make further attempts even more difficult. A woman’s body and mind must be returned to harmony and supported to create conditions for a successful pregnancy.
Acupuncture can increase your chances of conception by stimulating blood flow to the uterus, improving the lining of the endometrium, balancing endocrine hormones like progesterone, regulating the nervous system, and relieving stress. The acupuncture needles go to work on these bodily systems in order to activate your body’s self-healing mechanism, so that health and balance can be restored. A body returned to this homeostatic state is more likely to conceive and carry out a successful pregnancy. Acupuncture treatments are valuable for a woman’s body throughout the entire process…from the initial desire to increase fertility to conception, throughout the pregnancy, and during the postpartum healing. Acupuncture has had successful results in increasing fertility rates when integrated with conventional fertility treatments. Every woman deserves the chance to create life, and acupuncture is a holistic approach to help the body and mind overcome the obstacles in her way. Men can also help in this process by seeking acupuncture for themselves, since bringing life into this world is a journey that begins with two.
It takes two to tango and at Essential Medicine we believe in treating the couple, not just the woman for fertility. Acupuncture is very effective at improving sperm count, quality and motility in men and is an important piece of the fertility puzzle. Often times a couple will get tested at a fertility clinic and the man’s sperm has lower motility, but the doctor doesn’t address that issue.
Fertility issues can be very challenging for a couple and result in stress, anxiety, and depression. All of this can put a lot of strain on a partnership or marriage. Acupuncture not only improves sperm quality, but it is also remarkably effective for reducing stress, improving their energy, and strengthening libido.
Often times men come to get acupuncture as a part of a couples fertility treatment and they are so happy with how much better they feel that they continue to get acupuncture even after the couple has successfully conceived and carried to term.
As if a period wasn’t enough for any woman to deal with, there are so many irregularities that can come up along the way! Early flow, late flow, heavy flow, light flow, cramping pain, breast tenderness, unpleasant mood swings, a spectrum of colors and textures of the blood…the list just goes on. With the artificial hormones of contraceptives, hectic pace of modern women’s living, excessive physical activity from a young age, poor dietary choices, and so many other factors, it’s hard to even know what a “normal” period is. But no matter what your cycle is putting you through, acupuncture can help you understand your internal rhythms and guide you toward a cycle that works in your best physiological interest.
Acupuncture regulates the hormones that control your period. These hormones are in a feedback loop between the brain and ovaries, known as the Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Ovarian (HPO) axis. By balancing these hormones, acupuncture helps the HPO axis function properly so that ovulation and menses can line up in a regular interval.
Acupuncture also improves ovarian and uterine blood flow by calming the nervous system into vasodilation. Ovaries that are well-nourished by blood function much better, and a uterus well-nourished by blood ensures an endometrial lining that is thick enough to allow for proper menses.
Endometriosis is a painful disorder of menstruation in which the tissue that’s supposed to line the inside of your uterus (the endometrium) grows or migrates outside your uterus. It involves the surrounding tissues as well since it can attach to any of the other female reproductive organs… the ovaries, fallopian tubes, pelvic lining, and more. This tissue can migrate as far as the bowel, intestines, appendix, or rectum. It causes very painful “killer cramps”, menstrual irregularities, nausea/vomiting, painful sex, chronic fatigue, and infertility.
Acupuncture stimulates blood flow to the affected tissue. The increased blood flow can reduce the inflammation caused by Endometriosis, leading to a reduction in pain. Acupuncture also corrects hormonal imbalances in the body. It has been shown to release norepinephrine to put us in a parasympathetic state of “rest and digest”. This parasympathetic state is necessary for the body to heal itself and for the endocrine system to restore its optimum functioning. Consistency of treatment is necessary to see long-term results, but acupuncture has had great success at assisting patients in reducing the pain and symptoms associated with Endometriosis.
Menopause is an experience that brings about a great deal of change in a woman’s life. The permanent end of your period involves many processes that affect your entire body. The ovaries produce less estrogen and before your period ends, it often puts up a fight on the way out by becoming irregular. The hormonal changes in your body cause unpleasant hot flashes, night sweats, and severe mood changes including anger and depression. Dealing with such intense changes on both physical and mental levels is not easy. Acupuncture can offer a helping hand.
Acupuncture can help regulate and balance the neuroendocrine system during this phase of drastic shifts. Restoring hormonal balance can be a huge help in stabilizing the mood. This can help limit the severity and occurrences of hot flashes and night sweats. This can even help combat the potential weight gain and decreased libido that arise during menopause. Acupuncture can stimulate the release of endorphins, the “feel good” brain chemicals that alleviate the pain of newly-irregular periods. There is no need to take on menopause alone; acupuncture can be your best friend throughout this transitional journey.
Sudden hot flashes and night sweats are a quick way to make a woman uncomfortable. These symptoms are often concurrent with the process of menopause. Menopause marks a significant hormonal shift in a woman’s body. This shift tends to bring a lot of heat raging along with it. Acupuncture can help you keep your cool. Acupuncture has an important role in regulating the neuroendocrine system, meaning it can access the signals in the brain which are controlling the hormones being produced and distributed throughout the body. By regulating these hormonal signals, acupuncture can help reduce the occurrence and severity of hot flashes associated with this hormonal shift. Acupuncture may also have an effect on the brain’s hypothalamus, which helps control the body’s response to temperature changes.
Pain manifests so differently throughout everyone’s lives, especially chronic pain. Living with pain in the body makes it harder to participate in, much less enjoy, certain activities of daily living. It can take you away from your hobbies and make you feel isolated. There are many approaches to managing this kind of pain, and one that has had success is acupuncture. Acupuncture can access the nervous system. It is, after all, a signal between the nerve roots in your brain and the nerve endings in your body that are causing you to feel pain. Acupuncture can help regulate this complex system. It can stimulate the release of endorphins, or “feel good” brain chemicals that alleviate your sensations of pain as well as encourage the body’s self-healing mechanism.
Physical pain can be caused by any number of bodily structures or tissues being misaligned. Acupuncture channels run through every internal organ system and innervate every type of bodily tissue. Thus it can facilitate the process of rebalancing and realigning the structures which are at the root of your pain.
Acupuncture is able to balance the musculature around joints, resulting in smoother joint movements. By taking pressure off of the joints, acupuncture treatments can give more space to the joints and prevent the formation of bone on bone arthritis.
Acupuncture can also draw circulation and healing factors into the joint spaces, helping the body heal cartilage and other connective tissue within the joint. Furthermore, acupuncture can reduce harmful inflammatory processes that lead to arthritis.
Many patients come to Essential Medicine for back pain and we’re able to help them return to healthy, pain free function. Most back pain is caused by improper body mechanics, posture and muscle tone that puts strain on nerve-sensitive connective tissue such as ligaments and tendons. This can often be made worse with trauma and puts muscles into spasm and injures the connective tissue further.
Acupuncture is able to balance the muscle tone by relaxing tense muscles and re-programing the body to engage and strengthen under-functioning muscles. This results in better functional movement, improved posture, reduction of pain, increased strength and better performance.
For those with disc injuries, Acupuncture is able relax and reprogram the small muscles in between each vertebrae that are very difficult to get to with massage or physical therapy. When these inter-vertebral muscles are more relaxed and working properly, the space between the vertebrae can open up and the disc can heal.
Acupuncture is also able to draw micro-circulation into areas in the body that don’t normally get a lot of blood flow. These areas include disc spaces, joints, ligaments, and tendons. This increased circulation allows the body to draw growth factors and nutrients into the area, as well as eliminate waste products resulting in increased healing response.
At Essential Medicine, acupuncture for neck pain is one of our specialities. We get great results for our patients with neck pain and radiating parasthesia due to cervical or upper thoracic impingement. One of the reasons we are able to have so much success on neck pain syndromes with acupuncture is that we’re able to target minute, sensitive muscles that are pretty much impossible to reach though any other methods.
There are 26 muscles in the neck alone, and that number doesn’t even include many additional muscles that influence the neck coming from the thorax, shoulders, face, and cranium. The neck is a very complex structure, with many important and sensitive nerves that pass through it. Acupuncture’s ability to release all these tiny, very difficult to reach muscles is why it works so much better for neck pain than other therapeutic modalities or medical procedures.
The next time you wake up with that painful crick in your neck or you come back from a snowboarding trip with a bit of whiplash, the first you should do is get acupuncture. Most of us have experienced times in our lives when these kind of things turned into weeks or months of pain. Acupuncture treatments can stop the pain in it tracks and you will recover in a matter of days instead of months.
The shoulder is a complex working structure with so many bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments, and nerves all coming together to make one joint function. Its one of the most important joints in the body and so when your shoulder is in pain, is can really affect your quality of life. When your shoulder isn’t working properly, that dysfunction and pain can go up into the neck, chest, back, elbow, wrist, or hand.
Acupuncture is so effective for shoulder issues because of its able to access deep set muscles that are very difficult to address with stretching or manual therapy. For example, Acupuncture is one of the most effective methods of releasing tension in the subscapularis, also known as “the bully of the shoulder,” a muscle that sits between your shoulder blade and your ribs. Besides being able to work on individual muscles, acupuncture is also able to systemically relax the reprogram the entire structure through what we call the energetic channel system of the body. That is why sometimes a point on your leg or hand could actually be effective in releasing shoulder tension and pain.
There are many common causes of hip pain — muscle injury, bursitis, tendonitis, gynecological issues, hip impingement, and osteoarthritis to name just a few. Hip pain affects individuals in many walks of life, from acute athletic trauma to workers’ daily postural misalignments to seniors’ degenerated joints. Acupuncture takes into account the fact that different underlying causes will manifest as different types of pain in the hip. Location and severity of hip pain are critical to knowing how to effectively heal it.
Once a thorough intake is done to figure out what is at the root of your type of hip pain, acupuncture can bring healing factors to the correct region of the hip in order to ease the pain. Often times, the muscles surrounding the hip can be overly contracted and uneven, pulling the bones out of alignment and causing pain. Acupuncture can release the muscles in order to get the bones back in alignment and alleviate the pain. If degeneration of tissue with age is causing the pain, the healing factors and increase in blood flow that acupuncture brings to the area can nourish and fortify the tissue.
Most times, muscles hurt us because they are over-activated and pulling improperly on the structures they are supposed to be stabilizing or moving. This creates a vicious cycle. When muscles are tense, they act dysfunctionally and they throw off the alignment of body structures causing more pain and dysfunction. What starts as a spasmed muscle in one area of the body, if unaddressed could lead to pain somewhere else.
Acupuncture is able to work a couple of levels to address muscular tension and spasming. For one, is it able to systemically relax the entire body by activating the parasympathetic nervous system.
Secondly, acupuncture is able to modulate what are called “stretch receptors” these are tiny organs embedded in muscle tissue, tendons, ligaments, and fascia. These organs tell your brain that a muscle is being stretched and then your brain responds, reflexively, to relax the tone of that muscle. Acupuncture points are often located in areas that target these connective tissue stretch receptors. To make acupuncture even more effective for muscle pain, it is also able to reduce inflammation and reprogram pain pathways.
Lateral epicondylitis, also known as ” tennis elbow”, is a common condition affecting many people and is certainly not limited to tennis players. It is commonly seen in surfers, swimmers, rock climbers, weight lifters, landscapers, and just about anyone working with their hands. Tennis elbow is most often caused by the muscles of the forearm improperly pulling onto their attachment points near the lateral elbow causing pain and inflammation.
Acupuncture is so effective at treating this condition because it is able to not only reduce pain and inflammation at the lateral epicondyle (lateral elbow), but it also able to address the root of the problem by balancing the musculature of the forearm and improving the dysfunctional mechanics of the arm. Acupuncture is also able to draw circulation into the tendons and help them heal faster.
Acupuncture is also very effective at treating medical epicondylitis or “golfers elbow” which effects the inner elbow and is also caused by repetitive dysfunctional mechanics of the forearm and elbow resulting in inflammation of the tendons attaching at the inner elbow.
Tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon, which is the tissue that attaches muscle to bone. This often causes pain near the joints, and most commonly around the shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and heels. You might recognize the common names of Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow as some of the most frequently occurring types of tendonitis.
Acupuncture can help treat the pain of tendonitis by drastically increasing blood flow and oxygen to the tendons. This can also help reduce overall healing time of the tendon. Tendons are white tissue, so they naturally have little blood flow to the area, which is why healing can take a long time (especially compared to the red well-oxygenated tissue of muscles). The increased circulation that acupuncture can offer to the affected tendon area, as well as the whole body, supports a quicker healing process.
Sciatica happens with the sciatic nerve becomes entrapped or “pinched” by various body structures. This entrapment can happens from the lumbar vertebrae or from the muscles around the hip such as the piriformis muscle or gluteal muscles.
Acupuncture is able to address sciatica from the root of the problem by releasing the over-tight muscles clenching down on the sciatic nerve and improving postural dynamics that lead to this condition. Its also able to draw healing factors into the sciatic nerve to help the nerve heal if it has been damaged by long-standing entrapment.
Neuropathy results from damage to the nerves of the peripheral nervous system (outside the brain and spine). The damage causes altered sensations such as weakness, numbness, and burning tingling pain that feels like an electric sensation. This especially affects the hands and feet. Dealing with the discomfort and dysfunction of your most commonly used body parts can make daily life quite unpleasant. Both health conditions (often Diabetes) and lifestyle choices can be the culprit behind neuropathy. No matter the cause, acupuncture is here to help give you your best and most functional day back.
Acupuncture can alleviate even the worst sensations of nerve pain due to the needles’ ability to stimulate the nervous system directly. Once inserted, the needles signal the release of endorphins, natural pain-killers, into the body to improve the body’s pain response. Acupuncture also stimulates blood flow to the affected body parts, often on the periphery and furthest from circulation, in order to regenerate damaged nerves.
Fibromyalgia is a complex condition that can be treated effectively with acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Treating fibromyalgia requires an in-depth understanding of the patient’s constitution and the use of multiple acupuncture modalities.
Acupuncture is able to address the root of fibromyalgia by regulating the immune system, benefiting sleep, improving detox pathways, balancing hormones, reducing stress, and improving mood. Acupuncture is also able to smooth out muscle tension that fibromyalgia causes, relieve knots, and reduce pain.
At Essential Medicine, we address chronic pain from its root. The deep cause of chronic pain for most patients is often musculoskeletal dysfunction arising from old injuries that have not healed properly leading a cycle of painful inflammatory processes. The goal ultimate goal is to address the musculoskeletal imbalances at the root of the pain.
Acupuncture is able to modulate tension in the muscles and connective tissues and help to align structures that are out of balance that lead to pain. Once the joints are able to move smoothly, the body becomes stronger, more flexible, and the pain pattern can dissolve.
Acupuncture is also able to activate your own body’s production of endorphins (natural opiates). There has been a great deal of research about this mechanism of action and it certainly one reason why you feel so good after getting acupuncture.
Headaches can wreak havoc on the way you are able to live your life. They can become so severe that they keep you shut away from the outside world and your functional role in it. The mere factors of light and sound may become debilitating. If you feel this pain arising, seeking acupuncture can help drastically reduce the severity and length of the headache. Headache is a general term, and there are many different types. The three main categories are tension-type, migraine, and cervicogenic. They manifest with pain all over the head and neck, cause a variety of sensations, and stick around with varying intensities and time lengths. Luckily, acupuncture derives from a system of knowledge that can help all types of headaches. When looking at the head from the perspective of Chinese medicine, it becomes apparent why pain in the head can manifest so differently. So many different channels, which are energetic pathways that connect the entire body and its organs, make their way to the head!
It is important for the acupuncturist to figure out exactly what type of headache you are having, and then diagnose what is causing it. Some headaches are caused by tension and asymmetry in the muscles of the neck, thus this would be treated by using needles to release those muscles and return them to proper alignment. Others are caused by stress, which triggers the sympathetic nervous system. Acupuncture needles can access nerve pathways, and therefore stop this excessive triggering of the sympathetic nervous system and allow you to relax. An inability of the eyes to process light can also trigger headaches. With acupuncture’s ability to access the nerves, we can stimulate the cranial nerves which innervate the eyes in order to regulate them back to optimum functioning. This is just the tip of the iceberg in connecting the types of headaches that occur with the mechanisms of acupuncture that can relieve them. Don’t let the pain in your head take away your ability to enjoy life.
Migraines are a type of headache that create particularly severe symptoms, such as loss of appetite, blurred vision, nausea and even vomiting. Not to mention the intense head pain that can completely impair your ability to think or even leave the bed. Acupuncture has shown success in reducing the severity, frequency, and time duration of migraines.
This mechanism is not thoroughly understood, but it relates to acupuncture’s ability to access the central nervous system. From there, it can stimulate your body’s production of endorphins— natural painkillers. Research has shown that different brain structures in dysfunction correlate with migraines, such as the frontoparietal network and brain metabolites. By receiving a course of acupuncture, patients across the board received relief from their migraines and the dysfunction of those brain structures were observed to be reversible. The healing factors that acupuncture needles direct toward the head can speed you along on your road to freedom from pain…and help ensure less speed bumps in the future.
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction or TMJ/TMD is effectively treated with acupuncture. The treatment involves neurologically re-programming the complex and sensitive balance of the temporomandibular joint so that the jaw muscles hold less tension, the joint tracks more smoothly, and inflammation and pain is reduced.
This involves not only a focus on the jaw muscles themselves, but also musculature and connective tissue of the neck, shoulders, occiput, cranium. Improving sleep and lowering stress is an important aspect of addressing this disorder as many patients tend to clench their jaws when are stressed or during restless sleep.
Depression and Anxiety often go hand in hand. Anxiety is complex, and having it can affect every aspect of your day. Normal daily activities, from waking up to doing your job to engaging in a healthy personal life can trigger intense and persistent emotional responses of worry. Anxiety can also lead to physical symptoms of increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and fatigue. Many people are affected by anxiety in our fast-paced modern world of constant activity and comparison. Depression can feel hopeless. It can take away the joy that hobbies, work, or connections with people once brought you. So many people are currently experiencing the heaviness of its symptoms, which look different for everyone.
Acupuncture helps control anxiety by stimulating the parts of the brain that regulate emotions, the limbic system. This slows the body’s production and release of stress hormones, in order to decrease emotional reactivity. Beyond the brain and endocrine system, the internal organs are seen as intimately tied to the emotions in Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture sends healing factors to organs that are out of balance. By balancing the energy of these organs and promoting blood flow to optimize their health, acupuncture can restore physiological function to your internal body. The restoration of physical health is closely tied to your mental-emotional state of wellbeing.
Depression is commonly caused by stress, especially if it continues to build up over time. Without a way to relax, the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) finds itself constantly triggered. This is the system in charge of your “fight or flight” response, which should be reserved for intense situations. Constantly being in “fight or flight” mode is extremely taxing on the body and can manifest with the emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms of depression. There are many expressions of this, but those suffering from depression commonly have low energy, worrying thoughts, anxiety, pessimism, difficulty focusing, eating and digestive problems, and isolating tendencies. If in proper balance, the body should spend more time in “rest and digest” mode, which is controlled by the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). Acupuncture has the ability to access the central nervous system and tip the balance by relaxing the SNS and activating the PNS.
Beyond acupuncture’s ability to direct the body into a state that facilitates an improvement in depression symptoms, it can also help reduce reliance on prescription drugs. These drugs are the normal course of action that Western Medicine treats acupuncture with, however many cause negative side effects that include an increase in the symptoms of depression. Acupuncture is a holistic approach to treating depression, as it takes into account the interwoven relationship between the mind and the body and restores harmony to the whole system.
Anxiety is complex, and having it can affect every aspect of your day. Normal daily activities, from waking up to doing your job to engaging in a healthy personal life can trigger intense and persistent emotional responses of worry. Anxiety can also lead to physical symptoms of increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating, and fatigue. Many people are affected by anxiety in our fast-paced modern world of constant activity and comparison.
Acupuncture helps control anxiety by stimulating the parts of the brain that regulate emotions, the limbic system. This slows the body’s production and release of stress hormones, in order to decrease emotional reactivity. Beyond the brain and endocrine system, the internal organs are seen as intimately tied to the emotions in Chinese Medicine. Acupuncture sends healing factors to organs that are out of balance. By balancing the energy of these organs and promoting blood flow to optimize their health, acupuncture can restore physiological function to your internal body. The restoration of physical health is closely tied to your mental-emotional state of wellbeing.
Depression can feel hopeless. It can take away the joy that hobbies, work, or connections with people once brought you. So many people are currently experiencing the heaviness of its symptoms, which look different for everyone. Stress is one of the most common causes of depression, especially if it continues to build up over time. Without a way to relax, the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) finds itself constantly triggered. This is the system in charge of your “fight or flight” response, which should be reserved for intense life-threatening situations. Constantly being in “fight or flight” mode is extremely taxing on the body and can manifest with the emotional, physical, and behavioral symptoms of depression. There are many expressions of this, but those suffering from depression commonly have low energy, worrying thoughts, anxiety, pessimism, difficulty focusing, eating and digestive problems, and isolating tendencies. If in proper balance, the body should spend more time in “rest and digest” mode, which is controlled by the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS). Acupuncture has the ability to access the central nervous system and tip the balance by relaxing the SNS and activating the PNS.
Beyond acupuncture’s ability to direct the body into facilitating improvements in depression symptoms, it can also help reduce reliance on prescription drugs. Pharmaceutical drugs are the normal course of action that Western Medicine treats depression with, however, many cause negative side effects that include an increase in the symptoms of depression. Acupuncture is a holistic approach to treating depression, as it takes into account the interwoven relationship between the mind and the body and restores harmony to the whole system.
People are more stressed than ever before! Who has time to relax as the demands of school, work, responsibilities, and interpersonal relationships are ever increasing? When the body can’t find the time to relax, the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) winds up being overstimulated. This puts you in a constant “fight or flight” state, even though the situations around you do not necessitate that level of response. If constantly on alert, the body’s health will eventually pay the price with increased risk for emotional, physical, cognitive, and behavioral symptoms that decrease your ability to enjoy daily life to its fullest. This includes but is not limited to digestive issues, depression, obesity, sleeping problems, memory loss, and heart disease. In order to ease the stress, the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) needs to be stimulated to allow the body to shift into a state of “rest and digest”. Acupuncture needles are able to access the Central Nervous System (CNS) in order to get Heart Rate Variability (HRV) into optimal ranges. This facilitates the shift from the SNS to the PNS. By allowing the body to “rest and digest”, you can restore the physical and mental health which stress has wreaked havoc on.
Relaxation is the most common response that patients experience during and after an acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture has access to the central nervous system, allowing it to release neurotransmitters such as endorphins and serotonin. These stimulate the adrenal gland’s secretion of cortisol, a stress-fighting and anti-inflammatory hormone. Endorphins, as a natural opiate, additionally relieve pain and increase relaxation response in the patient. Physically, tension in muscles can make it hard to comfortably relax.. Acupuncture can release these muscles to help you relax. It is important to regularly take time for yourself to drop into your body and release physical and mental obstructions. Come experience the way acupuncture needles can facilitate your ultimate sense of well-being.
Having trouble sleeping? Let us tuck you in! Most healthy adults need 7-9 hours of sleep every night to function their best. Sleep provides a joyous sanctuary within which the body can revitalize itself. But not getting enough hours of quality sleep can quickly throw off how you go about your whole day. Beyond the decrease in energy and fatigue you might experience, lack of sleep manifests physically too— dry skin, dull complexion, bags and dark circles under irritated eyes. Questioning when you will be able to get quality sleep can cause anxiety and worry. Sleepless nights rob your ability to enjoy the days.
Acupuncture can help relax you into a better sleep state, as well as target the underlying cause of why you’re struggling to sleep in the first place. These causes vary widely across insomniacs. The lifestyles common to modern society are rich with ways to keep you up: stress overload, caffeine/nicotine/alcohol habits, irregular schedules, frequent travel, electronic overstimulation at bedtime, mental health disorders, medications, and sleep-related disorders. Acupuncture can send healing factors to the organs in the body that are out of balance in order to address the deeper causes creating the difficulty sleeping. Acupuncture also regulates the nervous system and resets the circadian rhythm. It has great success at reducing insomnia, sometimes relaxing the patient so quickly that they fall asleep during the treatment!
Feeling fatigued and in need of a boost? Acupuncture can provide a healthier source of energy than sipping on that cup of coffee or taking a drag on that cigarette. There are so many reasons that energy levels may be low, especially if your day-to-day life involves too much stress.
If continuous stress (physical or mental) is the culprit, then that means your Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) is being excessively stimulated. In this scenario, your brain is keeping your body in “fight or flight” mode. In the long-term, this is very draining on energy levels. Acupuncture has the ability to access the Nervous System in order to activate the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), in which the mind cues the body to go into a “rest and digest” state. This switch from SNS to PNS dominance allows your energy to be stored rather than constantly expended. It also allows your energy to be re-focused on optimizing your body systems’ functions.
Acupuncture is an amazing support tool in the weight loss journey. The needles alone cannot cast away the extra pounds, but combined with dietary and lifestyle shifts, acupuncture facilitates a faster and longer-lasting path to your best body. Acupuncture approaches weight loss from many angles by utilizing almost all of the body’s internal systems. It works to suppress appetite, decrease water retention, optimize digestion and metabolism, and regulate neuroendocrine function. There are points in the ear that are particularly strong at curbing cravings since these nerve endings have such a short and direct path to the section of the brain from which the cravings stem. Even after the acupuncture treatment, seeds can be left in your ears over these points so that you can stimulate them yourself whenever the cravings arise. On and off the table, acupuncture is here to support your weight loss journey.
The factors causing acne are more than just skin deep, meaning the treatment should also be focused below the surface! Acne appears on the skin as a manifestation of an imbalance within the body. The imbalance can be caused by a complex combination of diet, emotions (especially stress), and hormones. Healing acne with acupuncture takes time, consistency, and lifestyle changes. Often, acne is a result of toxins that have stagnated in the body and are erupting out at the skin level. Acupuncture is a powerful mover of substances in the body, thus is can go to work breaking up the stuck toxins and moving them out of the body. It is particularly beneficial to those sensitive to medication or those seeking to avoid the side effects of prescription drugs. The effects of acupuncture go deeper and can have a more lasting result than just treating acne topically.
Experiencing undesired hair loss? That doesn’t have to be the final fate for your lovely locks. Reversing this process is possible. There are questionable chemicals you can rub onto your scalp or expensive hair transplant procedures you can try, sure, but then there is the natural simplicity of acupuncture.
Acupuncture needles have the ability to increase blood flow and circulation anywhere in the skin, including the scalp. This could help stimulate the hair follicles, nerves, and blood vessels that have become stagnant or started to regress. Continued treatment focused on repairing these sensitive structures can restore their function.
Even deeper underlying causes of hair loss can be hormonal imbalances or dietary insufficiencies. Acupuncture is able to help regulate the neuroendocrine system via its significant role in accessing the nervous system. Acupuncture can also strongly affect the internal organs in charge of digestion and absorption. Acupuncture seeks to get to the root of your hair loss in order to facilitate the most permanent reversal.
Don’t let the appearance of lines on your face make you wrinkle your forehead in dismay. Acupuncture can save the day. The go-to approach for getting rid of wrinkles has become botox, which involves the injection of a neurotoxic protein into the face in order cause flaccid paralysis. But what if you could spare your body the neurotoxins and simply rely on the power of the needles to smoothen the lines around your face? Good news: you can. Facial rejuvenation is a specialized branch of acupuncture that focuses precisely on this…eradicating the lines which appear all around the face, especially by the sides of the mouth upon smiling, the nose-to-lip wrinkles, and the frown lines between the eyebrows. Acupuncture needles stimulate blood flow and increased circulation to these areas which can relax the facial muscles and arteries in the most natural way.
Acupuncture has long been used to help with both seasonal and chronic allergies. In ancient times, people paid close attention to seasonal changes of temperature and humidity and their effect on people’s health. They called these pathogenic environmental influences “wind,” “heat,” and “dampness.” Today, modern biomedicine views the pathology of allergies as a part of immunological dysfunction that results in a haywire histamine responses. Acupuncture is able to regulate the immune system, activate the parasympathetic nervous system and return the body to a state of balance.
If you’re having trouble catching your breath due to asthma, acupuncture might be the solution to help you breathe easier. Living with asthma means enduring narrowed airways which swell and produce excess mucus. This causes coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. This can make the tasks of daily living and physical activities quite a burden. Acupuncture is here to help. One of the primary channels of acupuncture is directly linked to the lungs, and can direct healing factors to these inflamed organs to help restore their optimum functioning.
Beyond the directly affected organ of the lungs, asthma can also be seen as an immune disorder. The negative side effects are part of the body’s immune response to the allergens surrounding us in our environment. So acupuncture also focuses on strengthening the body’s immune system. A stronger immune system is less likely to provoke such an intense immune response. Many other factors contribute to asthma, before birth and during development. Poor diet, stress, and exercise or lack of it can trigger asthma attacks. If you are open to a conversation about lifestyle choices and potential changes, paired with acupuncture’s ability to regulate all of the body’s internal organ systems, then you can take back control of your breath.
High blood pressure affects many people in the modern world. When the pressure of the blood in your vessels is higher than it should be, you are vulnerable to a surfeit of bodily ailments, the worst of which is heart disease. The high pressure, which is usually accompanied by some kind of blockage in the artery that the blood is trying so hard to push around, can eventually mean that the heart or brain are not easily receiving the oxygen they need. When oxygen flow gets completely cut off from the heart, Myocardial Infarction (MI) can occur. When oxygen flow gets completely cut off from the brain, a Stroke can occur. Both can be deadly.
To prevent such life threatening events, it is important to take and pay attention to your blood pressure. These numbers indicate how smoothly blood is able to reach your vital organs. In the case that blood vessels are becoming blocked, treatment has many layers. Acupuncture is one of those layers that can help. Acupuncture can help regulate the cardiovascular system. Acupuncture also plays a role in the dilation of blood vessels, which will decrease the pressure of blood coursing through you. Acupuncture can also help regulate the release of adrenaline, to prevent the effects of an “adrenaline rush” which makes the heart pound and blood pressure soar. Along with other concurrent treatments, acupuncture can help your blood vessels achieve a state of healthy functioning.
Acupuncture is frequently used to treat diabetes, especially in modern-day China. It has great success in regulating not only the internal systems that are dysfunctioning, but also alleviating the external symptoms that make living unpleasant.
On the internal level, acupuncture is able to lower glucose levels, improve glucose tolerance, increase insulin levels, and reduce insulin resistance. It can also protect pancreas islet function (which is responsible for insulin production). And it can regulate the other hormones that affect diabetes when they are out of balance like melatonin, insulin, glucocorticoid, and epinephrine.
One of the most unpleasant symptoms of living with diabetes is peripheral neuropathy. With peripheral neuropathy, the nerves transmitting signals from the Central Nervous System (CNS) to the extremities of the body are damaged. This damage means the nerve signals aren’t able to communicate properly with the periphery of the body — usually the hands and feet — and cause altered sensations ranging from weakness to numbness to severe pain. Since acupuncture has access to the nervous system, it can help regenerate the damaged nerve pathways so that signals can travel properly again. Additionally, acupuncture releases endorphins. These “feel good” brain chemicals can alleviate the pain associated with neuropathy and encourage the body’s self-healing.
Cancer is a complex topic. It is not one disease, but rather a combination of over 300 types of malignancies which all present and behave in different ways. Treatment strategies for cancer are intimately linked with the timing and context of its diagnosis, along with an accurate assessment of where in the body it has spread. Acupuncture’s significant roles along cancer’s curative path are adjunctive use in anesthesia, post-operative pain control, and alleviation of negative symptoms that follow various treatment therapies.
One of the worst side effects that patients experience after treatment therapies is the nausea and vomiting after chemotherapy. For some, this is worse than the disease itself. Acupuncture can significantly reduce this via its access to regulating the entire GI tract. It also helps by stimulating the release of endorphins. These “feel good” brain chemicals reduce the painful and unpleasant sensations all over the body while also supporting the body’s self-healing mechanism.
The sinuses are connected spaces behind your forehead, eyes, nose, and cheeks. They produce mucus that drains through your nose in order to keep irritants like bacteria and dirt out. When working properly, the sinuses are empty so that air can flow smoothly through. But they can get blocked and inflamed by allergies, pollutants, polyps (nasal growths), or a common cold. This inflammation is known as Sinusitis, which can be acute, chronic, allergic, or infectious. Common symptoms include nasal congestion, sinus headaches, sinus pressure, pain, thick or watery mucus, difficulty breathing, and difficulty sleeping. Acupuncture is extremely effective in treating all forms of Sinusitis, so much so that you may feel an alleviation of congestion during the treatment. Acupuncture brings healing factors directly to the sinuses to reduce inflammation and pain. Acupuncture also moves fluids in the body, allowing it to breakdown congested mucus and drain excess watery mucus from the sinuses to clear the pathways for smooth airflow again.
Tinnitus is a symptom that indicates damage to the ear or auditory system. It usually presents as ringing in the ears— which can be heard softly or loudly, at a high or low pitch. It can also sound like buzzing, clicking, roaring, or humming. In some, it comes and goes. In others, it can last for days. This disruption in sound can impair your ability to focus or go to sleep. How can this intrusive sound be stopped?
Studies have shown that hearing damage leads to the hyperactivity of touch-sensing nerve cells in the brain, which is correlated with the ringing characteristic of Tinnitus. Acupuncture’s ability to affect the nervous system allows it to calm these overactive neurons, which can decrease if not eliminate the ringing. Take back your sense of hearing with the help of acupuncture.
Vertigo is sudden dizziness that results from a mismatch between the signals in the ears and the eyes. The brain gets confused and in turn makes the body feel off-balance. Peripheral vertigo is caused by an issue in the inner ear. Central vertigo is caused by central nervous system damage. In both cases, the nerves are creating the unpleasant miscommunication. The nerve endings in the ears or the nerves in the brain are misfiring. Acupuncture has the ability to access the nervous system and help regulate it so that it may return to a state of proper functioning. Additionally, acupuncture can stimulate the nervous system to release endorphins or “feel good” brain chemicals to alter the body’s experience of discomfort and allow the body to heal itself.
The decision to quit smoking is a big one, but it can be difficult to follow through on your own! We’re here to help. Acupuncture can help reduce the cravings to smoke as well as alleviate the unpleasant symptoms associated with nicotine withdrawal. Acupuncture points in the ear are particularly effective. Here, the cranial nerves can be accessed to direct the nervous system to suppress the urge for cigarettes as well as engage the relaxation response. Acupuncture also stimulates the brain to release endorphins, the “feel good” brain chemicals, to ease the discomfort of withdrawal symptoms. There is even a specific “Quit Smoking” acupuncture point on the inside of the arm at the wrist crease believed to alter the taste of cigarettes.
