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Why do acupuncturists ask so much about bowels? These questions can be uncomfortable especially for a first time patients, and especially if their reason for coming in isn’t even related to digestive function! Our digestion issues are not usually something we discuss openly with our friends and family, and in many cases it may feel like taboo to discuss something that feels so personal with someone your close to but even worse with a stranger. I felt the same way before starting acupuncture school. But I have learned how important digestion and the digestive system is in understanding our bodies. The digestive system gives us a huge insight into the body as a whole. It has been called the second brain because of its complex nervous system. We know how important it is to take care of our actual brain, but we don’t always care for our second brain in the same way! This can lead to digestive issues such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, blasting, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, and more. In Traditional Chinese Medicine all of these occur because of different issues with the Spleen and Stomach organs. It can be due to deficiency, stagnation, or rebellion. Some people experience just a mild type of any of these symptoms, while others deal with severe digestive issues. The later is what usually sends people to me, but even people with mild digestive symptoms can experience great relief in their everyday life with acupuncture focused on digestion, because the gut plays such a huge role in the functioning of our whole body. Why is digestion so important in TCM? In TCM the Stomach and Spleen reside in the Middle Burner which is at the center of all the channel pathways for the other organs, so when there are issues in the Spleen or Stomach other organs will begin to be affected. A good way to think about this is if there is a kink in your hose, water can flow freely without the kink (healthy digestive system), but the bigger the kink gets, the less water and pressure can go through (mild digestive issues) until no water is coming out (severe digestive issues). The Spleen and Stomach are also the organs that are the root of Post-heaven Qi- which means they are the source of all the Qi produced after birth. This concept makes sense when you think where does our energy come from… the food, vitamins and water that nourish our bodies. If the Stomach and Spleen perform at their fullest capacity, then our bodies are not going to be able to receive all the nourishment of our food. You can eat all the right things, but if our bodies are not digesting properly we don’t receive the full benefit of that food. This nourishment is not only needed to help our physical body function, but it is also needed to nourish our mental and spirit levels. We already said that our gut is our second brain, so it also plays a role in receiving and processing emotions and information. Symptoms and their TCM disharmony: In general the things that can affect the Spleen and Stomach are the nature of the food you eat, the regularity of meals, and the environment they are eaten in, and emotional strain. The main diagnosis involved when looking at digestion are listed below with their symptoms next to them: -Qi deficiency: dull pain improved by eating, poor appetite, loose stools -Qi Stagnation: epigastric or abdominal distention, constipation -Oi rebellion: hiccup, belching, nausea, vomiting, loose stools, diarrhea Your symptoms and diagnosis may fit into one of these categories or it may be a mix of more than one of these. When receiving a treatment for digestive issues we will take a closer look into these symptoms and more to find the root cause. In your treatment we will also go through what food is best for you and your digestive issues, because obviously diet plays a major role in the function of our digestive systems. .This image shows a very powerful digestion treatment. Ren 6 the point below the navel tonifies Qi and can be used for diarrhea and constipation. Ren 12 the point above the navel is the Front-Mu of the Stomach and regulates the Stomach Qi, and also tonifies the Spleen and Stomach. It can be used for almost any digestive issue including nausea, vomiting, acid reflux, diarrhea, and indigestion. St 25 the points on both sides of the navel is the Front Mu of the Large Intestine, and thus it regulates the function of the intestines, and can be used for food stagnation, as well as constipationa and diarrhea. Together these points are called the Four Doors. All our important digestion points on their own, but the combination can treat most digestive disorders, strengthen post-heaven Qi, and benefit metabolism. This combination is also a great treatment for emotions, which takes us back to the gut as the second brain!
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Many of us with insomnia, myself included would do anything… and I mean anything to get to sleep. In the past I have tried everything from over the counter drugs to meditation tapes, and even just praying to the sleep Gods to let me just get some rest.
I have been told all the tricks… no screen time an hour before bed, no lights in the room, don’t look at any clocks, breathing meditations, warm milk, and the list goes on and on. And some nights they work and others they don’t. The type of insomnia I had and still have at times is the type where I can’t fall asleep. As soon as my head hits the pillow my mind comes to life. I call it monkey brain, because it feels like my mind just swings back and forth through everything that has or could happen in my life, like monkeys swing through a jungle. And this is a very common sleep issue I see with my clients. If you noticed I said “had and still have at times” when speaking about my insomnia. This is because my sleep issues are nowhere near what they once were in the past, but there are those nights after a stressful week and not receiving treatments or treating myself as regularly that the monkeys wake back up to play all night long. But for the most part I fall into the “had” category thanks to acupuncture. And this is truly the magic of acupuncture that drew me into the field. So lets look a little closer at acupuncture and insomnia. For centuries acupuncture has been used to provide relief for the many different types of insomnia. These types include: -sleep onset or difficulty falling asleep (my type) -middle of the night, or waking and unable to fall back to sleep right away -terminalinsomnia- waking in the very early morning and unable to fall asleep again -sleep with vivid and disruptive dreams -inability to fall asleep at all In Chinese medicine each type of insomnia indicates a different imbalance within the body. And it is important to note that the treatment of each type of insomnia will be different, but it will also be different for every person, even if they have the same type, because it may manifest or be rooted in a different way. So the way I get treated for my sleep onset insomnia will be different from you even if you have the same type of insomnia. Acupuncture looks at the person as a whole, and not just at the symptom. During your treatment you will be asked questions to figure out what type(s) of insomnia you have and what organs are in disharmony. The time you fall asleep and wake up have a role in your treatment of your insomnia, for example if you wake up every night between 1-3am the Liver is involved. Also, you will be asked about your emotions, it makes sense to many of us that emotions may be part of what keeps us awake at night but in TCM they are important because each emotion has an organ it is attached to. The Heart is related to anxiety, the Liver to stress or anger, and the Spleen is connected to worry. The goal of the treatments is to create a balance of these organs, which in turn makes it easier to fall and stay asleep. Insomnia won’t be cured with one treatment. In general for insomnia I like to see my clients once a week for about a month or until we see substantial improvement. And then after you are on a better sleep cycle we can start cutting back to keep maintaining the results we have gotten. That is what I meant when I said still having insomnia at times. I know life gets busy and even I miss a treatment, but my body is sure to tell me when I have gone to long! When you are first starting to treat insomnia with acupuncture consistency is your best friend, it takes 21 days for your body to learn a new habit, which is why the treatments are scheduled the way they are at the start. The great thing with acupuncture though is even after your first treatment you will receive the benefits of calmness and relaxation that many of us with insomnia haven’t experienced in a long time! Some ways of how insomnia is looked at in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can be shown in the following examples: these are examples and like I said one thing does not fit every person in TCM, you may fall perfectly into one of these categories, or if you are like me fit into as many as three depending on the day. For a more personal diagnosis please make an appointment! -Heart Meridian: Emotion= anxiety, Insomnia= waking up easy; difficulty falling asleep -Liver Meridian: Emotion= anger, stress, frustration, Insomnia= difficulty falling asleep; waking between 1-3am -Lung Meridian: Emotion= grief, Insomnia= waking between 3-5am -Spleen Meridian: Emotion= worry, obsessiveness, Insomnia= waking at the same time overnight; dream-disturbed sleep Endometriosis is a disease that has been brought up to me more and more lately, whether the presence is becoming more common, or more women are just receiving the correct diagnosis of it, I have had so many more questions of “what can I do to feel better again?” Endometriosis is defined lesions or endometrial tissue that has formed outside the uterus. An estimated 176 million women of reproductive age are affected worldwide.
Where it gets complicated is that every woman can experience different symptoms and some may not have any symptoms at all. And the severity of the symptoms does not always correlate to the severity of the endometriosis. Typical symptoms that can be seen with endometriosis range from infertility, pelvic pain, heavy menstrual bleeding, chronic fatigue, and dysmenorrhea. Why is the diagnosis so difficult? Because many other diseases can present with the same or similar symptoms. A laparoscopy is seen as one of the best objective and conclusive ways to diagnosis it. The underlying cause of endometriosis is unknown, but it is though to likely be multifactorial. Some of the possible causes are genetics, epigenetic, or environmental exposures. There are many ways to treat endometriosis and can range from surgery to the use of oral contraceptives and hormones. Chinese medicine can be used with traditional western treatments or on its own depending on the stage of endometriosis. But, the combination of both Eastern and Western medicine is a very effective way of both treating endometriosis symptoms and relieving some of the negative side effects of western treatments. Speaking just as an acupuncturist, I can only speak for the Chinese medical side, but the goal of the treatments for endometriosis is to help your body learn how to regulate itself and find a hormonal balance. The length of time required for acupuncture treatments will differ depending on each individual women’s response, but typical treatments consists of weekly acupuncture for 4-6 months or until a regular cycle is regained. The aim of the treatments is to resolve the issue at its root, and to understand why the imbalance occurred in the first place. Some of the known benefits of acupuncture Diet is another extremely powerful and important tool in treating endometriosis. In a treatment for acupuncture I will go through specific dietary recommendations for each person specifically, but in general the goal is to create a diet that reduces inflammation. Cutting out or just back on refined foods, sugars, alcohol, and red meat is a great place to start. When talking about this endometriosis another important topic to cover is estrogen dominance. The symptoms of estrogen dominance are similar to those of endometriosis and include: great swelling and tenderness, anxiety and mood swings, fuzzy thinking, irritability, fatigue, slow metabolism, water retention and weight gain, loss of libido, insomnia, thickening of endometrial lining, increased risk of fibroids and ovarian cysts. Often estrogen dominance is present in women with endometriosis as well as women after menopause. Estrogen dominance can occur when progesterone declines like before menopause, and estrogen levels remain the same or increase. So relatively estrogen is higher relatively than progesterone. From a Chinese medicine point of view these symptoms can be related to Qi/and or Blood Stagnation, Yang deficiency, or damp. A good way to look at this is the weak yang (often Kidney Yang) relates to low progesterone and thus estrogen dominance, which correlates to the stagnation of yin (blood or damp). So Yin and Yang correlate with each other, when one is too high the other becomes too low. A real life example to understand the Yin/Yang relationship is when you are boiling water, when the heat (yang increase) is too high the water doesn’t just heat up it evaporates (yin decrease). In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidney, Spleen, and Liver play major roles in hormone balance and all can be seen in the symptoms of estrogen dominance. The Kidney symptoms are water retention, low libido, and insomnia. The Spleen symptoms correlate with swelling, slow metabolism, weight gain, fatigue, and fuzzy thinking. And the Liver is present in the mood swings, anxiety, and irritability. So acupunctures focus would be to strengthen the Kidney Yang and the Spleen Qi, and then calm the Liver, as well as move the stagnations causing the pain and fibroids/ovarian cysts. But, again the diet can be a major help in treating these symptoms and should be utilized in conjunction with acupuncture. To start lets focus on the liver, it is the best way to defend against estrogen dominance because it holds the job of eliminating excess estrogen. So what hurts the Liver? Go figure alcohol and fatty foods. Minimizing alcohol and fatty foods and increasing your intake of bitter greens can be very beneficial. Artichokes, beets and apples also support the Liver. Drinking water with lemon juice first thing in the morning can also calm the Liver. Eating plenty of vegetables (especially cruciferous veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and Brussels sprouts- al which improve estrogen metabolism), protein and healthy fats are important in a hormone balancing diet, but fiber is also crucial so the excess estrogen can be excreted through your bowels. As far as supplements go Vitamin B6 and magnesium are essential in the metabolism of estrogen Recently I have had the opportunity to work on one of my husband's friends the day after finishing his second Iron Man. Mark is one of those people you look at and just know that they are an athlete, and completing one Iron Man would have proved that, completing two… now that’s just showing off!
But this post isn’t about how jealous I am of Mark, especially since I am tired after a one mile run, this is about what happens to your body after a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bicycle ride, and a marathon 26.22 mile run, and how acupuncture can help. While most of us won’t complete and Iron Man in our life time, many of us run marathons or push our bodies to extremes, even though it is all in the name of fitness it can take a toll on our bodies. After a triathlon such as the Iron Man the body needs recovery, the muscles and ligaments are severely traumatized, and are filled with swelling and inflammation. Inflammation and swelling are a normal response to trauma, and it isn’t always a bad thing, after all inflammation is what protects our bodies, but after a race this the inflammation and swelling makes it harder for the body to start its recovery process. This is where acupuncture comes in! On it’s own this fluid build up takes about 3 days to move into the blood stream where it can then be excreted out of the body. This means that after a race slight weight gain and increase urination is very common for the days following. With all that being said it is important for the acupuncture treatments or other body work following a race to be gentle. The focus of the treatment should be on increasing blood flow and helping to decrease any muscle spasms. Acupuncture immediately after a race as Mark did it, helps to decrease the healing period and reduce the swelling and inflammation quicker. In the weeks following, the treatments can start to change from the gentle restorative type into correcting any mechanical issues that can come with putting that much stress and strain on the muscles and ligaments of the body. For more information on what Acupuncture can do for your bodies specific needs please feel free to contact me at DenverMindBodyEssence@gmail.com! 1. The Interview Process: Including questions you may have not been asked before!
The initial interview is a time for me to get to know your chief complaint, the reason that brought you in! But it is also the time for me to get to know your health history, as well as a chance for me to ask some questions that seem to not be important to your chief complaint, but I promise they are all relevant! There will be questions about your sleeping patterns, many questions on your digestive function, and your emotional quality and stress level. None of these questions are meant to make you feel uncomfortable, and you have the right to skip over any question you don't want to answer, but these questions are only asked to best help you and give you the best treatment! And trust me I have heard it all so none of your answers can make me feel uncomfortable! TCM looks at you and your body as a whole so all functions and processes of it play a big role in helping it find a healthy balance. 2. Taking the pulse and observing the tongue: These techniques are at the cornerstone of of Chinese medicine diagnosis. The pulse is felt at three postitions on the radial side of each wrist. With this type of pulse taking the practitioner can get to know your body and can feel for any imbalances in it. More questions may be asked at this time based on what is felt in the pulses. The tongue is another great way to diagnosis the body. Each section of the tongue relates to a different organ in traditional chinese medicine. We look at the overall tongure, coat, color, shape, and quality to further examin imbalances in the body. Another quick note: before your appointment please do not brush or scrape your tongue, or eat highly colored foods or drink that chould change the color! 3. The Treatment: The treatment will vary for each person and for each treatment. There are many ways to look at one issue in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and thus many ways to treat it. The treatment may be done while laying on your back or face down. There may be anywhere from 5-20 needles used during a treatment. Additional modalities such as Reiki, Cupping, Gua Sha, or Moxibustion may also be used. During the treatment you may have an emotional or a physical release. All of this is normal. Or you may fall into a deep meditative like sleep. But no matter what happens I will be near by if anything feel uncomfortable! 4. After the treatment: People report many different experiences after acupuncture. Often it is something that I have termed an "acu-high." You may feel extremly relaxed, a bit spacey, and you should give yourself time to relax before driving or heading back to work. Make sure to drink alot of water after your treatment as well. The work of acupuncture can continue for several days after, but if you ever have any questions please feel free to call! Acupuncture uses thin filiform needles which are inserted through the skin into strategic points on your body. It is most comonly used to treat pain, but can be used for so much more! In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) each point is chosen base on the local location, the meridian pathway, or the organ channel. In TCM it is sain that by using specific points on the body, the energy or life force can flow throughout your body to help your body find balance. Western practitioners describe the way acupuncture works in a more anatomical way. The western view is that when the needle is inserted there is a stimulation to the nerves, muscles, and connective tissues, and this stimulation can boost your bodies natural painkillers and increase blood flow.
Does it hurt? This is one of the most common questions that as an acupuncture practitioner I get asked. And the answer is not a simple yes or no. No, it probably doesn't hurt in the way you think inserting a needle into your skin would feel. Do to the needles very thin size it does not feel like it does when you get a shot or give blood. But ofter there is a sensation that you get after a needle is inserted. This is a sensation in TCM we call "da qi," it can range from a burning, aching, dull, heavy, or cool sensation. But some patients may experience slight pain other than the "da qi" sensation. Certain points on the body may be more sensitive than other, but there should never be unbearable pain during an acupuncture treatment. What can it treat? Some general issues acupuncture can treat are: allergies, asthma, sinusitis, headaches, TMJ, back pain, sciatica, musculoskeletal problems, insomnia, anxiety, dizziness, depression, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, addictions, indigestion, constipation and more. It is also great for many women's and men's health issues. But, acupuncture is not just for when you have a problem, acupuncture is great for preventitive health, such as stress management, wellness or just a seasonal attunement. |
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