Modern bodies, modern acupuncture

I'm Coming Around

As many of you know, I'm in the process of completing my Acupuncture Sports Medicine Apprenticeship Program with Whit Reaves, L. Ac.. Acupuncture sports medicine is the synthesis of principles of traditional Chinese Medicine with Western sports medicine. It pairs ancient needling techniques with knowledge of anatomically significant tissues such as motor points, trigger points, muscle bellies, tendon sheaths, joint spaces, muscle tendon junctions, ligaments, tendons, and other structures. Often Electrical stimulation (estim) is a machine somewhat similar to a TENS unit (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation). Like a TENS unit, estim uses a very low level of electric current. Needles are placed into hyper or hypo-functioning tissue and Estim leads are attached to the needles to provide a low level of current through the tissue. Estim spurs the body to profuse injured, weakened or inflamed areas with Qi and blood. The theory is electrical stimulation interrupts pain signals and causes the body to release endorphins, it’s natural painkillers.

When I was fresh out of school, Acupuncture sports medicine didn't appeal to me much at all. After all, it's pretty obvious that I'm not a jock. Using an Estim machine used to seem to me like cheating. I wanted to be the acupuncturist who put in a few magic needles in seemingly random places and make all the pain go away. I’m drawn by the mystical, but I’m too pragmatic not to be practical. As I've practiced over the years, I've discovered that there are many for whom this works and there are many for whom it doesn't work at all. Buy why? 

Sitting and Hunching

Whit Reaves has a hypothesis, and I have to say, I like it. If you look at classical acupuncture points taut bands of muscle are overlooked in favor of points located in hollows, spaces between muscles. These were paired with distal points on the same acupuncture channel for maximum efficacy. According to Whit, in the early 80's classical techniques were effective on the majority of patients. So what changed? Technology. Or rather, technology changed us. 

I can remember a bright spring morning in 1978, my father brought in a big box and set it on our old teacher's desk. He unpacked and tinkered a while. Then the neighbors were invited over and we all gathered round the wonder of the first 8086 IBM PC on the block. Desktop computers, laptops, tablets, and mobile phones have changed us. No longer are we swinging scythes out in the fields or toting laundry down to the stream. Instead we sit, hunkered over staring into our marvelous devices for hours at a time. Then we get up, hop into our cars and sit, hunched over our steering wheels. Prolonged inactivity paired with lousy posture has lead to our muscles becoming more shortened, contracted and fibrous than they were before. Thus, the techniques that have been effective for centuries, are not always effective on our modern bodies. That being said, there are plenty of bodies that seem to respond better to traditional techniques than sports medicine acupuncture. These people can be more sensitive foods and medications than other people. For them, traditional acupuncture techniques make more sense. 

Everyone is an Athlete

We are all athletes. We may not be running marathons, but we're all likely to sprain an ankle on the curb or aggravate a shoulder by shoveling snow. Everyone has a body and at times the body gets broken or stressed. The same knowledge can be applied to a 25 year old softball player as can be applied to a 75 year old who has pain lifting her arm. Even if I'm not going to treat a problem with acupuncture sports medicine, it makes sense to know how the body works from an allopathic medical perspective. I have many colleagues who turn their noses up at learning anything remotely related to Western medicine. It didn't take long for me to understand that patients expect acupuncturists to know what they're talking about when they mention spondylosis, Grave's disease or a torn medial meniscus. I feel the Western medical training I got during my Master’s degree in Acupuncture and Asian Medicine was sorely lacking. I’m excited for the opportunity to delve deeper into orthopedic medicine from both the Western and Eastern sides using the tools of acupuncture sports medicine.

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Left Hand Community Acupuncture is located in the heart of Old Town Lafayette 
at the corner of Simpson St. and Michigan Ave. LHCA offers an affordable sliding 
scale of $25-$55. We do not ask for proof of income. You decide what you feel is 
fair to you and fair to us. We treat patients in a relaxed, group setting that promotes 
an atmosphere of healing. Caroline Adams is a Licensed Acupuncturist and nationally 

board certified. Acupuncture can help with a wide range of health issues including pain, stress, insomnia, arthritis, allergies, depression, headaches, fatigue, cold and flu, digestive issues, PMS, and many other health concerns.

http://lefthandacu.com 

720-248-8626

Insomnia tips

1. Wear your socks! According to Chinese medicine, any types of insomnia are the result of heat in the Heart. Allopathic medicine has determined that wearing warm socks to bed can help some people sleep better. Why? Because the body is able to reach a sleep state faster when the body’s core is cooled off. Dilating the blood vessels in the feet helps it do this. I was interested to hear that Western science is backing up my medical tradition! When the Heart is hot, it’s hard for the Shen or “spirit” to rest easy. According to Chinese medical theory, the Heart, not the brain, processes all the thoughts. If you’re particularly worried about something, by running thoughts over and over in your brain you are heating up the heart, making it impossible to sleep.

2. Stressful lives: most of us have. When you are in fight or flight mode so much during your day, it’s hard to switch from fight or flight (the domain of the parasympathetic nervous system) to rest and digest (the sympathetic nervous system). Regular meditation practice and acupuncture have both proven extremely effective at calming the parasympathetic nervous system.   

3. Comfort is important. If your mattress is dipping in the middle or too hard, you won’t be able to sleep comfortably. In addition, if you have allergies to dust and pet dander your mattress can become a storage depot for these allergens. Consider replacing your mattress if either of these conditions apply to you.  

4. Limit electronics in the bedroom. There are two basic types of Qi in the body one is Yang, everything that is warm, active, growing and consuming. The other is Yin, everything that is restful, nourishing, cooling and still. Televisions, computers, smart phones, anything with an LED light or anything that makes a buzzing or humming sound is a Yang device and consumes the Yin around it. Studies have shown the more time you spend in front of a backlit screen, the harder it is for your body to reach deep sleep. Your bedroom is your sanctuary for rest and relaxation. Do not use electronic devices within an hour of bedtime, they will only amp you up and make it harder to sleep. End the smart phone addiction: leave it in another part of the house. You do not need to be on Twitter and Facebook at 11 pm!  

5. Clutter: While you’re cleaning out your bedroom and creating your Zen space, find another place to keep all that clutter. You know what I’m talking about: laundry baskets, piles of paperwork, kids toys, etc.. If you can’t find another place to put it, at least hide it in some attractive containers or a nice armoire. Nothing makes me feel less calm than a bunch of clutter greeting me at the end of a long day. 

6. What is it with 2-3 AM? Are you the person who wakes up at 2-3 AM without fail? The cause may be that your blood sugar drops at this time. When your blood sugar drops the liver is engaged to break up glycogen and make glucose for the body’s use. The Liver in Chinese medicine is responsible for coursing the Qi freely throughout the body. Having this organ activated in the middle of the night goes counter to healthy sleep. Try eating a small high protien, low sugar snack like almonds or sunflower seeds at 9:00 pm or so. If blood sugar is your issue, this should give your body the fuel it needs to rest easy all night long. 

7. Regular acupuncture. Acupuncture not only reduces stress and promotes proper hormone balance, it also adjusts the Ying and the Wei Qi. What are Ying and Wei? King is the nutritive Qi that circulates in the body during the night, nourishing all the organs and tissues. It is a Yin substance. Wei is the defensive Qi that circulates on the surface of the body during the day to fight against pathogens (colds and flus). Wei is a Yang substance. Many individuals end up with an imbalance of Ying and Wei in which the Wei circulates all the time, preventing deep and restful sleep. 

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Left Hand Community Acupuncture is located in the heart of Old Town Lafayette 
at the corner of Simpson St. and Michigan Ave. LHCA offers an affordable sliding 
scale of $25-$55. We do not ask for proof of income. You decide what you feel is 
fair to you and fair to us. We treat patients in a relaxed, group setting that promotes 
an atmosphere of healing. Caroline Adams is a Licensed 
Acupuncturist and nationally board certified. Acupuncture can help with a wide range of health 
issues including pain, stress, insomnia, arthritis, allergies, depression, headaches, 
fatigue, cold and flu, digestive issues, PMS, infertility and many other health concerns.

http://lefthandacu.com 

720-248-8626

How many treatments do I need? How often should I come in?

As acupuncturists, we hear these questions frequently.  The truth of the matter is "it depends".  There are so many factors and variables that this question is almost impossible to answer with certainty.  A general rule of thumb is it takes about 4-6 treatments to see a TRAJECTORY of improvement. 

In studies that come out of China, patients are typically going 5 times a week for two weeks and then are reevaluated.  That's 10 treatments in two weeks! That model doesn't work here in the United States for most patients as the cost and time required can be prohibitive. I tell my patients that acupuncture is like going to the gym to lose weight.  If don't need to lose much, you might go only once a month  (maintenance), but if you need to lose more you might want to go a few times a week (curative).

The following table is a general guide you can use for your situation.

Impact            Tx/week.          Reevaluate
10                        5                     1 week
8-9                       4                     1 week
6-7                       3                     2 weeks
3-5                       2                     2 weeks
1-2                       1                     2 weeks

Impact = how much the symptoms are affecting your life   -or- 
Impact = a measurement of pain

Other factors that contribute to longer or shorter treatment courses are perpetuating factors. These include patterns that produce or contribute to the imbalance and patient involvement. Is the condition is chronic or acute? The length of time you've been suffering with a condition plays a big roll. For every year you've had a problem, that's the number of months of treatment you will need before it gets resolved.

All of these variables influence the frequency and duration of treatments.  Because acupuncture treats the root cause of imbalance results can be subtle or slower than our fast paced lives expect, but the effects are typically longer lasting once the imbalance is corrected!

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Left Hand Community Acupuncture is located in the heart of Old Town Lafayette 

at the corner of Simpson St. and Michigan Ave. LHCA offers an affordable sliding 

scale of $25-$55. We do not ask for proof of income. You decide what you feel is 

fair to you and fair to us. We treat patients in a relaxed, group setting that promotes 

an atmosphere of healing. Caroline Adams is a Licensed 

Acupuncturist and nationally board certified. Acupuncture can help with a wide range of health 

issues including pain, stress, insomnia, arthritis, allergies, depression, headaches, 

fatigue, cold and flu, digestive issues, PMS, infertility and many other health concerns.

http://lefthandacu.com 
720-248-8626