If you have had acupuncture before, you can probably attest to the relaxation response that can be elicited by an acupuncture treatment. But acupuncture does more than make your body feel relaxed - medical research has shown that acupuncture can actually change how your body responds to future stressful events.
Category: research
“Brighten the Eyes”
The Liver meridian “opens into the eyes” and thus blockages in its energy flow can have a direct impact on the eyes. There are many different types of energy in the Liver meridian, and a pathology in any of these levels can cause eye problems. If there is a weakness in the Liver Blood energy, for instance, a patient may experience blurry vision or sandy-feeling eyes, and may have spots or floaters in their field of vision.
A Holistic Approach to Mental Health
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, an important time to acknowledge health issues that too often go undiagnosed or untreated. Mental illness affects 1 in 4 Americans. “Mental illness” is an incredibly broad term, but essentially means a condition that “disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning.” Acupuncture can work in conjunction with therapy and medication to manage symptoms of mental illness.
New Stress Study
I frequently see patients in my clinic for symptoms of stress or anxiety, and patients coming in for other health ailments often report that the acupuncture seems to help them feel less stressed or manage their stress better. But until now, science hasn’t been able to explain the stress relief effect of acupuncture.
Breast Cancer
Biomedical treatments for all types of cancer are becoming more and more effective as more research is conducted and our knowledge of the behavior of cancers improves. However, many of these treatments are incredibly strong and toxic (out of necessity) and can cause many side-effects for patients. This is where modern acupuncture comes in – studies show that acupuncture can be beneficial in managing some of the side effects of breast cancer treatment and symptoms of the cancer.
Why Being Thankful is Good for Your Health
Thanksgiving is upon us, and it is time to think about all the things we are grateful for in our lives. Gratitude is a positive spiritual practice, of course. But did you also know that it is good for your mental, emotional, and even physical health?
Mushrooms
This post is copied from our older, original blog. Original post date 10/15/2012. By Marcie Bower, Lic.Ac. When I was 2 years old, mushrooms were my favorite food. Weird taste for a 2 year old, yes, but a wise one! Mushrooms are increasingly shown to have numerous health benefits, from boosting immunity to fighting cancer … Continue reading Mushrooms
Shingles
Shingles is a very painful skin rash that can often leave patients in pain long after the rash itself has cleared. As with so many pain conditions, acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine can be a very effective therapeutic treatment for symptoms of shingles or post-herpetic neuralgia.
Headaches
Headaches are a very common health ailment with a wide variety of causes and manifestations. Up to 90% of adults have experienced a tension-type headache. The 2009 National Health Interview Survey found that 21% of adult females and 10% of adult males experience migraine or severe headaches. The good news is, acupuncture can be a very helpful treatment for all of kinds of headaches – both in the moment and preventatively.
Balance Your Emotions the Natural Way
I think that many patients could lift their mood and treat their anxiety and depression successfully without introducing medications, or could increase the efficacy of their medications and thereby cut the dosage to reduce side effects by modifying their lifestyle and introducing natural therapeutic tools to manage emotional imbalances.
