Acupuncture & TCM Blog

Chan Hur, L. Ac. of Answers with Acupuncture in Flushing, NY wrote about a successful treatment of eczema with Korean acupuncture techniques, includes before and after picture of a different patient.  

"One girl who was 14 years old came for atopic skin. When she was 2 years old, her parents noticed she often rubbed her back against the corner of a wall. Her parents brought her to an acupuncture clinic in a hurry. The clinic told her parents she had atopic skin and advised that she take herbs. After taking herbs, she was OK until 5 years old. She then suffered this skin problem very much between 5 and 10 years old. She went to many MDs who specialized in skin. The MDs gave skin cream. Her skin became harder and hair grew where these creams were applied. There were continuous new eruptions. Someone advised that she take aloe and she took aloe for a long time. Her skin problem disappeared around 10 years old. This family doesn't know what made her better, as they did so many different things for her.

When she came to my clinic at age 14, she had atopic skin on her fingers, arms and neck. I gave her an acupuncture treatment. I asked her if she was afraid of needles. She was nervous about that. After one needle was inserted, I asked her how it was. " I don't feel anything at all. Are you sure you put a needle on me?" I inserted 4 needles in total. Now I am happy to tell you that her skin problem disappeared with just one treatment. Her sore with waters started to disappear the next day and disappeared totally on the following day."

                         By: Billy Shonez Singh, M.S., L.Ac., Dipl. C.H. (NCCAOM)

                                                    www.billysingh.com ©2010

           

 

A friend of the family had recently brought her aunt to see me for treatment.  She told me that she had Parkinson's Disease along with shoulder pain.  I accepted to treat her with some hesitancy because I thought this would be a difficult issue.  However, as soon as I treated her, everything just seemed to flow smoothly.  We were seeing each other for a period of five non-consecutive sessions for two and half weeks.

           

My friend's aunt whom we will address as "Mrs. Patel," was 77-years old and was visiting her family from London, England.  She was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 1991.  However, her main complaint was her shoulder pain that resulted from an accident during yoga practice which happened a long time ago.  After seeing how Mrs. Patel was unable to move her arm overhead (and only to the level of her collarbone forming a ninety degree angle), I immediately remember seeing this as frozen shoulder because of my past clinical experience.  The pain quality ranged from dull and achy to sharp and stabbing.  The pain was made worse with cold air emitted from central air conditioning to ingestion of cold foods.  Her surgeon back in England did whatever he or she could to do to fix the problem after the accident. After the surgery, she was unable to move her arm.  Furthermore, the surgeon had said that there was a piece of bone from the shoulder that got chipped off and was circulating inside the shoulder joint; thus making the shoulder pain even worse. 

 

In regards to her Parkinson's Disease, it was heartbreaking to see.  She had a shuffling gait while walking. She would clutch onto the side-railings with both hands to walk up and down a flight of stairs.  Her body frame was frail and thin.  Her visage looked very haggard and looked very tired.  During the inquiry, she would often speak in a low tone of voice and she felt like sleeping all the time.  All the muscles in her body felt very rigid and tense.  She was on ten different medications; nine out of ten of them were for Parkinson's Disease and one of them was for bone and joint care.  In addition to that, Mrs. Patel said that the tremors in her hands were exacerbated with emotional and mental stress.  One of her medications for Parkinson's was making her constipated; her stools were too dry and were happening once every day.  Other signs and symptoms consisted of heavy eyelids and burning sensation in the eyes, vertex headaches, pain upon breathing, and lower back pain.  Her pulse was thin, rapid, long and palpable at all three depths.  The liver position as well as both kidney positions was very vacuous.  While I was examining her pulse, Mrs. Patel and her niece mentioned that she had acupuncture done while she was on a cruise ship.  Mrs. Patel said that the other acupuncturist said her liver and kidneys were very weak.  It brought a smile to my face to know that there was someone in our field that I can concur with.  While examining her tongue, the body was short and thin.  The color of the tongue body was light red and the coating of the tongue was thin and white.  After examining everything that I found, her diagnosis was "cold painful obstruction" (also known as Han Bi Zheng) and "wasting syndrome" (also known as Wei Zheng).  Her pattern was internal wind due to systemic qi and yin vacuity and localized qi and blood stasis.

           

During the first treatment, getting her to come onto the table was difficult since I didn't have a step stool available at the time so I lifted her onto it.  The first set of needles that went in the right shoulder was inserted into the local points and ashi points.  Then I inserted needles into Zu San Li (ST-36), San Yin Jiao (SP-6), and Rang Gu (KID-2) for the qi and yin vacuity that was related to her Parkinson's.  Next I used direct moxibustion on Qi Hai (CV-6) to help treat her fatigue using three cones.  Also I manipulated the needles by hand using the reduction method to release the stagnated proteins her right shoulder and using the supplementation method to address the metabolic vacuities.  After thirty minutes of needle retention and manipulation, I took out the needles and used pole moxibustion over her right shoulder.  However, I used it in a way that was only taught to me by one my big influencing teachers.  I took a paper towel, draped it over the right shoulder (the deltoid), and started tapping the lit end of the moxa pole onto the paper towel.  This technique (which is not taught in TCM schools in the US) is much more powerful because the heat from the moxa penetrates deep to the tissues.  The last part of the treatment involved tui na (medical massage) onto the shoulder. 

           

This approach I used was the same approach I used in the other treatments that followed with a few modifications such as needle-head moxa over the right shoulder.  After her first session was over, Mrs. Patel felt like her vitality had returned back.  We continued treatment four more times.  After she left my office after our first session with her niece, I noticed that Mrs. Patel was no longer walking like a frail, ill woman.  She was walking like a twenty year old.  I was worried thinking that the next time I'd see her she would be back to square one.  However, when she came for her second session, she was walking the same way as she did after her first session.  She did feel some level of trepidation walking up and down a flight of stairs.  Despite that, she was still walking smoothly.  After our last session together on August 21st, Mrs. Patel's could now lift her right arm to a one-hundred and twenty degree angle.  That showed tremendous amount of improvement than when I saw her for her first session.  Unfortunately, with the constraints of time, we couldn't see each other anymore since she had to leave for London the next day.  Before Mrs. Patel left, I gave her the name of an acupuncturist and an herbalist in London. 

 

If you want a visual feed of what I did, you can see them on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQu0gH1uPGo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RNC8ViSH7g&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJVb-SSdcKY

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Commack, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects

This case is about cirrhosis 4th stage. The patient was on the waiting list for a liver transplant when he came to my clinic. Here is the story.

Back ground history

He attended a wedding ceremony. While he ate food, he felt nausea and vomiting. He rushed to the toilet bowl and vomited lots of blood, seeing only red blood, but no food at all. He went to an M.D. right away. The M.D. examined him with an endoscope and found all veins in the stomach and esophagus were like large varicose veins (esophageal varicose) with a purple color. According to the test he received later, he threw up 1.5 liter of blood.

He was sent to a large hospital Emergency Room immediately. After all examinations and tests, he was diagnosed with cirrhosis 4th stage, meaning he needed liver transplant surgery. The hospital requested that he be put on the waiting list at the liver donation center and now he is on the waiting list. Being on the waiting list means you have to wait about three years in most cases, however if his family or relatives are willing to donate part of their liver and they match well, this period may be shortened. There is no good match from his family.

During my diagnostic interview, he stated he didn't take alcohol or smoke. After diagnosing him, I told the patient that the blood vomited might come from lung, not from stomach, based on no foods in the vomit and the red blood color of the blood. The patient was surprised a bit and admitted that he had a few experiences of vomiting before. Each and every time he observed some food, acid taste and sticky saliva from the mouth, but this time strange enough only red blood. I also noticed his lung function was weak.

I recommended him to take acupuncture treatments. Liver transplant surgery just replaces a diseased liver with other person's liver. If the patient has a problem with the blood stream in and out through liver, there is a good chance for a new replaced liver to become bad due to improper blood circulation through the liver. We explain this function in Traditional Korean Medicine as 'the meridian may be blocked'. As long as this was a possibility, it is better to help proper blood circulation with acupuncture and Oriental medicine, and also have the transplant surgery. Acupuncture treatment doesn't exclude the planned transplant surgery. He understood the concept and the treatments began.

Acupuncture treatments

His anxiety began to disappear after 2 treatments. His tiredness also diminished. He used to become tired after one hour of driving and had to take a rest. He could work at his normal daily job without much difficulty. This was big progress for him.

When I suggested taking oriental herbs, he preferred not to take herbs as his M.D. told him not to take any herbs and asked him to write down all foods he takes.

I explained the progression of liver disease to him using TCM theory. Normal liver condition changes into hepatitis, inflammation of liver. This means liver produces heat. The heat consumes moisture, and then liver becomes hardened causing cirrhosis. If this continues without treatment, this turns into cancer. He used to feel fever, lassitude, and loss of appetite. He even he walked to one side instead of walking forward sometimes. I suspect he might suffer chronic hepatitis. He didn't have proper treatment for this matter, and is hoping he recovers soon.

I told him he lost lots of blood when vomiting. I also asked him how he will make up all the lost blood. This is the first reason he needs herbs. Taking just iron is not enough to make new blood. We are able to use herbs to make new blood. I removed all unnecessary heat from liver already, and your liver needs more moisture and blood, since liver stores blood, according to acupuncture theory. He told me that he prays for more wisdom as his M.D. and I suggested differently. He decided to take herbs one week later and told me that my advice is more convincing and understandable. He also told me that I made his health better.

Unusual experience

After seven treatments, he experienced very unusual things. He awakened about 2 o'clock in the morning. Suddenly he felt that all the energies around him were being sucked into him. His expression was that 'it was like vacuum cleaner sucking up dirt.' His mind became calm, all worries disappeared and he became very peaceful. He experienced the same thing again 6 o'clock in the morning. This one happened slowly and for a longer period.

Regular check up by his M.D. 

He got treatments three times a week from me. After 12 treatments, I told him that his condition was improved and treatments just two times a week may be alright. After 14 sessions he had a regular check up from his M.D. There were 2 surgeons and 10 interns around the table waiting for him. They checked him by listening with a stethoscope, took his blood pressure and number of pulses per minute, etc. They looked around at each other and wondered what happened.

They expected he would be suffering from ascites (ascites is excess fluid in the space between the tissues lining the abdomen and abdominal organs) on his abdominal area or would have become emaciated by now. What they saw was a perfect healthy man sitting there instead of a sick person. They asked him what happened. He told them he got acupuncture treatments. One surgeon nodded and said "I don't have any objection to acupuncture." However the patient didn't tell them he took herbs, as he believed they may be disapproving. His M.D.'s decided no more surgery was required, but the application for a liver donation will not be cancelled just in case. 

The patient is going to take acupuncture treatments once a week or every two weeks until his next regular check up from his M.D.

Lesson about second opinions and integration of Eastern and Western medicine

1. All hepatitis or cirrhosis may be caused due to poor blood circulation into and out of the liver. Obviously this is one of causes. We call this meridian obstruction. If the problem was begun due to poor blood circulation, surgery alone may be not enough. Any transplant must consider acupuncture, too. This idea should apply to kidney transplants, too.

2. Patients need a second opinion. This opinion should include not only Western doctors, but also acupuncturists. Western medicine may not tell about meridian theory (proper blood circulation) in my opinion. Eastern medicine can't do the surgery. Eastern and western medicine combined may provide the best service to patients.

Visit my website, Answers with Acupuncture in Flushing, NY

Chan Hur, L. Ac.

Chan Hur, L.Ac. 

"The National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM^®), ... has just released the results of its recent milestone national Job Task Analysis (JTA) survey,the 2008 Job Task Analysis: A Report to the Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) Profession which is available via the NCCAOM website, www.nccaom.org. 

The primary purpose of the JTA is to provide a blueprint for the development of the NCCAOM certification examinations, which serve as gateway and prerequisite for entry-level practice of AOM in 43 states, plus the District of Columbia. The JTA survey identifies the importance and frequency of tasks performed by NCCAOM Diplomates from various regions of the country, in different practice settings, as well as at different points in their AOM career. These results serve to validate the knowledge, skills and abilities, i.e., competencies, performed by an entry-level AOM practitioner in the United States.  

The AOM profession is evolving all the time; therefore, it is extremely important to continually review and update the content of the NCCAOM certification examinations. Best practices in validation of examination content is to perform a JTA a minimum of every five years. This report serves to provide the examination content validity verification for the years 2009 though 2013."

The study showed that 57.9% of the respondents were certified in Acupuncture, and 23% were certified in Oriental Medicine. A massage therapy license was also held by 7.3% of the respondents, and 5.2% are Registered Nurses. Women hold 69.7% of NCCAOM certifications, and men hold 30%.  

The primary style of practice taught is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) at 83.9%. The mean student loan debt of Diplomates who responded was $45,891, and 70% of the Diplomate respondents said they earned less than $60,000 a year, while 21% earned between $60,000 and $121,000 a year. Their earnings depended on hours worked and years of experience, with higher earnings reported from Diplomates who received their certification in the last 11-15 years. 

91% of the respondents were self-employed, and 30% are both self-employed and working for someone else. 58% of the Diplomates who are not eclusively self-employed in solo practice work in a multidisciplinary group practice with other health care providers or with other AOM practitioners. 

A friend asked me if acupuncture could help with an 80% tear in her rotator cuff. Please contribute your thoughts. This video shows an acupuncture treatment for injured shoulder demonstrating dispersing the chi and blood from the affected area, and distal needling along the affected channel so the chi and blood has a pathway to drain away. 

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A holistic practice, acupuncture seeks to re-establish the body's healthy equilibrium and function, as opposed to forcing healing using surgery or pharmaceuticals. Interestingly, Chinese practitioners were not the only (and may not have been the first) to identify these energy pathways in the body. The frozen body of a man recovered well-preserved from the Alps features tattoos that correspond to Chinese acupuncture's qi meridians."

"Some folks, including older Western M.D.s, still talk about whether or not they "believe" in acupuncture. Such thinking is ill-informed and outdated. One might as well speculate about whether to believe in aspirin, morphine, insulin, surgery or an MRI. The question is not whether acupuncture works, but how it works, and whether it is the appropriate therapy for a particular syndrome, problem, symptom, disease or patient. In a clinical setting and performed by a licensed professional (licensure is by state) acupuncture is effective for a variety of complaints."

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Join us to hear about the exceptional programs at New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine that prepare you for a career in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Prospective students are invited to attend an NYCTCM Open House for an overview of the Acupuncture school & Traditional Chinese Medicine school programs, a tour of the facility, open discussion, and information on the application process.

Location: NYCTCM, 155 First St., Mineola, NY 11501

• Monday, August 9, 2010 from 6:30am to 8:00pm

For more information about NYCTCM Open Houses

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I entered NYCTCM in 2000 as a non-matriculated student, intending only to get a foundation in Chinese medicine as a first step to studying Tibetan medicine and naturopathy. Suffering an accident to my head and neck shortly after beginning study, I had to take a leave of absence while recuperating and receiving acupuncture treatments at NYCTCM's clinic. 

The Chinese Herbology Certificate Program is designed for licensed acupuncturists and graduates of acupuncture degree programs who wish to add herbal expertise as a component of their professional practices without having to complete an entire Oriental Medicine degree program.