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

                                 http://www.zenohs.com ©2009

 

Reading the title of this new article, you are probably thinking, "How is that possible?"  By treating something as simple as back pain with acupuncture and Chinese medicine, you are taking a preventative measure against cancer.  It may sound unlikely, or even impossible; but on the contrary, it's quite feasible.

            It all starts with an injury.  Let us say a 25-year-old man gets into a 30-mile-per-hour car accident.  He survived the accident and now has minor upper and lower back pain due to the concussive force of the crash.  Over time, the pain comes and goes but the concussive force remains, therefore leading to impeded blood flow to the connective tissues and muscles.  In a great amount of time, impeded blood flow in this case leads to lack of oxygen to the surrounding tissues, which is known as ischemia.  Ischemia leads to another process known as cell death, because no oxygenated blood is going to the tissues.  Eventually, the severity of cell death turns into necrosis because cell death has now spread into other tissues surrounding those affected by the concussive force. Over time, the surrounding necrotized tissues go into a cellular process known as cytotoxicity, which is much more severe than necrosis.  Toxins build up in the surrounding and localized muscle tissue, which later leads to cancer, which spreads into tissues.  How many times have you heard about people dying of cancer, despite the fact that they did not have cancer in their family health history? 

            A perfect real-life example of this theory is the case of Sosai Masutatsu (Mas) Oyama.  He was born in 1923 and was the founder of Kyokushin karate.  He trained under harsh environments and conditioned his hands, legs and feet by striking rocks and trees.  He challenged 300 fighters in Japan and fought all of them in a three-day kumite (which in Japanese means "free fight").  In short, he pushed himself beyond the limits of human endurance.  Yet despite his physical and spiritual strength, he died in 1994 of lung cancer as a non-smoker.  Now this is where the theory of concussive force comes into play.  As a fighter in his time, martial artists did not have protective equipment to shield their bodies as we do now.  When you are fighting the way Masutatsu Oyama did, most of the concussive force coming to your body comes from your opponent's strikes to your ribs, among other body parts like the head, groin and stomach.  Despite his physical strength, he was taking concussive force to his body (in his case, specifically the rib cage), which resulted in ischemic tissues, which over time resulted in his lung cancer.

            Chinese medical practices like Gua Sha can help treat musculoskeletal problems before they can eventually turn into potentially life-threatening issues.  Gua Sha is a modality that incorporates the use of a Chinese soup spoon, or any other hard device, to scrape the surface of the skin until there is bruising and redness.  It can be used as a stand-alone treatment or it can be used with one's acupuncture treatment.  The theory behind scraping the surface of the skin until it is very red is to bring up any stagnated blood and toxins to the surface of the skin.  The stagnated blood and toxins that have been built up cause pain and eventually lead to other problems at a cellular level.  Since there is bruising involved, capillaries are destroyed and allowed to regenerate, thus bringing in a fresh supply of nutrients and oxygenated blood to the connective tissues of the body that have been affected by injuries involving concussive force.  The bruising and redness that occurs fade away within four to five days.  If you want to see this technique done in action go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOF9kvjDPsk.

          

 

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. 

                         By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac. (NCCAOM)

                                        http://www.zenohs.com ©2009

 

 

            There have been many misconceptions about acupuncture that many people in the Western world have inferred. When I see and hear all of these misconceptions, it causes me to start rolling my eyes in disbelief. So it is time to set the record straight.

           

The first misconception is that it is used for dealing only with stress.  Now this statement is misleading because while certain people do use it for stress, it is not the only reason.  We do look at stress as being the cause of some diseases but not all of them.  If you look at certain diseases such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or chronic fatigue syndrome, the root cause is stress.  However, certain conditions that acupuncture can treat such as sinusitis or diabetes, the root cause is not stress obviously.  Usually the cause of certain diseases can be environmental, genetic, dietary, or psychological.  Another misconception that caught my attention a couple of years ago was on Oprah Winfrey's talk show with Dr. Oz.  The subject on her show was about acupuncture and the acupuncturist treating Oprah was asked, "Do you need to be sick in order to receiving acupuncture?" The practitioner's answer was, "no."  Now, I find this to be not only a misconception but a dangerous answer to give because there are cases from East Asia that shows that acupuncture to be a useful medical tool.  Furthermore, the World Health Organization states that acupuncture is useful in the treatment of immune system issues up to the side-effects of chemotherapy.

 

Next is the subject of health insurance covering acupuncture treatments is another misconception.  Health insurance companies are only going to cover diseases treated with acupuncture by a medical doctor who is a certified acupuncturist.  I must say again that medical doctors practicing acupuncture have only three-hundred hours of acupuncture training.  Whereas, licensed acupuncturists are not covered by health insurance companies despite having two-thousand hours of training than certified doctors practicing acupuncture. 

 

Lastly, a misconception is that acupuncture is considered unscientific by the Western allopathic community.  Furthermore is that they feel that acupuncture is more of a mystical, intuitive, and an exotic art form of medicine.  The misconception of East Asian medicine being unscientific is also based on false postcolonial assumptions that date back to the 18^th and 19^th centuries regarding Eastern cultures by European imperialists according to Edward Said, the author of Orientalism.  What people fail to realize is that the Western medical viewpoint grows out of the scientific model.  The majority of individuals unfortunately fail to realize that science is a point of view without any more purchase on truth than the world views.  This gives Western medicine an air of certainty which it does not necessarily deserve anymore than acupuncture and East Asian Medicine does.       

 

            This concludes some of the many misconceptions about East Asian Medicine that have been circulating within the country.

           

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and 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.

"In Chinese folklore, there is a fairy tale that goes with the black-bone chicken. It is said that the celestial Lu Dongbing made pills of immortality on Tiger-nose Peak long, long ago. Tiger-nose Peak is also known as Two-finger Peak of the Wushan Mountain in Taihe. On the day when the pills of immortality were successfully made, Lu Dongbing invited other celestial beings to the celebration party, including Tie Guaili, Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao, He Xiangu, Lan Caihe, Han Xiangzi, and Cao Guojiu.

When the celestial beings were drinking wine, a pair of wild chicken flew from the forest into the pill-making pool and ate the pills of immortality. The chickens then became a pair of white phoenix. Lu Dongbing was not glad and reported to Buddha Guanying, but Buddha Guanying smiled and said: "It's a good opportunity for them to live on earth." Buddha Guanying pointed at the Tiger-nose Peak, and the white phoenix immediately became silky fowl."

The black-boned hen is a very good setter and is often used to hatch the eggs of other species that do not set on eggs as well.

"In the Tang Dynasty, the 'maifengdanyao,' which has the black-bone chicken as the main ingredient, was thought to be the cure-all medicine for the gynecological diseases."

Read more about the Black-boned chicken

Oriental Recipes from NYCTCM Eastern Nutrition Class

See a delicious recipe for Black Boned Chicken and Chinese Yam Soup at the NYCTCM website. Students from the Eastern Nutrition class have published their recipes that show the healthful function of each dish and ingredient in accordance with TCM principles. 

Photo by Charles Dharapak-AP

Read article at The Washington Post, Monday, Nov. 16

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Current Translated Texts are:

• Shāng Hán Lái Sū Jí 傷寒來蘇集: Renewal of Treatise on Cold Damage
• Qí Jīng Bā Mài Kǎo 奇經八脈考: Explanation of the Eight Vessels of the Marvellous Meridians
• Shāng Hán Míng Lǐ Lùn 傷寒明理論: Treatise on Enlightening the Principles of Cold Damage.
• Wú Jū Tōng Yī àn 吴鞠通医案: Case Studies of Wú Jū-tōng
• The Nán Jīng 難經: The Classic of Difficulties -- Difficulties 1-17
• The Zang Fu Biao Ben Han Re Xu Shi Yong Yao Shi 臟腑標本寒熱虛實用
• 藥式: Viscera and Bowels, Tip and Root, Cold and Heat, Vacuity and Repletion Model for Using Medicinals
• Bèi Jí Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng 備急千金要方: Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces For Emergencies. vol. 2
• Bèi Jí Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng 備急千金要方: Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces For Emergencies. vol. 3
• Bèi Jí Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng 備急千金要方: Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold Pieces For Emergencies. -- vol. 4
• Wēn Rè Lún 温熱論: Treatise on Warm Heat Disease
• Shāng Hán Shé Jiàn 傷寒舌鑒: Tongue Mirror of Cold Damage
• Xǔ Shì Yī àn 許氏醫案: Case Histories of Master Xu
• Fǔ Xìng Jué Zāng Fǔ Yòng Yào Fǎ Yào 輔行決贓腑用藥法要: Secret Instructions for Assisting the Body: Essential Methods for the Application of Drugs to the Viscera & Bowels
• Biāo Yōu Fù (annotation) 標幽賦 （楊氏註解）: Indicating the Obscure
• Liú Juān Zǐ Guǐ Yí Fāng 劉涓子鬼遺方: Liu Juanzi's Formulas Inherited from Ghosts
• Shèn Jí Chú Yán 慎疾芻言: Precautions in Illness: My Humble Thoughts: Essays "

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Kelsey Dixon, a NYCTCM graduating acupuncture student, wrote on how she will contribute to the future of Chinese medicine in an American culture which is so different from the Taoist principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

" The TCM that exists in the United States of America is, in some ways, childlike, having progressed past the novelty of its infantile stages and the tremendous growth of early childhood, and now entering its adolescence, and the struggle to blossom to its fullest potential while maintaining its roots. It is an old and sacred medicine reborn within a young and eager culture- a culture still, sometimes awkwardly, undecided as to how to approach and integrate this strange new paradigm. At times, the impending pressure upon becoming a practitioner of this healing art can seem intense..."
"Reviewing the words of wisdom from the 'sages' of both ancient Chinese culture and contemporary American culture, the irony of TCM in America is obvious. In TCM, we have a paradigm of health based on a worldview that holds passivity and acceptance, and harmony within a greater whole, in highest esteem. The American Dream, on the other hand, is fundamentally about individuals distinguishing themselves, about challenging the status quo and seeing the way things ought to be rather than the way things are. "

read the complete article at NYCTCM blog page..

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• Acupuncture: A Benefit to the Well Individual? (yearn2blog.com)
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 "Practitioners use moxa to warm regions and acupuncture points with the intention of stimulating circulation through the points and inducing a smoother flow of blood and qi.

Research, for example at Mugwort (Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine by Clare Hanrahan) has shown that mugwort acts as an emmenagogue, meaning that it stimulates blood-flow in the pelvic area and uterus. It is claimed that moxibustion militates against cold and dampness in the body and can serve to turn breech babies.

Medical historians believe that moxibustion pre-dated acupuncture, and needling came to supplement moxa after the 2nd century BC."

Wikipedia article describes moxa treatment.

The photo, taken in Xingping, China, is on Johey24 Flickr photstream, plus more photos.

A man sorts dumplings in a kitchen at a village in Daxing, south of Beijing, China on Saturday Jan. 24, 2009. Villagers gathered Saturday to make thousands of meat dumplings in preparation for a feast to celebrate Chinese New Year... (AP Photo/Greg Baker)






A woman walks under red lanterns at a shopping mall in Shanghai January 16, 2009. Red decorations are customarily used by Chinese people all over the world to usher in the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 26 this year. The Year of the Ox is celebrated this year. (REUTERS/Aly Song)

"Today is the first day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, met with celebrations and observations by ethnic Chinese and others around the world. This year, we welcome the Year of the Ox, the sign representing solemn hard work and prosperity - an animal that appears aptly symbolic for these difficult times."

Here are 35 great photographs of people celebrating and preparing for this Lunar New Year festivities.