Recently in Diseases Category

chineseherbs_acupunctureneedles.jpgChinese Herbology for pulmonary fibrosis 
Date: 2:00 - 5:00 PM on June 19, 2011
Speaker: Prof. En-Xiang Chao Chief of Internal Medicine, China-Japan Friendship Hospital, Beijing, China. With English translation. NCCAOM PDA Points: 3

Location: 
New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine 
Room 106 
155 First St.,
 Mineola, NY 11501 

This seminar will be free for all attendees, The attendees will get free NCCAOM PDA 3 points.
Enhanced by Zemanta

movie_crew_stnd_28876_1_1_1905.jpgAcupuncture on the Big Screen

By Sara Calabro, LAc

9000 Needles is bringing acupuncture to the masses. The documentary follows Devin Dearth, a 40-year-old former bodybuilder, to China, where he is treated with acupuncture after suffering a massive stroke.

The film made a splash at several of last year's film festivals, including the Gotham Independent Film Awards, where it was a finalist. It was directed by Devin's brother, Doug Dearth, whose frustrations with the U.S. health insurance industry during his brother's recovery inspired him to research international options. He spent three-and-a-half months filming in Tianjian, China, where Devin participated in an affordable, comprehensive stroke rehabilitation program that included frequent acupuncture treatments.9000 Needles tells a unifying story of how Devin's family and local community put aside preconceived notions about medicine to embrace the solution that offered their loved one the most benefit.

Doug Dearth recently spoke with me about filming his brother's journey and how he hopes it will improve perceptions and accessibility of acupuncture in the U.S.

I always assumed that the doctors there would speak very metaphysically or philosophically, like there was something mysterious behind acupuncture. But talking with them was the same as talking to any neurologist here in the U.S. They were very medically sound in their opinions. All of their explanations of how the medicine works were based in science and medicine.

One of your initial drivers in making this film was highlighting the shortcomings of the U.S. insurance system. What is your mission for the film going forward?

It's two-fold: to gain awareness for acupuncture and then to allow that to improve accessibility. Better accessibility means that insurance companies support patients who choose this kind of care, and also that the mainstream medical community really accepts this as a viable treatment that should be integrated into our medical system. It makes nothing but sense for a stroke program to integrate acupuncture. There are no side effects; it can only help.

http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/mpacms/at/article.php?id=32343

Read the whole article at Acupuncture Today

Enhanced by Zemanta

Acupuncture and Back Pain

| No Comments
Acupuncture treatment on back to calm internal...

Image by NYCTCM via Flickr

Back pain is one of the most prevalent reasons people seek health care. Millions of working days and countless hours of activity and fun are lost each year due to back pain.

Common Causes of Back Pain Treated with Acupuncture

One of the top causes of back pain are sprains (overstretching one or more of the ligaments in the back) and strains (a rip or tear in the muscle caused by sudden force). This can happen from an injury, poor posture, or improper lifting.
 
Another source of back pain comes from a herniated disc which is a disc that bulges out from its place between two vertebrae.

Sciatica is another common form of back pain. Sciatica is a term used to describe pain that extends down into the buttocks and leg which comes from an irritation of a larger nerve in the lumbar spine called the sciatic nerve. Sciatica can accompany sprains, strains, herniated discs as well as back pain emanating from other sources.

Traditional Chinese Medicine Patterns of Back Pain

Traditional Chinese Medicine's (TCM) vocabulary is very different from Western medicine. TCM differentiates patterns of back pain.

Common TCM patterns include:

  • Deficiency type pain
  • Qi and Blood stagnation
  • Pain due to Cold Damp Obstruction

Pain that results from deficiency is usually dull, chronic, and improves with rest. It is more common in middle aged and elderly people.

Pain from stagnation is more severe and stabbing in nature. There is stiffness and tightness in the muscles and it worsens with rest. Often this type is seen in occurrences of acute sprains and strains. It can reoccur chronically, thereby indicating an underlying deficiency.

Pain from cold damp obstruction is worse in the morning, exacerbated by cold and damp weather. It improves with heat and may be accompanied by numbness, swelling and a sense of heaviness.

Traditional Chinese Medicine as Treatment for Back Pain

TCM works to restore harmony and energetic balance to the body which stimulates natural healing and promotes health. Acupuncture is one of the primary modalities used and treatment is individual to each patient.
 
When your practitioner treats your back pain with acupuncture, both local (at the site of pain) and distal (away from the area of pain) needles can be used to help resolve the problem. Distal points are very important, especially in acute pain. Often, needles can be placed in areas other than the back and you can get excellent and quick relief. There are many local points on the back and often a practitioner will palpate your body to find the most sensitive spots and needle those. Other adjuncts to treatment might include: electric stimulation of points, and cupping. Generally, it is advisable to have frequent treatment initially and taper off as the pain diminishes. Herbs can also be helpful in moving blood and reducing inflammation as well as strengthening a deficient condition.

In a Swedish hospital study with patients who experienced chronic low back pain, doctors concluded that acupuncture provided long term pain relief. They also observed improvement in activity levels, better sleep, and consumption of significantly fewer analgesics for the acupuncture group as compared with the group receiving a placebo treatment.

Acupuncture continues to gain popularity in this country because it is an effective treatment of acute and chronic backache. Acute pain can often be cleared up in a few sessions. More treatments may be needed if there is an underlying deficiency, or reoccurring problem, or sciatica.

http://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Acupuncture+and+Back+Pain

Enhanced by Zemanta
pear-for-dryness.jpg

Pear for Dryness Recipe - Ingredients


The Emperor - 1 Pear


The Messengers - 1/4 cup rice wine


The Harmonizers - 1/8 cup honey


The Left Ministers - 1/8 tsp. powdered ginger or 2 ginger slices (optional)


The Right Ministers - 6 cloves, 2 cinnamon sticks, 1/4 orange peel 


Foods for medicinal therapy should be cooked in smaller portions and are cooked in a covered porcelain pot, or sand pot in a Dahn Jung method, which simply means a double boiler, with the inner vessel for the steaming.

 

Instructions

 

  • Place all of the ingredients in clay cooking pot and place in a big pot with cold water.
  • Bring up to a medium-high heat, bringing the water to a boil. Turn down to medium and cook for 35 to 40 minutes. Turn burner off and allow to cool in the pot.
  • Serve with the wine and honey tonic left in the clay pot.

 

The pear and honey and wine are extremely good in a dry lung conditions as Autumn and winter take hold. The goals with occasional therapeutic use in this season are to prevent the lungs from being overly dry and mucus forming while strengthen the lung Qi.

 

The Minister ingredient actions:

 

The ginger and cloves are great digestive aids and antiseptic.

 

The cinnamon and orange builds Qi and moves stagnate conditions, but not good for the extremely dry condition.

 

You have to place the lid on it in this method or the clay pot will travel in the water, making a ton of noise.

 

Leftovers placed in the refrigerator will turn brown rapidly.

 

By Ran Lei, Author of Cooking with the Five Elements

www.5ElementCooking.com

Nuts such as walnuts (pictured above) are rich...

Image via Wikipedia


"These days many people complain about sleep deprivation or insomnia.  It means our life patterns change and affect our biological clock.  If our biological clock is off, it disturbs sleep before the other body systems.  Sleep is not simply a state of relaxation- it is very important to our body and it can greatly affect our life.

One research study from the University of Chicago showed they when they deprived a mouse of sleep, it was only able to live 17 days be fore dying. It means sleep is really connected to life.

According to Chinese Medicine, when you sleep, the blood is governed and restored by the Liver.  This pertains to seeing, listening, speaking, and general activity in our life.  If you have less blood in your body, you have rough skin, blurry vision, ringing in the ears, and loss of hair.  It also greatly affects woman's health, such as irregular periods, painful menstruation, infertility and obesity. It is best to get at least 6 hours a day.  However, more important than counting sleep hours is how deeply you sleep and wake refreshed in the morning. If you are prone to insomnia, avoid coffee, soda or consuming any other caffeinated product at night.

I would like to introduce herbal tea for insomnia: Scallion, Su Ye (aka Zi Su Ye, Perillae Folium), Squash, Suan Zao Ren (Ziziphi Spinosae Semen) and Walnuts. 

Boiled scallion has a bitter flavor, which is associated with the heart: used in cases of both chest and heart pain.  It also has antifungal and antimicrobial effects, but to a lesser degree.  Also it soothes the nerves and help to sleep. 

Su Ye is good for chest oppression from pent up anger or insomnia, because it has kind of "stress relief "herb.  Boil 20g of Su Ye together with 20g of Chen Pi (Citri Pericarpium).  Chen Pi regulates qi and transforms damp.

Boiled squash is good for insomnia: as squash is warming in thermal nature and improves qi energy circulation.  It helps to fall asleep easily and awake refreshed.  If you do not like boiled squash, you can mix with honey to make honey squash. Squash has sweet flavor so it influences the spleen-pancreas and stomach and reduces inflammation.  When you boil 300g of squash, put together with 150g of roasted Suan Zao Ren (Ziziphi Spinosae Sm). After you cook it, making mash them together and take 1 cup three or four times a day.  Suan Zao Ren nourishes the Heart and calms the spirit, so it helps to quiet the nerves; you roast and brew of Suan Zao Ren to drink a tea. 

I also recommend the walnut for insomnia.  It has a sweet flavor; it nourishes the kidneys, adrenals, and brain, and enriches the sperm.  But avoid taking walnuts in cases of loose stools and heat signs.   An easy way to eat walnuts is to put roasted walnut powder in your tea and drink after each meal. 

If your insomnia is chronic, try to cook rice porridge of walnut.  I will give receipt of this rice porridge of walnut.  Heat water in a large saucepan on medium.  As the water begins to bubble, add Da Zao (Jujubae Fr) and rice.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until rice is tender, stirring occasionally. Add cooked walnut powder, stir into soup, then cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. However you take too much, it may cause diarrhea.

Sleep is important to our life, so try to get plenty of sleep and live enjoy a regular biological clock."

Thank you to Julie Lee, the founder of Unique Acupuncture, an Oriental Medicine clinic in Beaverton, Oregon, for this article. 

Julie Lee is a licensed as an acupuncturist and board-certified herbalist in the state of Oregon.  She is nationally certified by the National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine.

Julie has a strong interest in the management of women's health, including pregnancy-related issues, painful menstruation, and irregular menstruation and menopause symptoms.  She also treats digestive problems, anxiety and sleep disorders.

Julie was born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. Her family has a long history of professions in Oriental Medicine, and her father is a famous MD, PhD, and professor of Oriental Medicine at Kyung hee University of Oriental Medicine in South Korea.

Enhanced by Zemanta

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

                                                     ©2010

 

Herbal medicine is another pillar of East Asian medicine along with acupuncture, physical manipulation (tui na), and energetic breathing techniques (qi gong).  It is used as a stand-alone form of treatment and sometimes it is used together as an addendum to one's acupuncture treatment to expedite the healing process and strengthen the body.  Like most countries, China developed a system of herbal medicine that involved the use of different herbs.  These herbs consisted of different substances:

  • Plants (eg. cinnamon twigs [Gui Zhi], astragalus [Huang Qi], loquat leaf [Pi Pa Ye], etc.)
  • Minerals (eg. gypsum [Shi Gao])
  • Foods (eg. garlic [Da Suan], ginger [Sheng Jiang], reishi mushroom [Ling Zhi], etc.)
  • Animal products (eg. turtle shell [Gui Ban], deer horn gelatin [Lu Lu Jiao], etc.)  

 

Today, herbal medicine is used in treating a wide range of ailments just like in times of antiquity in Asia.  In my experience, they have been very useful in treating lower back pain, insomnia, PMS, fatigue, and much more.  Aside from being an addendum to one's acupuncture treatment, herbal treatments provide another practical use.  It gives patients an active role in their treatments when they are not coming for acupuncture on certain days of the week.  When properly administered and used, they rarely ever cause any side-effects, when compared to Western medications.

           

Herbs are often administered as a formula; a group of herbal ingredients to help treat disease as opposed to just using one ingredient.  Each ingredient in an herbal formula comes in four groups:

  • "King" - it is the main ingredient that exerts the maximum effect.
  • "Minister" - it is the secondary ingredient that supports the main ingredient.
  • "Assistant" - it reinforces the King herb or the Minister herb, reduces the harshness or the toxicity either ingredient.
  • "Envoy" - it synergizes all the ingredients to work together and focuses each ingredient on treating a particular pathway, organ, or system in the body.

 

Chinese herbal medicine is given in two different forms.  The first type is internal formulas and the second type is external formulas. 

 

Internal formulas come in different forms for ingestion:

·         Raw herbs

·         Powdered formulas/ granule extracts

·         Pills and tablets

·         Tinctures

External formulas come in different forms as well:

  • Liniments
  • Ointments
  • Soaks
  • Powders
  • Plasters

 

Most herbal formulas are not certified by the FDA but are in compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices).  They have no heavy metals, toxins, preservatives, or fillers that can cause harm to the body. 

           

In my clinic I often use herbal formulas in powdered form.  The powdered herbal formulas are ingested by adding to hot water and drinking it as a tea.  Another form I use for my patients are pills and tablets.  The formulas that are ingested are usually for patients with problems not necessarily related to pain, but useful for treating systemic conditions such as high blood pressure.  For my patients with aches and pains due to trauma, I give liniments and ointments such as Die Da Jiu ("Hit Fall Wine").  The reason I often use powdered formulas, tablets, and pills is because they are much more convenient for patients to consume because of increased compliance.  The second reason is that it is a lot less time consuming than cooking raw herbal formulas.  The time frame for raw herbal formulas usually takes thirty minutes to forty-five minutes to prepare.  Whereas with powdered formulas, based on my experience, take no more than five minutes to prepare.  Lastly, the use of pills and tablets has been instrumental in that patients can take them anywhere on the run; for example, if they are on vacation and their powdered formulas are rather cumbersome to carry around.  That is one usage of how herbal medicine can be used in pill form.  Also, herbs in pill and tablet form are usually given at the end of patient's treatment once they have made suitable progress with other formulas whether they are powdered form or raw form.

           

            Next time, I'll address the issue regarding dosage, frequency, and other medications that are also being used.

 

To be continued...

 

 

Billy Shonez Singh is a licensed acupuncturist and a board certified Chinese herbalist by the NCCAOM.  He is currently practicing in Westbury, NY.  His primary focus with East Asian medicine is stress, pain management, diabetic complications, and treating chemotherapy side-effects.  He is also President and CEO of Zen-Ohs Botanicals, Inc.

 


Old Chinese medical chart on acupuncture meridians

Image via Wikipedia

Strategies for Treating Liver Disorders with Chinese Herbs - Over 100 Years Lineage in Ding's Family

Speaker: Prof. Yi-E Ding
Date & Time: 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM, Sun., 09/19/2010
NCCAOM PDA Points: 7

The current of Meng-He medicine has had 400 years history in China. Along with the eastward spread of Meng-He medicine, the first practitioner in Ding's family, Dr. Ganren Ding moved to Shanghai and later founded the Shanghai College of Chinese Medicine, the first school of modern education in TCM in the history. As one of the fourth generation of Ganren Ding, Prof. Yi-E Ding will introduce Ding's medical style and clinical experiences in Chinese medicine. He will introduce in detail on the strategies for treating liver disorders with Chinese herbs including secret formulas used in over 100 years lineage in his family.

About the Speaker: Prof. Yi-E is a Chief Doctor of Internal Medicine in Longhua Hospital affiliated to Shanghai University of TCM. He graduated from both western medicine and TCM colleges in 1967 and 1975. In recent years he has lectured and practiced in Germany and the United States. 

Location
New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine
155 First St.
Mineola, NY 11501

Lecture is in English 

Visit NYCTCM CEU page to register for this seminar. 
Enhanced by Zemanta
Eliminating Waste in Practice: Dr. Tan's Eight Magic Points for All Digestive Disorders

By Lisajeanne Potyk, LAc

Most of the patients I see in my clinic suffer from a variety of digestive disorders. They do not effectively process their food. They have diarrhea, heartburn, and acid reflux disease. They're nauseated.

And who would expect any different? In this fast-paced, high-technology culture, we're overrun with time constraints and stressors of all kinds.

People unaware of what a good diet consists of rely on processed fast foods and meats packed with hormones and antibiotics. In the West, we're overprescribed antibiotics and other medications; women are reeling from the side-effects of birth control pills; and we regularly take any of a myriad of anti-inflammatories for the slightest ache. It's no wonder so many people are experiencing internal disharmony. And if all of that wasn't enough, most people either don't know how to, or are afraid to, release their emotions. Opting for a sense of control, they "hold." And they get constipated.

The digestive system is a mirror to how we process our external world on every level. Are we assimilating good nutritional, emotional and spiritual nourishment, and effectively eliminating what is toxic to us? Are we letting go of negative situations and allowing ourselves to be nurtured by positive ones? Without the foundation of a healthy, properly nourished body, we can't find the strength to feed into our emotions. If there's a backlog of undigested emotions, any digestive symptom can manifest. Once balance in the body is established by poor nutrition and digestive functions, we gain the platform to integrate our internal and external worlds.

Traditional Chinese medicine teaches us to properly diagnose and treat our patients using staid, ancient teachings recorded thousands of years ago. People don't change from century to century, but their circumstances do. The environment, food, medications, and stressors affecting our patients are very different today, and since the disharmonies that cause them are rampant, digestive disorders are also rampant. Diagnosis and treatment according to the TCM model, written in (and for) a different time, can therefore be complicated and confusing.

Now, imagine a group of acupuncture points that could be used to balance every kind of digestive disorder, including irritable bowel syndrome, bloating, ulcerative colitis, indigestion, and more. Imagine that the points are simple, easy to follow, and quite effective. There is no need to take the pulse, no need to consult a textbook, and no need to fumble through myriad causes. Wouldn't that be magic? It is, thanks to Dr. Teh Fu "Richard" Tan.

Dr. Tan has dedicated his life to experimenting with combinations of points, which are used with excellent clinical results, often instantaneously. Isn't that what we, as practitioners, want - to insert our needles, see an immediate change, and know our treatment is working? With the eight magic points, Dr. Tan offers the ability to elicit consistent, positive results.

One could consult any number of the core books written on TCM theory, but isn't the practice of acupuncture - of healing - about how much better the patient feels after being treated? Better to learn the laws of acupuncture, become skilled at them through knowledge and discipline, and then break out into your own successful expression of them.

Dr. Tan's Eight Magic Points

Points on one side: LI 4, SJ 5, Liv 8 (Dr. Tan's liver point), Sp 9 
Points on other side: Lu 7, P 6, St 36, GB 34p (Dr. Tan's gallbladder point)

Liver 8 (Dr. Tan's liver point) and GB 34p (Dr. Tan's gallbladder point) are found in locations not traditionally known. According to Dr. Tan, needling these points is more effective. Dr. Tan's liver point is located anterior to Sp 9 on the medial condyle of the tibia, a rich region oddly ignored throughout history. The area can sometimes be very painful to the touch, but it can be more useful than Liver 3 in treating any stagnation in the Liver channel, especially when it is attached to the emotional disorders of resentment and anger.

GB 34p is located posterior to GB 34, just under the head of the fibula, where the tendon attaches. When penetrated, the point radiates electrically down to the foot, just as P 6 goes to the finger. It works better than GB 34, and is more sensitive. If both Liver 8 and GB 34p are tender, it can indicate an emotional component to the disorder. I regularly use this treatment for digestive ailments, with excellent results.

Case Studies

A 28-year old female came to me with anxiety and constant, burning pain in her epigastric area, something she'd experienced for much of her adult life. She was highly sensitive to many foods and didn't eat much. Most of the medical specialists she consulted gave her the same patent answer: "There's nothing wrong with you; it's all in your head." She was very nervous and skeptical about acupuncture, but she was also desperate.

After the third treatment with the eight magic points, her gastric burning and discomfort began to diminish. I continued seeing her twice a week. A month later, she was eating comfortably, and was fairly calm. She's received so much relief from the eight magic points that even a job transfer hasn't kept her from traveling to continue occasional treatments with me.

I have found the eight magic points useful for patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiation, as it is a wonderful balancing treatment. A 40-year old female with breast cancer was just finishing her course of radiation when she came to me for acupuncture. She looked literally lifeless. Mostly bedridden, she had become frail, pale and weak. Given her delicate digestion and poor appetite, she wasn't getting the nutrients she needed to recover her strength. I kept the treatment simple, using light needling with the eight magic points. When she returned to me for our second session, a light had already turned on in her eyes. Even her family noticed the dramatic difference in her qi. Continuing treatments, she began her recovery from the adverse effects of radiation.

A pregnant woman, 28, experiencing severe vomiting and persistent nausea, came to my clinic for help. I chose to use the eight magic points, but substituted LI 3 for LI 4, which is forbidden during pregnancy. Her symptoms abated immediately. She continued with me throughout her pregnancy, and ultimately had an unusually easy delivery. She is now the mother of a healthy, contented newborn.

The eight magic points performs wonders on people experiencing emotional upset, especially women with hormonal imbalances. A 42-year old female experiencing perimenopausal symptoms came to see me for her emotional distress. Hypersensitive to everything and everyone, she felt deeply depressed and completely controlled by her emotions. She was so anxious that she couldn't eat; she couldn't even lie still on my table for more than 20 minutes without getting antsy. I explored my toolbox of protocols and decided intuitively to try the eight magic points. At her next treatment session, she raved about how much better she felt. I continued using the eight magic points, which became the antidote for her intense emotional imbalance.

Learning From Dr. Tan

The first six months of my apprenticeship with Dr. Tan consisted of simply observing him in his bustling clinic. I was to ask no questions. He told me, "Once you learn it in your heart, your mind will understand." The Chinese teach by familiarity, which leads to an instinctual knowing (the tiger). Once the ground of knowing is established, the "why" is understood (the wings). The student becomes familiar by watching; masterful and responsive through doing and observing results; and, once they've grown their wings, creative, by developing a style uniquely theirs.

I'm just getting my wings under Dr. Tan, but my clinical practice has long taken flight with the success of these treatments and the tremendous results my patients experience. The beauty of a protocol like this is that, as with magic, we don't have to understand why it works, because we see for ourselves that it works. Consider the eight magic points. See for yourself that it is magic.



NYCTCM is proud to sponsor three CEU Seminars by Dr. Tan, August 20, 21 & 22 2010.

Friday Aug 20th: Clinical Wonders with Acupuncture 1, 2, 3

Saturday Aug 21st: Advance Balance Method - Introduction to Global Balance, New Format

Sunday Aug 22nd : Advance Balance Method - Treating Zang-Fu Disorders with Meridian-Conversion Therapy

To register for Dr. Tan's Seminars, and for more information, go to New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine Continuing Education Seminars
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

By: Billy Shonez Singh, MS, L.Ac. 

©2009

 

                  It is a disease that is defined as a metabolic disorder that is characterized by either abnormally low or high blood sugar levels that lead to a variety of metabolic derangements.  It is commonly characterized by fatigue, excessive urination, excessive thirst, and excessive hunger.  In this country, it is the biggest cause of death or disability.  In developed countries, the incidence of diabetes has doubled in the last 15 years and its going to double in the next 15 years.  The worst part of this situation is that one out of three people do not know they have diabetes.  For those that are diagnosed have had it for much longer amount of time and wind up with complications such as neuropathies.  According to Clinton J. Choate's article "Diabetes Mellitus (Part One)", it is estimated that 60% to 70% of diabetics have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage.

The symptoms range from:

  • Pain in the feet and legs.
  • Cramping, tenderness, and muscle weakness.  They can occur in the legs and feet along with the arms and hands.
  • Paraesthesias- pricking, tingling, or numbness along the skin.
  • Blurred vision.
  • Impotence

 
In allopathic medicine, the treatment for diabetic neuropathies involve physical therapy, medications and in severe circumstances, surgical intervention.  The some of the medications used to treat paraesthetic pain and other neuropathies are tricyclic antidepressants and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors.  Even though these specific medications are used in the treatment of depression, they are also used in treating peripheral neuropathies.  However the side-effects are numerous and seem counterintuitive when one looks at them.  For example, the antidepressant Imiprine (Tofronil) treats peripheral neuropathies by releasing norepinephrine in the central pain modulating pathways located in the brainstem and spinal cord.  However a side-effect of Imiprine is impairment of mental or physical abilities and cardiovascular disease.  When you look at those side-effects and compare them to the risk that diabetics have with cardiovascular disease, it seems rather counterproductive.
According to Subhuti Dharmanada, "Acupuncture therapy is a common approach to treating diabetes in China.  Many Americans assume that acupuncture is only suitable for treating pain, perhaps because the initial introduction of acupuncture was mainly for this application.  Increasingly, people with pain and other health problems for which acupuncture is selected also have diabetes."  Acupuncture can treat neuropathies by bringing blood flow and nerve conduction to the skin to treat numbness and tingling in the extremities.  Another point to mention is that blood flow and nerve restoration can also be accomplished in regards to the treatment of blurred vision and impotence.  Unlike the medications mentioned, acupuncture has no side-effects.  
 
 

 

Bibliography
Dharmanda Ph.D., Subhuti "Treatment of Diabetes with Chinese Herbs and Acupuncture" web posting date: January 2005 www.itmonline.org pg.14
 
Choate, Clinton J. "Modern Medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine: Diabetes Mellitus (Part One)" Journal of Chinese Medicine Number 58 September 1998 pg.4
 
Echeverry, MD, MPH, Diana M. "Diabetic Neuropathy: Treatment and Medication" updated April 4th, 2007 http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/315434-treatment


Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

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

                                          www.zenohs.com  ©2010

 

A 69 year old woman came into my office in October 2009.  Her main complaint for the past eight years has been multiple joint pains in her body due to Rheumatoid Arthritis.  Since her diagnosis, she was placed on thirteen different medications.  Four of them were for treating joint and muscle pain associated with her main complaint.  The other four of the medications were used in lowering her cholesterol and her blood pressure.  The side-effects of the medications were headache, bone pain, jaw pain, muscle weakness, swelling of the ankles and feet, and joint pain- among other things.  The last five of her medications were unrelated to her main complaint but were used in treating the side-effects.  She described her joint pain as severely sharp and stabbing variety located in her neck, lower back, knees, feet, shoulders, wrists, and fingers.  The pain would get exacerbated by damp, cold, and rainy environments as well as walking up a flight of stairs.  In addition to this, I noticed that she had swelling along the fingers and toes.  The swelling was due to the inflammation in the joints and had fluid build-up (edema) in both her ankles.  In her previous history she mentioned that she was a pack-a-day smoker but quit smoking fifteen years ago.  Lastly, she consumed two to three cups of coffee a day.  After treating her with acupuncture for seven months at once a week intervals, we both noticed dramatic improvements in the signs and symptoms.  The swelling in her fingers and toes had decreased.  Her ability to walk with more fluidity and speed was noted as well without any stiffness and debility in her knees and ankles.  It was also indicated that her handwriting appeared less rugged and more fluid after the swelling was alleviated in her fingers and hands.  In any case she now visits me every other week for maintenance-style treatments.  After all the progress we had witnessed together, here is what she had to say:

 

                         "I have been suffering with severe Rheumatoid Arthritis for about eight years.  After researching alternative methods of pain management I came across Billy Singh's web site and was impressed by his credentials.  I have been seeing him for acupuncture treatments for several months with excellent results.  The treatments have given me great relief from the inflammation in my knees, feet, and shoulders. 

            I am thrilled with the results I am getting from the treatments and would highly recommend them as a compliment to conventional medicine."

-          Janet M.

 

In my humble opinion, after getting a testimonial like this, all I can say is that I am sorry but decrease in severity of signs and symptoms of a disease is one of side-effects of East Asian Medicine.

 

 

 

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

OpenID accepted here Learn more about OpenID
Powered by Movable Type 4.34-en

About this Archive

This page is an archive of recent entries in the Diseases category.

diet is the previous category.

drug companies is the next category.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.