Whenever I find myself talking to clients at the clinic about the same thing over and over again, I tend to think it might be a good thing to write about! The topic that has been coming up more often lately is how acupuncture and mindfulness meditation practices work hand-in-hand to affect nervous system function… Read more »
Posts Tagged: acupuncture for pain
Why You Should AVOID Ice for an Injury
Ice has been a go-to therapy for soft tissue injury for decades. In the 1970’s, Dr. Gabe Mirkin coined the acronym RICE to help people remember how to deal with injuries (Rest, Ice, Compression & Elevation). But based on recent research, Dr. Mirkin himself and much of the scientific community have changed their stance and now… Read more »
Acupuncture for Arthritis!
May is Arthritis Awareness Month in the US, so it seems like the perfect time to dive into a topic that I get asked about a lot. More specifically, I usually don’t even get asked a question, but instead get some version of a statement such as: “I have a lot of knee pain, but… Read more »
What is Cupping Therapy?
By now you’ve probably seen the marks. Athletes, celebrities and probably some of your friends are sporting circular marks on their backs and shoulders that make it look like they got into a fight with a vacuum cleaner. Those marks are from cupping therapy, and are different from typical bruises in important ways. Typically, bruises occur… Read more »
Acupuncture for back pain and anxiety in pregnancy
My wife and I welcomed our first daughter to the world during my 2nd semester of acupuncture school. Not the greatest timing given how much I was giving (mentally and financially) to my education at the time, but we decided to start trying to conceive expecting it to take some time… apparently we are among… Read more »
Can Acupuncture Help with Neuropathy?
People suffering with neuropathy (approximately 20 million Americans) are given very few options when it comes to effective treatment for the symptoms. Pharmaceuticals are a large part of standard care, and exercise, nutrition and footwear recommendations are sometimes given as well. Beyond those, many people suffering from neuropathy are told to try to come to… Read more »
Understanding and Resetting the Chronic Pain Response
At some point in your life, you will experience pain. That is a universal truth if I’ve ever heard one. Everyone has painful experiences with initial traumas occuring at the physical level (spraining an ankle, breaking a bone or stubbing a toe to name a few) or the psycho-emotional level (heartbreak, verbal abuse or loss… Read more »
What is Integrative Medicine and Why Should I Care?
The term “Integrative Medicine” is gaining popularity. It’s being used by Medical Doctors, Acupuncturists, Physical Therapists, Allergists… the list is growing. As the term becomes more and more mainstream within healthcare practitioner circles, it is ever more important that the general public understands what it means and why it is an important concept. Generally, integrative… Read more »
Does Acupuncture Hurt?
For all the Millennials reading this with a short attention span, the short answer is: NO… OK, thanks for reading! For the rest of you, here is why acupuncture does not hurt: Acupuncture needles are as thin, or sometimes thinner, than a single human hair. If you compare the size of an acupuncture needle to… Read more »
What is a Licensed Acupuncturist?
So you’ve decided you’d like to try out acupuncture or at the very least learn more about what it is. Now what? You find a Licensed Acupuncturist! A Licensed Acupuncturist (L.Ac.) is a practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) that has met the requirements for licensure by the state governing body. Those requirements do vary… Read more »