- Traditional Chinese Acupuncture Clinic219 N Upper St
Lexington, KY 40507859-913-5638 
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Acupuncture
Acupuncture is Great for Treating Chronic Pain
The National Institutes of Health estimates that approximately 25.3 million adults suffer from chronic pain (defined as experiencing pain every day for the preceding three months). They also estimate that nearly 40 million adults experience what is considered severe levels of pain.
Chronic pain can be debilitating for those suffering from it and directly impacts quality of life. People often treat chronic pain with anti-inflammatory medications (both prescription and over-the-counter), physical therapy, or with ice and heat, but those options don’t always provide long lasting relief. According to Harvard Medical School, “acupuncture is an option with a good track record that’s worth considering.” continue reading
Top 3 Reasons Acupuncture is Great for Seniors
As we get older, those aches and pains become a little more pronounced and life begins to create some new challenges. For many seniors, schedules become impacted with doctor’s appointments and trips to the pharmacy. If you haven’t tried acupuncture, here are three reasons you should give it a try as it can greatly help some of the greatest health challenges facing seniors today. continue reading
Is Acupuncture Safe Post-Covid? 4 Things Your Acupuncturist Wants You to Know Before You Book Your Appointment
To say that 2020 was a stressful year is putting it mildly. Due to Covid-19 restrictions, many people put checkups and other medical procedures on hold, including acupuncture treatments. If you are more than ready to get back to your treatments, here are four things your acupuncturist wants you to know about their safety procedures in this new normal. And if this does not answer all your questions, please feel free to ask. Your acupuncturist wants you to feel safe and secure as you return for your first appointment. continue reading
Acupuncture for Tension Headaches
Do you get tension headaches?
Tension headaches may not as debilitating as migraines, but they often occur more frequently. Tension headaches are reported to be the most common type of headache experienced. Stress tends to be the biggest factor regarding these types of headaches. Those who suffer from tension headaches frequently report a feeling of their head being squeezed, with pressure around the forehead, temples, and back of the head or neck. Tension headaches can last for as short as 30 minutes or they could linger for days.
While the exact cause of tension headaches is still not clear, they are most commonly attributed to muscle tension or spasms of the head, face, scalp, or jaw. Tension headaches are considered chronic if a person experiences them 15 or more days per month for several months. The most common treatment for tension headaches is over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or aspirin. Severe cases are sometimes treated with prescription drugs, but they tend to fail because they do not address the root cause of the headaches.
Getting to the Root
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is known for locating and treating the root cause of any ailment, including tension headaches. One of the ways TCM treats the root is by identifying personal triggers that create tension-type headaches. The licensed acupuncturist plays the role of a detective when treating patients. Acupuncturists usually ask multiple questions regarding the symptoms of any illness, as well as other seemingly “unrelated” symptoms and body functions to get a holistic view of the patient’s health and underlying patterns of disharmony. This allows for proper diagnosis and treatment of the patient. This can also give the patient insight into why the headaches keep occurring and how they can eliminate some of the triggers.
How Acupuncture Can Help
Acupuncture provides headache relief with a great deal of success. Just a few needles can be sufficient in stopping tension-type headaches and regular treatments can reduce the frequency. Acupuncture is also very effective at providing relief from stress and anxiety, two of the most common triggers of tension-type headaches.
Many research studies are proving acupuncture can help ease symptoms associated with chronic tension headaches. One of these studies published by the Cochrane Library (here’s a link to the study) concluded a course of six acupuncture treatments can be a viable option in the treatment of “tension-type headaches”. According to the study, participants treated with acupuncture and pain-killers reported their headache frequency was less. This study was actually a compilation of several acupuncture trials. A total of 12 trials met the criteria to be included in this conclusive study. Acupuncture was also compared to several other modalities such as massage and physiotherapy, but the findings were inconclusive.
TCM includes more than just acupuncture. Herbal formulas and other modalities such as cupping, tuina, tai chi, and qi gong are a part of TCM. By adding in herbs and these accessory modalities, the patient then has the tools needed to counter oncoming headaches on a long-term basis. The acupuncture treatments then become a type of maintenance to keep the headaches at bay.
A person suffering from tension-type headaches could benefit greatly from regular acupuncture treatments. If you are one of the nearly 1.4 billion people that suffer regularly from tension-type headaches, give me a call today. Acupuncture and TCM CAN HELP!
Allergies & Asthma — Acupuncture Can Help
Fun Fact: You will take about 20,000 breaths today.
Now imagine having to take all of those breaths as someone with asthma, wheezing, feeling like you can’t fully inhale. That’s the case for approximately 1 in 13 people in the United States who have asthma. Maybe you’re one of those people suffering!
Do you suffer from allergies or asthma? If so, you aren’t alone. It’s estimated that more than 26 million Americans have chronic inflammatory disease asthma, while more than 50 million Americans have nasal allergies. While most people resort to harsh prescription drugs to treat these conditions with awful side effects, a safer and more effective solution lies in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture.
Some people might turn their head at the thought of treating asthma by placing small needles under your skin. However, this ancient practice is believed to be effective in the treatment of numerous respiratory disorders.
Several studies over the past decade have shown that when patients with asthma receive regular acupuncture treatments, they have fewer asthma attacks and less labored breathing. Some studies show an even more significant improvement when acupuncture treatments are combined with Western medical treatment, as acupuncture is an incredibly safe, natural, and effective complementary treatment.
A study conducted by the University Medical Center in Berlin (→ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23420231/) explored the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for seasonal allergic rhinitis (seasonal allergies). Over 400 patients were divided into three groups. The first received proper and regular acupuncture treatments, the second received a similar treatment however the acupuncture needles were not placed in proper acupoints, while the third group was only allowed to take antihistamines. This study was able to conclude that the group receiving proper and regular acupuncture treatments reported the greatest relief from symptoms as compared to the other two groups.
Other studies (such as → https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22313287/) have looked into acupuncture for the treatment of eczema. Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is an itchy rash that can be caused by common irritants. Though this study came to the conclusion that acupuncture did not work well to prevent eczema, it did however significantly reduce itchiness and pain in many patients who were experiencing outbreaks.
The World Health Organization (WHO) even lists asthma as being “a condition for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that acupuncture will cure your asthma, but it can help alleviate the symptoms and reduce the frequency of flare-ups.
Acupuncture involves the placement of fine needles in specific points of the body, known as acupuncture points. The idea behind this practice is that placing the needles in these areas will restore the body’s flow of energy (Qi). When Qi becomes stagnant, it leaves the individual susceptible to disease and illness, which is why it’s important to keep it moving throughout the body. Professional acupuncturists often treat asthma by using acupuncture points found in the Lung, Stomach and Kidney meridians.
Acupuncture may also help those who suffer from allergies. Allergies are the result of the immune system’s wrongful identification of what it believes to be a foreign invader. When you are exposed to an allergen, your immune system may view the substance or pathogen as being a foreign invader, at which point it responds by manifesting symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, etc.
By restoring the body’s Qi, the immune system is given a helpful boost of energy that allows it to properly identify what’s a foreign invader and what’s not. Whether your allergies are minor or severe, you should consider seeking the services of an acupuncturist. It’s a safe and painless process that can reinvigorate your body and mind, alleviating the symptoms of both allergies and asthma. A study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found acupuncture to offer greater relief of allergies when compared to both antihistamines and sham acupuncture.