- Traditional Chinese Acupuncture Clinic219 N Upper St
Lexington, KY 40507859-913-5638 
Latest Articles:
- • Embracing the Season with Tips for a Healthy Fall •
- • Savor the Season: The Best Recipes for Fall •
- • The Best Places to See Fall Foliage in the United States •
Health
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.
Liver Tune-up Time!
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each season is ruled by a particular organ system and spring is connected to the liver. What does this mean? You probably notice changes in the way you feel, both physically and mentally, as the seasons change. Many of us feel more contemplative and introspective during the winter months. Once spring hits, we may feel ready to recharge and get things done.
Liver energy is strong and assertive, the type of energy you need to create plans and propel them into motion. However, if your liver is out of balance, you might notice that you’re more irritable or on edge than usual.
Here are a few signs that your liver is in need of an acupuncture tune-up:
1. You’ve noticed an increase in headaches, and these headaches seem to feel worse when you aren’t active. Generally, headaches tend to manifest at the vertex of your head.
2. You feel constipated or bloated. Your bowel movements have become irregular, alternating between constipation and loose stools. Hard, difficult stools that appear pebbly are also a sign of liver imbalance.
3. Friends and coworkers are scared of you because you are cranky, cranky, cranky! When liver energy is out of balance, you can feel agitated, irritated, and generally out of sorts. Sometimes irritation flares into outright anger more easily than it would if this energy was flowing smoothly.
4. You may notice PMS symptoms have been worsening. Bloating, breast tenderness, sensitivity can all be exacerbated by liver imbalance. If your periods are more painful or clotted, this can also be due to a stagnation of liver energy.
5. Your eyes are red, itchy, or irritated.
6. Shoulders, neck, or jaw are uncomfortably tight. If the liver energy is out of balance, it can flow upward. This causes inflexibility, and everything in your body to “rise up”: you might grind or clench your teeth, hold your shoulders up, experience symptoms of TMJ, or have headaches at the top of your head
7. Maybe you’ve noticed that your allergies are in full force, complete with itchy, red, watery eyes.
If you are suffering from any of these issues, your body is crying out for a visit. Please, come and talk to me! Let’s get you a Spring tune-up with tried and trued TCM solutions that can help.
Acupuncture for Liver Detox
When people consider starting a cleanse or detoxification program, their minds often turn to boxed or bottled juices and pre-packaged kits. While acupuncture is not typically associated with detoxification, it’s proven to be not only an efficient detoxification technique on its own, but can also help decrease the unpleasant side effects of clearing toxins from the blood.
The College of Oriental Medicine at Daejeon University conducted and published a study showing that acupuncture can reduce liver toxicity while protecting the liver and its functions. While this study was conducted on laboratory rats, the information collected shows great promise as to how it can be used in humans. The rats were injected with an olive oil solution into the abdomen to create an injury to the liver. They were then treated using a specific acupuncture point (Gallbladder 34). The gallbladder and liver meridians are linked through an interior-exterior relationship. Blood work was monitored throughout the study and specific liver values were shown to improve as the acupuncture treatments continued, thus helping to balance the liver and keep it functioning properly.
Here’s a link to the research article.
In TCM, the liver is considered to be an organ that is easily affected by excess stress and uncontrolled emotions. The liver is paired with the gallbladder and the two work very closely as a unit. When one is imbalanced, the other may display symptoms. For instance, if a person is constantly stressed, their liver energies may become blocked — and the gallbladder can become affected. It’s not uncommon for people in high-stress jobs to end up with gallstones. This can happen when the liver becomes imbalanced and emotions bottle up, manifesting in pain and potentially stones.
Anger is the emotion commonly associated with the liver and gallbladder. If a person is frequently irritable, gets angered easily, and has difficulty relaxing or navigating conflict, it’s safe to guess that the liver Qi isn’t functioning properly. There are many methods of balancing the liver and returning proper energy flow throughout the body. Learning to stay calm and channel one’s anger appropriately is a good place to start. Practice some deep breathing, meditation, yoga, or simply take a walk. All of these things are great for balancing stagnant liver Qi.
Acupuncture is another great way to balance liver energies. Regular acupuncture treatments help balance the body holistically and without any major detrimental side effects. During the spring, the liver is especially taxed due to the intense new energies that occur. This makes springtime a wonderful time to begin acupuncture treatments.
Don’t wait for your system to send you a Springtime alarm! Give us a call to schedule your acupuncture tune-up today, and let’s see what we can do to get your liver happy again!
Time for a Nap!
That’s right! Napping can be very beneficial for your health and well-being. Winter, according to Chinese Medicine theory, is a time to restore and recharge, a time for stillness, reflection, planning, and conserving, a time to reduce activity and sleep more. Ideally we should follow the seasons and rhythms of the natural world; shorter days and longer nights = going to bed earlier and sleeping a little longer. When we fight that natural tendency by staying up late and pushing ourselves to work longer hours, we find ourselves tired and worn out in a season when we should be replenishing our reserves for the coming spring.
Many animals hibernate in the winter; some of us just feel like hibernating! 🙂 Polar bears, unlike other bears, don’t actually hibernate, though they enter a winter dormancy state.
Most mammals are polyphasic sleepers, meaning that they sleep for short periods throughout the day. For humans, days are divided into two distinct periods, one for sleep and one for wakefulness, which is a monophasic sleep pattern. However, this may be a product of living in an industrialized world and not the natural sleep pattern of humans. In many cultures, young children and elderly take naps midday. Our bodies are programmed for two periods of intense sleepiness a day: between 2 and 4 am and 1 and 3 pm. Although some anthropologists and others studying sleep have suggested humans may have originally divided our sleep into 2 periods, most people generally consolidate their sleep into one long period.
There is solid scientific evidence that short (less than 20 minutes) occasional (1-2 times a week) napping lowers the risk of heart attack and stroke and may be beneficial to reduce excessive weight gain and diabetes, as well as reducing stress.
A short 20-minute midday nap boosts mental alertness, mood, productivity, and sharpens motor skills. Naps up to 45 minutes can sometimes include REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, which enhances creative thinking and sensory processing. If you need to spring into action upon waking, keep your nap below 45 minutes.
Naps can be categorized in three ways:
Planned napping: Taking a nap before you actually get sleepy. This is also called preparatory napping. You may use this technique as a mechanism to ward off getting tired earlier or when you know that you will be up later than your normal bedtime.
Emergency napping: Taking a nap when you are suddenly very tired and cannot stay awake to continue with what you were doing. This type of nap can be used to combat fatigue while using heavy and dangerous machinery or drowsy driving.
Habitual napping: Napping at the same time each day. A person might take a short nap after lunch every day or young children may fall asleep at about the same time each afternoon.
Tips for Getting the Perfect Nap
* First off, get over the stigma that you are being lazy for taking a nap. Recognize that napping will make you more productive and more alert after you wake up. Napping isn’t for the lazy or depressed. Bill Clinton, Lance Armstrong, Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison are/were known to be afternoon nappers.
* Avoid consuming large quantities of foods that are heavy in fat and sugar or caffeine, which can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Instead, choose foods high in calcium and protein, which promote sleep.
* Find a clean, quiet place where passersby and phones won’t disturb you, preferably where you can lie down. It takes about 50% longer to fall asleep sitting upright.
* Darkness stimulates melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone. Try to darken your room, or wear an eye-shade.
* Body temperature drops when you fall asleep. Raise the room temperature or use a blanket.
* Set your alarm for the desired duration to prevent oversleeping.
Notes on the Negative Effects of Napping
Napping isn’t always the best option for everyone in spite of its benefits. Naps that last more than 20 minutes can leave people with sleep inertia, a feeling of disorientation and grogginess that last for half an hour or more. Especially for those who are sleep deprived, post-nap impairment and disorientation can be more severe.
Another downside of daytime napping is that it may have a negative effect on other sleeping periods. A nap longer than 45 minutes or taken too late in the day may adversely affect the length and quality of nighttime sleep. If you usually have trouble sleeping at night, a nap may only aggravate this problem.
Furthermore, while there is scientific evidence supporting occasional short naps through the week to benefit one’s health, longer and more frequent habitual naps seem to correlate to a number of health problems including increased cardiovascular disease risk, diabetes, and sleep problems. The key is to find the right balance for your health.
Qi Gong Exercises for Pain Relief
Qi Gong is a type of exercise that involves both mind and body. The name qi gong (气 功) is made up of 2 characters: the first 气 is the same “qi” as in the qi we acupuncturists treat with acupuncture or it can mean “breath” or “air.” The second character 功 means “work” or “exercise.” So as the name indicates, qi gong is a type of exercise that works on the qi of the body, which involves techniques of breathing, physical activity, self-massage, and meditation.
The practice of qi gong is beneficial for maintaining health and for providing relief for many health conditions. It is gentle on the body so virtually anyone can do it regardless of age. Exercises can be altered to fit a person’s physical limitations as well. Below are 8 exercises that can help relieve pain. A more detailed description of qi gong and the different exercises can be downloaded here: QiGongExercises