What is Chinese Medicine?
Chinese medicine is the practice of bringing the body back into balance. Treatments can include a variety of techniques and tools, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, moxabustion, gua sha, and cupping.
Acupuncture works through many different mechanisms of action. We understand now that the insertion of tiny needles causes the body to release pain-relieving endorphins called enkephalins. A variety of longterm and shortterm pain relieving neurotransmitters can also be released, especially when needles are used in conjunction with certain electrical impulses (we use a machine called "E-stim", or electrical stimulation, which is similar to a TENS unit). Studies showing that acupuncture helps shorten healing time for injuries and improves outcomes post-surgery all seem to point to an area of research that is relatively new with the discovery in 2018 of the interstitium. Here is a NYTimes article that explains the interstitium and some of the research behind it, including a 4,000 year old Chinese description of this system: NYTimes.com Interstitium Anatomy & Acupuncture article [No subscription required. I am gifting access to this article to you!]
Treatments are more effective when regularly and frequently administered. For acute illness, treatments are typically administered 1-2 times per week for several weeks, then frequency is progressively reduced. Results are typically seen within 6-10 treatments. Some illnesses take much longer to treat, such as injuries or illnesses that the patient has dealt with for decades. Once a state of balance has been achieved, patients may occasionally return to maintain the healthy balance.
Acupuncture works through many different mechanisms of action. We understand now that the insertion of tiny needles causes the body to release pain-relieving endorphins called enkephalins. A variety of longterm and shortterm pain relieving neurotransmitters can also be released, especially when needles are used in conjunction with certain electrical impulses (we use a machine called "E-stim", or electrical stimulation, which is similar to a TENS unit). Studies showing that acupuncture helps shorten healing time for injuries and improves outcomes post-surgery all seem to point to an area of research that is relatively new with the discovery in 2018 of the interstitium. Here is a NYTimes article that explains the interstitium and some of the research behind it, including a 4,000 year old Chinese description of this system: NYTimes.com Interstitium Anatomy & Acupuncture article [No subscription required. I am gifting access to this article to you!]
Treatments are more effective when regularly and frequently administered. For acute illness, treatments are typically administered 1-2 times per week for several weeks, then frequency is progressively reduced. Results are typically seen within 6-10 treatments. Some illnesses take much longer to treat, such as injuries or illnesses that the patient has dealt with for decades. Once a state of balance has been achieved, patients may occasionally return to maintain the healthy balance.
What can Chinese Medicine help with?
In 2003, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a list of conditions that acupuncture has been proven effective at treating.
The following list of conditions shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by Acupuncture:
Low back pain, Neck pain, Sciatica, Tennis elbow, Knee pain, Periarthritis of the shoulder, Sprains, Facial pain (including TMJ), Headache, Dental pain, Acute and chronic gastritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Induction of labor, Breech birth presentation, Morning sickness, Nausea and vomiting, Postoperative pain, Stroke, Essential hypertension, Primary hypotension, Renal colic, Leucopenia, Radiation/chemo reactions, Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Biliary colic, Depression, Acute bacillary dysentery, Primary dysmenorrhea, Acute epigastralgia, Peptic ulcer.
The report also contains three other very important lists of conditions:
• Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of Acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed.
• Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which Acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult.
• Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which Acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment.
The following list of conditions shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by Acupuncture:
Low back pain, Neck pain, Sciatica, Tennis elbow, Knee pain, Periarthritis of the shoulder, Sprains, Facial pain (including TMJ), Headache, Dental pain, Acute and chronic gastritis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Induction of labor, Breech birth presentation, Morning sickness, Nausea and vomiting, Postoperative pain, Stroke, Essential hypertension, Primary hypotension, Renal colic, Leucopenia, Radiation/chemo reactions, Allergic rhinitis, hay fever, Biliary colic, Depression, Acute bacillary dysentery, Primary dysmenorrhea, Acute epigastralgia, Peptic ulcer.
The report also contains three other very important lists of conditions:
• Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of Acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed.
• Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which Acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult.
• Diseases, symptoms or conditions for which Acupuncture may be tried provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment.