Acupuncture & Herbs

• Want Relief?
• Have you been unable to get help for your chronic condition?
• Are you looking for an alternative to over-the-counter or prescription medications that have given you little or no benefit?
• Has your physician told you there's little more they can do?
• Do you want a natural, less invasive treatment or one that can complement your western treatment?
• Do you want to reduce stress and improve your sleep, digestion, circulation and immune system?

Whether you have a particular condition that needs treatment or you want to tune-up your internal systems to maintain your optimal health and energy, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), including acupuncture and herbs can help.

What can Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine treat?

• ADD/ADHD
• Allergies
• Anxiety
• Arthritis & Joint Pain
• Asthma
• Back Pain
• Bronchitis
• Bursitis
• Carpal Tunnel
• Chronic Fatigue
• Circulation problems
• Colitis
• Common Cold & Flu
• Constipation
• Crohn’s Disease
• Depression
• Facial Rejuvenation
• Fibromyalgia
• Genito-Urinary Issues
• Headache & Migraine
• Insomnia
• Infertility
• Irritable Bowel
• Hypertension
• Hepatitis
• Hip Pain
• Leg pain
• Liver Disease
• Menopause
• Menstrual Disorders
• Neck Pain
• PMS
• Sciatica
• Shoulder Pain
• Sinusitis
• Sports Injuries
• Stop Smoking
• Stroke & Paralysis
• Substance Abuse
• Tendonitis
• Weight Loss
• and more….

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What is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Acupuncture?

Traditional Chinese Medicine, including both Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, is a comprehensive system of health care with a continuous clinical tradition of over 4000 years. It includes acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage and exercise (qigong). These therapies work with the natural vital energies inherent within all living things to promote the body’s ability to heal itself. This system of health care is has reached most parts of the globe and over the past two decades it has grown in popularity in the United States. Although there are techniques in Oriental Medicine for healing many conditions, there are medical circumstances, which can be dealt with more effectively by Western medicine. In such cases, your acupuncturist will recommend that you contact a physician. As is the case in China, acupuncture should be seen as complementary to Western medicine.

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How does it work?

Oriental Medicine is based on an energetic model rather than the biochemical model of Western medicine. The ancient Chinese recognized the vital energy behind all life forms and life process. They called this energy “Qi” (pronounced chee). In developing an understanding of the prevention and cure of disease, the ancient physicians discovered a system of cyclic energy flowing in the human body along specific pathways. Each pathway is associated with a particular physiological system and internal organ. Disease is considered to arise because of deficiency, imbalance or blockage of vital energy in the energetic pathways and their associated physiological systems.

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Acupuncture

There are pathways or meridians of energy that communicate with the surface the body at specific locations called acupuncture points (acupoints). Each point has a predictable effect upon the vital energy passing through it. Modern science has been able to measure the electrical charge at these points, thus corroborating the locations of the meridians mapped by the ancients.

Oriental medicine has also developed methods of determining the flow in the meridian system, using an intricate system of pulse and tongue diagnosis. Findings from these tests are combined with other signs and symptoms to create a composite diagnosis. A treatment plan is then formulated to induce the body to a balanced state of health.

Acupuncture treatments are used to either clear away an excess of energy which creates stagnation or to tonify and build up energy where there is a deficiency. Due to the metaphysical nature of energy (known as Qi in Chinese Medicine), acupuncture also affects humans on a subtle level. In other words, it can calm the mind, harmonize the emotions and nourish the spirit. Acupuncture treatments can be given at the same time as other modalities are being used, such as conventional Western medicine, osteopathic or chiropractic adjustments, and homeopathic or naturopathic prescriptions. It is important that we know everything that you are doing so that we can help you get the most benefit from all your treatments.

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What does Acupuncture feel like?

Acupuncture is a safe medical procedure, well known for its efficacy and lack of side effects when administered by a qualified practitioner. Acupuncture bears no resemblance to the feeling of receiving an injection, since the main source of pain from injections is the larger diameter, hollow needle and the medication being forced into the tissue by pressure.

Acupuncture needles are hundreds of times smaller than hypodermic needles we see at a doctor’s office. They are very firm and flexible, about the diameter of a thick hair and come in pre-sterilized, disposable packages. In most cased, insertion by a skilled practitioner is performed with a minimum of discomfort, just a little prick as it goes through the skin. Once inserted, the patient can feel his or her energy and blood move to the needle. This may be experienced as a distending sensation, dull ache, heaviness, numbness, tingling or a deep massaging of the surrounding tissues.

Most patients find the treatments very relaxing and many fall asleep during the treatments. In some cases, it is not necessary to use needles at all.

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Are There Any Side Effects?

Side effects are very rare. As energy is redirected in the body, internal chemicals and hormones are stimulated and healing begins to take place. Occasionally the original symptoms worsen for a few days, or other general changes in appetite, sleep, bowel or urination pattern, or emotional state may be triggered. These should not cause concern, as they are simply indications that the acupuncture is starting to work.

It is quite common with the first or second treatment to have a sensation of deep relaxation or even mild disorientation immediately following the treatment. These will pass within a short time, and never require anything more than a bit of rest to overcome this.

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What is Chinese Herbal Medicine?

Chinese herbalism, the use of plant, animal and mineral parts for healing, dates back thousands of years, when in ancient China, herbs were used to address a wide range of diseases and disorders. The practice of Chinese herbology is a precise science that represents a powerful healing tradition. There are 500 individual herbs used in Chinese Herbal Medicine. These single herbs are rarely used alone. Instead they are combined with other herbs into formulas consisting of two or more herbs. It is the careful combination of herbs that produces the desired effect for an individual patient. Ancient Chinese herbal formulas are as effective now as they were thousands of years ago. They treat a wide variety of symptoms while stimulating the body's natural healing process. An herbal treatment begins with an Oriental evaluation of the patient to diagnose imbalances, followed by an individualized prescription of herbs, which is reassessed and readjusted at regular intervals. Teas or decoctions prepared by cooking the raw herbs or convenient powdered formulas allow the most individualized and therefore effective prescriptions. Modern techniques also allow several simpler methods, including pills, capsules, granules, tinctures, or topicals making them easy and convenient to take and accessible to a wider audience.

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