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Kungfu boy
01-13-2001, 09:13 AM
Hello All

I gotta question for all of you.

What does acupuncture do for you? Relieve stress? What effects does it have?

Thanks,

Brian

kull
01-13-2001, 01:39 PM
Acupuncture is only one modality of treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which include herbs, tui na manipulation, and qi gong practice.

TCM can relieve a whole spectrum of illnesses and disorders, from stress, infectious diseses, trauma, etc...

Remember, before the introduction of contemporary medicine to china TCM was used for over 2500 years. Same diseases and disorders existed in the past as they do now.

As to what effect does it have, it manipulates the bodies qi, jing, fluids, organs,etc...and brings the body back into harmony, if there is an imbalance. Or it expels a external pathogenic influence, if the cause is determined to be such.
The effect is the same as any type of medicine, which is to heal the patient.

qimaster
01-13-2001, 10:13 PM
A number of months ago I had a compression fracture of my L4 vertebrae.

I went to the local air force base and got treated.
Their solution: an injection of toredol, to kill
the pain, and rest. When I left there I was still hurting, doped up, and just a little better than when I went in.

The very next day I was still in agony, so i went in to see an acupuncturist. One treatment is all I had.

By the time the treatment was done (45 minutes of electro acupuncture), I had no more pain and was able to deal with a 12 hour flight to UK, 2 weeks of seminar teaching, and a flight back.

Thank Buddha for acupuncture:)

qimaster

origenx
01-14-2001, 09:04 PM
My acquaintance had a similar dramatic experience. He had severe chronic tendonitis in by his right elbow that was starting to incapacitate the use of that arm. But all the Western doctors could offer was to *snip* the tendon! Honestly, Western medicine may SOUND advanced because of all the hi-tech machinery & drugs, but its basic theory is actually pretty crude. Find the SYMPTOM (pain, swelling, tumor, etc.) and DESTROY or REMOVE it - like a car mechanic or video game. Whereas TCM sounds a lot more lo-tech, but its theory is actually a lot more advanced.

Anyways, on a whim, my buddy decided to try out this acupuncturist first, before subjecting himself to permanent crippling. Well, the guy stuck him up and down that side with moxibustion needles and he could just feel the heat go down to the elbow tendon. And lo and behold, after the treatment, he was basically cured! All this for a fraction of the time and cost with no side effects! And a real cure, not just pain-relief but permanent dysfunction.

The only reason why Western medicine still carries so much weight is because it's traditional and is covered by insurance, whereas many types of TCM are not. There is a LOT of money and power at stake in this game!!

[This message was edited by origenx on 01-15-01 at 01:11 PM.]

Kevin Wallbridge
01-15-2001, 02:30 AM
Your question is a bit broad Brian. It could be answered wu=ith something as trite as "it heals you." On the other hand the answer could take several months of in depth study and explaination of Chinese medical theory.

origenx, perhaps your condemnation of Bio-medicine goes a bit too far. The body-as-machine model can certainly lead to soem terrible or even grotesque treatments, but is still a powerful and useful medical approach. There are aspects of structural and functional anatomy that are very weak in Chinese medical theory. I think a blend of the two is a good approach, then the strengths of each modality can complement the other.

"The heart of the study of boxing is to have natural instinct resemble the dragon" Wang Xiangzai

WongFeHung
01-15-2001, 05:30 AM
I have had tremendous success with acupuncture on tendonitus (tennis elbow-for me, lion drum elbow) sciatica,and a damaged axilary nerve, which was agonizing me, even though my arm was immobilized in a sling-it hurt even when it didn't move-two sessions, and never bothered me again. My friend and mentor, Sifu Kenny Gong,(may he rest in peace)was the doctor, and I am still looking for someone as good. Anyone know someone in the NYC/LI area?

Kungfu boy
01-16-2001, 12:31 AM
I appreciate all the stories and explanations. I know it was a broad question but I didn't know how to exactly specify something, my knowledge is just really limited.

Can anyone recommand any good reading materials on traditional chinese medicine or theory?

Thanks Again

Brian

Kung Lek
01-16-2001, 09:01 AM
hi-

this is a good book to begin with.
The Web That Has No Weaver.
ISBN 0809228408

peace

Kung Lek

Pilgrim
10-05-2003, 11:21 AM
As the woman's world soccer championships are going on here just wanted to relate this. A friend who is a cop was working security on the field and he said he saw members of the Chinese(of course) American and German soccer teams getting needled on the sidelines during the game for injuries that were occuring during the games.
Highly conditioned athletes using medicine that was recently added to two of the three's medical community. I'm sure those jocks could care less why or how or it works, they just know it works and helps them maintain athletic performance that few people reach.

UK MONK
10-05-2003, 12:40 PM
hi

i was curious about acupuncture and were i can learn acupuncture in England/London. i also wanted to know what sort of things it can cure and how it works.

thanks :confused: :)

Repulsive Monkey
10-06-2003, 09:33 AM
Why don't you get a basic book about it first and learn the principles of it and then decide if you want to learn it.
There are a few top quality colleges in the country and some quite naff colleges too.
Good ones are: LCTA in London, SOFEA run by J.R.Worsley Jr,
the C.I.C.M. in Reading run by John and Angela Hicks and Peter Mole, and the College in East Grinstead.

Get prosepctuses from all of them as you will find that they all teach different styles of Acupuncture, from TCM, to Five Element Acupuncture to Stems and Branches style acupuncture.

Read up well beforehand and then ask some more questions before you sign on any dotted line, by asking yourself if you really want to do this.

UK MONK
10-08-2003, 08:55 AM
thanks for the advice repulsive monk great idea:D .

P.S any info on acupucture books:confused: thanks.

Vash
01-16-2004, 07:11 PM
From my chiropractor. After he hooked me up with about 15 minutes on an electrical muscle stimulator, he hit me with about 9 little needles. Felt good. Felt something pop, something else started to spasm.

Overall, feels better than the regular treatment. We're gonna try this for a while, see what happens.

Just fugging wish that whenever my chest started to heal, I could avoid fugging it up again. Would help my mood tremendously.

God I miss training. :(

KWUsCRD
01-26-2004, 06:48 PM
What happened to your chest in the first place, and then what do you accidently keep doing to it? (If you don't mind me asking)

Vash
01-26-2004, 07:23 PM
What happened:

At my black belt test, caught a kick to my solar plexus. It was rising at just the right angle to break the cartilage, tear some of the muscle around the rib, and to break the rib in two places.

What keeps happening:

I jar it. Usually when I'm driving, I'll hit a bump that'll pull the b!tch out of where it's supposed to be.

It's coming around, though. The combination electroshock/acupuncture/prayer is working pretty good.

RUFNTUFGIRL
04-01-2006, 07:02 AM
I am looking for for an acupuncturist or holistic center in Nassau County or Northern Queens, NY. If anyone has someone to recommend that would be great.

HtownShaolinBum
02-12-2008, 01:22 PM
Tomorrow I am going to visit an acupunturist to help me with anxiety and muscle tension. Right now, I am (somewhat successfully, I've cut back alot) quitting smoking and it ain't that easy and I am hoping that this will help.

I will post what I think about the therapy after my visit.

MASTERforge
02-12-2008, 03:05 PM
I have just completed a course of treatment with acupuncture and massage. This was for my back.

It aches, cramps and gets stiff. This was from working in a job where I was sitting down all day. Its still not right now.

My opinions are not high. But I wont go into it until you complete your treatment as not to bias you.

Good luck. I hope you have a better experience.

herb ox
02-13-2008, 09:21 AM
Unfortunately, back issues are sometimes persistent. This may be due to a mechanical (physical) issue (i.e. pinched nerve, etc) that no amount of needling can really remedy. That's not to say it never works, however. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes 28 disorders that have been clinically proven to effectively relieved by acupuncture, as well as a myriad of other complaints that show acupuncture as a promising treatment. (W.H.O., 2003, "Acupuncture: Review and analysis of reports on controlled clinical trials)

Also, if the root cause is not eliminated, the symptoms will often return. So, if you still sit at your job all day, this is one of the root causative factors, and unfortunately, the pain will persist.

I've also seen issues that don't resolve with one practitioner but quickly heal with another - diagnosis, technique and point selection are all vital factors determining the outcome.

Finally, the best way to go is to combine herbs with the acupuncture to heal from the inside -> out.

Good luck and I hope both of your backs get better.

herb ox

HtownShaolinBum
02-14-2008, 12:25 AM
Good luck and I hope both of your backs get better.

herb ox

It isn't my back, it is my shoulders and neck mostly. I seem to hold alot of tension there, especially on my left side.

HtownShaolinBum
02-29-2008, 09:47 PM
I have undertaken three acupuncture therapies so far. She said some stuff about my gall-bladder and my liver being off and it is throwing other systems out of whack. I dont really remember what exactly she said and I dont care, just as long as she knows what she is doing.

Anyhow, it is working. I can feel muscle tension slowly melting away in my shoulders and even in my abdominals and legs. It has also greatly reduced the ringing in my ears and has helped alot with my anxiety and constant worrying that clutter my brain at times.

Overall, I am thinking that this is a good treatment, and though it is a bit pricey, I am going to continue. My next appointment is on monday.

Also, I have been put on a herbal tonic that is supposed to enhance the effects of the treatment. The herbal tonic says that it contains the "historical antecedent" Fang Feng Tang, and Tian Ma Gou Teng Yin. I have no clue what they are, but the tonic has a warming effect which kicks in almost immediately after taking it and it seems to put me in a more positive mood. It also helps me with mental focus.

herb ox
03-04-2008, 07:52 PM
These formulas are for treating "wind" created by Liver excess - specifically what we call "liver fire uprising" - that's the ringing in the ears, tension, anxiety and unclear thinking. Good stuff... 'bitter herbs better your health'...

Interesting observation about the warmth that you feel after taking the formulas. These formulas are mostly cool in nature, so a warm rush wouldn't seem logical; however, if the liver qi has been constrained, a warm feeling sometimes washes over the body as the qi is 'liberated' and begins to flow smoothly. In fact, severe liver qi stagnation can cause cold hands and feet, which is peculiar since stagnation usually creates heat as a byproduct.

Glad to hear you are having promising results. Keep it up!

in health,

herb ox

couch
03-07-2008, 09:44 AM
Overall, I am thinking that this is a good treatment, and though it is a bit pricey, I am going to continue. My next appointment is on monday.



There's this one thing that I find really sad. Keep up your treatments if you can afford them.

At my acupuncture clinic, I offer a sliding fee scale from $20.00-$60.00 per treatment. I offer my clients a chart showing how much they make and the 'recommended' amount, based on the fact that I will want to see (most of) them for 10 treatments, once per week. I also don't require any proof of income.

I really liked the "peasant medicine" approach to the Community Acupuncture model, but couldn't incorporate everything due to the lack of space. I only have two rooms. I thought that offering a service at a rate that (almost) everyone can pay was important to me.

Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinion and style of practice. I think that's what makes Chinese medicine so great!!! It's like an art form.

Best,
Kenton Sefcik

dougadam
03-18-2008, 06:02 AM
You could also try St. Johns Wart for you're anxiety.

I started talking it before I go to bed. I sleep like a baby now. And I feel a big different through out the day.

martiallist
06-13-2012, 09:56 PM
Hello LAc and TCM students,

I just recently registered for an Acupuncture/Oriental Medicine school out here in Southern California. My 1st quarter starts in a couple of weeks. I am starting to think if I am making a mistake. Here's my situation, I work fulltime and my work is about 2 hours from the school. So I will be driving up there right after work to attend night classes twice a week and also taking 3 classes over the weekend. Just wondering, how much studying and homework is involved with the courses? and do you think I am over my head? I am just afraid I will be wasting my money if I end up dropping out before I finish due to being burnt out or some other reasons. I have a few weeks to decide and can get a full refund on my tuition. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

P.S. I have always had an interest in Acu/OM and am getting sick of my line of work (Electronics) and am considering a career change. Just sucks that the program is so long. :confused:

Dale Dugas
06-14-2012, 04:12 AM
Brother,

It is tough. I was lucky that I had a part time gig teaching martial arts as well as selling my herbs as well as my sugar momma who worked her ass off so that the two of us could survive with me not working very much.

It can be done, but you have to really ask yourself if you want it that badly or not.

martiallist
06-14-2012, 05:45 AM
Thanks Dale. I was hoping you would reply to this thread. Yeah, this is something I need to think about more before fully committing. It's an all or nothing deal here. Too bad theres no such thing as an Acupuncture Technician or something like that for people who drop out half way. haha. Take care.

Hebrew Hammer
06-14-2012, 10:11 AM
I've known of few people who attended the school here in San Diego, it's comparable to nursing school or physician's assistant training in terms of the amount of memorization, study, and clinicals. You maybe able to work part time and be pretty successful 20-30hrs a week. Nursing programs do not allow their students to work full time at all. It's all about time management, discipline, and coffee.

It's not a recipe for success...would you want to be treated by a medical professional/acupuncturist who just barely got by?

If it's a passion go for it, but be dedicated. If you want something that you can do part time look into Tui Na or massage school.

GeneChing
05-13-2013, 11:15 AM
acupuncture (http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/acupuncture/n36756/)
Funniest schtick since Ackroyd's Julia Child. ;)

herb ox
06-03-2013, 08:28 AM
acupuncture (http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/acupuncture/n36756/)
Funniest schtick since Ackroyd's Julia Child. ;)

That's why I keep LOTS of cotton on hand! :D

Spiked
10-24-2013, 08:49 PM
Did it work for you? Was it painful?

Hebrew Hammer
10-25-2013, 02:28 AM
It only hurts when they place it directly into your eyeball, but you get used to it. Had some mixed results...like going to any medical professional...my first time I could feel current moving through my body...pulsing...was amazed as I was skeptical.

I went to some other fancy schmancy sports guy in a fancy medical office, he had some radio talk show and worked with professional athletes. I thought he was full of **** and his treatments roughly a half dozen did nothing to alleviate my sciatic nerve pain and L4 L5 issues in my lower back.

Its like getting a massage therapist or good chiropractic....you have to play the field to get a good connection. If you find someone who works for you, stay there!!!!

Miqi
10-25-2013, 02:52 AM
I had accupuncture from a western trained westerner for a back problem. It didn't hurt - I barely felt the needles. It didn't work - just made things worse by irritating my skin.

By contrast, I had accupuncture from my old coach - a properly trained traditional Chinese doctor from mainland China. This was for an agonising tooth abscess. The accupuncture was painful - he put the needles in much deeper than the westerner, and then flicked them, so that they vibrated. This was like a miracle treatment. For 48 hours it completely eliminated a pain that was otherwise so bad it was comparable to torture. It didn't cure the issue - but as pain relief, it was amazingly effective.

GeneChing
10-25-2013, 08:56 AM
The only way you'll know is to go try it.

Even my cat has had acupuncture. And it worked for her. :rolleyes:

Spiked
10-25-2013, 12:00 PM
The only way you'll know is to go try it.

Even my cat has had acupuncture. And it worked for her. :rolleyes:

Oh yeah? Your cat's acne cleared all up? Lol

Gene, I was just asking. Sheesh

Hebrew Hammer
10-25-2013, 12:27 PM
Gene's just having a bad hair day...perfectly ok to inquire Young Skywalker. Doesn't hurt...oh I did have a coworker who did it to quit smoking, she swears by it. I look at it this way, if it's really effective or just a placebo and I feel better, it's worth the dinero. Taking care of yourself is never a bad thing.

GeneChing
10-25-2013, 02:50 PM
...but there are ones that are too revealing of one's character for a martial forum. For example, let's switch out some alternate words for acupuncture.

Anyone ever sparred?
Did it work for you? Was it painful?

Anyone ever kissed a girl?
Did it work for you? Was it painful?

Anyone ever tried anything new themselves instead of just asking on a web forum?
Did it work for you? Was it painful?

:p

Okay, okay, maybe Hebrew Hammer is right and I'm being a little hard on you, Spiked. After all, you survived yesterday's confrontation with lkfmdc and never once complained to me privately. Most nooBs go running to mama (aka admin & mods) after their first lkfmcd spanking. Good on you.

My cat was old and sick. We did some acupuncture as therapy and it alleviated some of her symptoms for a while. Strangely, it even appeared in our magazine on page 18 of the August 2000 issue (http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/magazine/article.php?article=121) in an article titled Tested on Humans. Note that it wasn't my idea to run that. Our former editor had a great affection for cats and when she heard about our catcupuncture, she demanded a story. Also worthy of note, our cat allowed our therapist to stick several needles in her, so it didn't hurt that much, at least not to the cat.

I have personally had acupuncture sessions that HURT LIKE HELL, but being Chinese, Chinese therapists tend to be a little rougher on me.


Gene's just having a bad hair day... Dude, my life is a bad hair day. For realz. :o

Hebrew Hammer
10-25-2013, 03:01 PM
Bawang's dates also ask me if it's painful or does it hurt? Sigh, we can only speculate...

Same people ask or say that about getting tattoos...I didn't think it was all that painful, more like getting scratched but eveyone has a different pain level and pain tolerance levels.

Gene, my hair is having a bad decade.

YouKnowWho
10-25-2013, 03:04 PM
I had tried and my insurance had covered for it. It didn't work for me at all. It was not painful.

GeneChing
10-25-2013, 03:10 PM
And it was effective for some things, like some allergy issues I used to have, but not for others, like my chronic pain.


Same people ask or say that about getting tattoos...I didn't think it was all that painful, more like getting scratched but eveyone has a different pain level and pain tolerance levels.
Depends where you get 'em, I suppose. Here near SF, I've seen some tattoos in places that just make me wince.


Gene, my hair is having a bad decade. I feel ya, bro. I totally feel ya. :o

Kellen Bassette
10-25-2013, 05:04 PM
Anyone ever kissed a girl?
Did it work for you? Was it painful?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT3_UCm1A5I

Dale Dugas
10-26-2013, 05:38 PM
Let me know if anyone is interested.

I can get your referrals to people who have some skill.

I will be moving to Tampa December 14th and will be treating patients.

Let me know how I can be of service.

If your acupunk does not elicit a healing response with one treatment, they are not very good in my opinion. Not that you are totally healed in one session, but if your practitioner does nothing on their first treatment, why go back to them. I always get a response and have patients returning for further treatment.

PalmStriker
10-26-2013, 08:10 PM
It only hurts when they place it directly into your eyeball, but you get used to it. Had some mixed results...like going to any medical professional...my first time I could feel current moving through my body...pulsing...was amazed as I was skeptical.

I went to some other fancy schmancy sports guy in a fancy medical office, he had some radio talk show and worked with professional athletes. I thought he was full of **** and his treatments roughly a half dozen did nothing to alleviate my sciatic nerve pain and L4 L5 issues in my lower back.

Its like getting a massage therapist or good chiropractic....you have to play the field to get a good connection. If you find someone who works for you, stay there!!!! I think I know who you are referring to ( MA talkshow/Chiropractor ). My son trained at one of his Shotokan Karate schools when he was 6. That said, I'll let you in on my own treatment for sciatic nerve (nerve pain in the hip that runs down the leg: can make your leg give way without notice, extreme pain ). :) I can tell someone what to do, they may or may not take my advice. Because you are a martial artist and know that I am an old guy here that gives advice freely I know you will try it and relieve the pain next time it arises. I have to do this a couple times a year. Takes about 3 minutes max. Here it is: Hold your hands to a workbench, rail or tabletop. Make sure there is plenty of space behind you, nobody walking by. Without looking behind, perform a mule kick on the affected side of your body. Do another one, then another. Now do a couple mule kicks with the other leg to stretch those nerves also. That's it. Relief from nerve pain will be immediate.

Kymus
11-05-2013, 08:16 AM
I've seen an acupuncturist numerous times; it's had an ~95% efficacy rate.

First time I went was for a wrist injury. I was in massage school and the introductory teacher was a serious flake and didn't teach me proper body positioning, so I had injured myself by doing certain things wrong. I was very surprised to have complete relief after 1 session.

I've had numerous other sessions for various pain related issues and each time it worked very well.

The only real exception, possibly, being a chronic issue I've had with - what I believe is - an inflamed hamstring tendon. When I sit (especially in the car) it kind feels like there's a small stone under one butt cheek. I had numerous treatments for that, which also included treatment for minor scoliosis (no more deviation and my scapula was lowered) and tui na (chinese massage). The problem never really went away, but it did get better sometimes.

A few times I've seen the acupuncturist for colds, and that's always worked well, I think. That's my only experience with internal issues.

Acupuncture really doesn't hurt. It's not like getting a needle. The only time you'll actually feel it hurt is when a point is very close to a nerve (like some points in the hand and foot).

I swear by acupuncture for primary care. Though, I've always been fortunate to find very skilled acupuncturists.

Look for an acupuncturist that is trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine; aka, the whole suite, not just acupuncture (some people don't learn herbs or are just licensed as an acupuncturist).

Chris Kresser has a great - and lengthy - series of articles called Acupuncture Demystified (http://chriskresser.com/acupuncture), which attempts to explain it from a western perspective.

GeneChing
01-13-2014, 03:09 PM
X-Ray Reveals Hundreds of Gold Needles in Woman's Knees (http://www.livescience.com/42524-gold-acupuncture-needles-in-knees.html?cmpid=514645_20140113_16977584)
By Bahar Gholipour, Staff Writer | January 13, 2014 09:33am ET

http://i.livescience.com/images/i/000/061/220/i02/gold_acupuncture_scan.jpg?1389623578
[Pin It] An X-ray image of a patient's knees reveals acupuncture needles left in the tissue.
Credit: The New England Journal of Medicine ©2013.

When doctors examined an X-ray image of the knees of a woman experiencing severe joint pain, they found a gold mine: hundreds of tiny gold acupuncture needles left in her tissue.

The 65-year-old South Korean woman had previously been diagnosed with osteoarthritis, a condition in which the cartilage and bones within the joints degrade, causing pain and stiffness. But when pain relievers and anti-inflammatory drugs didn't alleviate the pain in her knees and only caused stomach discomfort, she had turned to acupuncture, the doctors wrote last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Acupuncture is an alternative medical practice that uses needles to purportedly stimulate certain points on the body, to alleviate pain or to treat various diseases.

In the woman's acupuncture treatment, the needles, which were presumably made of gold, were intentionally left in her tissue for continued stimulation, according to the report. [14 Oddest Medical Case Reports]

However, leaving the needles, or any objects, in the body may not be such a good idea, said Dr. Ali Guermazi, a professor of radiology at Boston University, who wasn't involved with the case. Foreign objects left inside the body can lead to inflammation, abscesses and infection.

It could also make it hard for a doctor to read an X-ray. "The needles may obscure some of the anatomy," Guermazi said. [See Image]

"The human body wants to get rid of the foreign object," Guermazi said. "It starts with some mechanism of defense, for example inflammation and forming [fibrous tissue] around the object."

Needles left in the body can cause other challenges, too. "The patient can't go into an MRI because needles left in the body may move, and damage an artery," Guermazi said.

Little evidence supports the idea that treating medical conditions with acupuncture actually works. However, the practice is widely used as a treatment for painful joints, and the insertion of pieces of sterile gold threads around the joint is a common treatment for arthritis in Asian countries, according to the new report.

In the United States, an estimated 3.1 million U.S. adults and 150,000 children were treated with acupuncture in 2007, according to a survey by the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.

Email Bahar Gholipour or follow her @alterwired. Follow us @LiveScience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.
Would pure gold affect an MRI?

SoCo KungFu
01-13-2014, 08:19 PM
Would pure gold affect an MRI?

So MRI's function by basically, magnetically orienting every atom in your body and then measuring the energy released when they realign to produce the image. So yeah.

That said, it shouldn't be enough to actually move when lodged inside tissue (assuming its real gold).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17117110

GeneChing
01-14-2014, 09:59 AM
I remember when I had an MRI they were rather perturbed to find that I had taken a metal splinter in my eye like a decade prior to the exam. The process needed to be delayed while they did this extensive series of X-rays to see if there weren't any fragments of the splinter left, telling me that if there were, the MRI would rip it right out of my eye. There weren't, which is what I had told them at the onset. I guess it's good that they were prudent but the extra X-ray charges felt like getting nickel & dimed.

Gold is non-magnetic. Your point about 'real gold' is well taken.

Syn7
01-14-2014, 07:38 PM
The cost sucks, but at least they were thourough. I consider that a good thing. But then where I come from, it's free(well... close to free. We do pay into HC).

SoCo KungFu
01-15-2014, 12:37 AM
Gold is non-magnetic. Your point about 'real gold' is well taken.

This is partly correct. Gold will not induce its own magnetic field. However, it can be magnetized. Although it takes a powerful magnet.

GeneChing
02-20-2015, 09:30 AM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d2KMGYHoPc

herb ox
03-30-2015, 11:21 AM
Almost every week I come across an article extolling the benefits of acupuncture as used by the most elite athletes. Kobe Bryant, olympic medalists and Tour-de-France cyclists are using acupuncture to give them the winning edge. (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/857486-acupuncture-is-working-for-elite-athletes/)

Increasingly, acupuncture's effects are being scientifically validated, although there is much controversy regarding its specific mode of action. Regardless, the data is convincing enough that the US military is now investigating using acupuncture protocols for treating both veterans and active duty soldiers in the field. But more about that later. For the present discussion, I've quoted an abstract from the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, a peer reviewed scholarly journal:


Am J Chin Med. 2009;37(3):471-81.
Effects of acupuncture stimulation on recovery ability of male elite basketball athletes.
Lin ZP1, Lan LW, He TY, Lin SP, Lin JG, Jang TR, Ho TJ.
Author information
Abstract
Developing effective methods for helping athletes recover from muscle fatigue is deemed essential, particularly on the eves' important competitions. This study aimed to investigate the effects of acupuncture stimulation on athletes' recovery abilities. Subjects were selected from 30 male elite university basketball players who were randomly assigned to 3 groups: acupuncture group, sham group, and normal (control) group, each containing 10 subjects. Acupuncture was carried out on each athlete in acupuncture group at the Neiguan (PC6) and Zusanli (ST36) acupoints, beginning at 15 min prior to exercise and continuing until exhaustion of the subject. Similar acupuncture was also carried out on each athlete in the sham group but the positions were 1 cm away from the PC6 and ST36 acupoints. No acupuncture was conducted on the athletes in the normal group. During the experiments, each subject performed separate runs on the treadmill. The data of heart rate (HR(max)), oxygen consumption (VO(2max)), and blood lactic acid were measured during the rest period and at 3 recovery points of time (5th, 30th and 60th min) post-exercise. The results showed that the acupuncture group (PC6 and ST36) has significantly lower HR(max), VO(2max) and blood lactic acid than both the sham and normal groups at the 30th min post-exercise. Blood lactic acid of the acupuncture group was also significantly lower than that of the other two groups in the 60th min post-exercise. Our findings have shed some light on the development of effective acupuncture schemes to enhance the recovery ability for elite basketball athletes.
Pubmed Entry here: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19606508

The above quoted study implies that acupuncture can help with recovery in athletes - do you think you could benefit from it in your martial practice as well?

in health,

herb ox

herb ox
04-17-2015, 12:07 PM
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725933/
As published in J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2013 Jul; 52(4): 475–480

Acupuncture as an Adjunct Therapy for Osteoarthritis in Chimpanzees

Abstract:

Acupuncture is an ancient practice that is currently used to treat disorders ranging from osteoarthritis to cardiomyopathy. Acupuncture involves the insertion of thin, sterile needles into defined acupuncture points that stimulate physiologic processes through neural signaling. Numerous scientific studies have proven the benefits of acupuncture, and given this scientific support, we hypothesized that acupuncture could benefit the nonhuman primates at our facility. As our chimpanzee colony ages, we are observing an increase in osteoarthritis and have focused our initial acupuncture treatments on this condition. We successfully trained 3 chimpanzees, by using positive-reinforcement training techniques, to voluntarily participate in acupuncture treatments for stifle osteoarthritis. We used 3 acupuncture points that correlate with alleviation of stifle pain and inflammation in humans. A mobility scoring system was used to assess improvements in mobility as a function of the acupuncture treatments. The 2 chimpanzees with the most severe osteoarthritis showed significant improvement in mobility after acupuncture treatments. Acupuncture therapy not only resulted in improved mobility, but the training sessions also served as enrichment for the animals, as demonstrated by their voluntary participation in the training and treatment sessions. Acupuncture is an innovative treatment technique that our data show to be safe, inexpensive, and, most importantly, effective for chimpanzees.

What gets me is that some researchers and doctors want to continue to insist that acupuncture's effects are based upon expectations or placebo, and yet, animal models show an effect and fMRI shows substantially different brain activity patterns when a "verum" point is needled versus an off-channel point.

But, then again, Sammelweis' idea that hand washing could reduce postpartum deaths was ridiculed for years by the medical community who refused to acknowledge the idea that the doctors could be spreading the disease!

in health,

herb ox

GeneChing
11-04-2015, 01:02 PM
https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/12063738_1072720592758693_7613965465157790759_n.jp g?oh=0a002aad487a85471d0dcde2f879dd45&oe=56AD3A0C

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xat1/v/t1.0-9/12108917_1074564075907678_4194687346366618089_n.jp g?oh=c47e5724daa1d7aa047caa22a9bc4d44&oe=56B86C23

https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/11226550_1075051695858916_6040747853947983085_n.jp g?oh=b139772de18b0b00b843fe73cf90f945&oe=56F70590

Good to see Berkeley Breathed back

GeneChing
12-14-2015, 05:09 PM
There's a vid if you follow the link.


Komodo Dragon gets acupuncture for aching back (http://www.sun-sentinel.com/video/originals/sun-sentinel-shorts/sfl-komodo-dragon-gets-acupuncture-for-aching-back-20151113-story.html)

Hannah the Komodo Dragon has been in pain. To relieve it, her doctors and keepers are taking an approach that has not yet been tried on an animal at the Palm Beach Zoo: acupuncture. Dr. Cara Pillitteri, who has been treating Hannah, said, "Although the research is still inconclusive, current findings suggest that the mediators released by acupuncture may serve to lessen or block the pain response." Additionally, Hannah recently had a CT scan, commonly known as a cat scan, to try to better pinpoint the source of her pain. Neck pain has left her unable to eat at times and has her sidelined from the breeding program. Hannah is the first animal at the Palm Beach Zoo to have acupuncture treatment.

Amy Beth Bennett
Staff Photographer

Hannah the Komodo Dragon has been in pain. To relieve it, her doctors and keepers are taking an approach that has not yet been tried on an animal at the Palm Beach Zoo: acupuncture. Additionally, Hannah recently had a CT scan, commonly known as a cat scan, to try to better pinpoint the source of her pain. Neck pain has left her unable to eat at times and has her sidelined from the breeding program. Hannah is the first animal at the Palm Beach Zoo to have acupuncture treatment.

SoCo KungFu
12-15-2015, 08:53 PM
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3725933/
As published in J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2013 Jul; 52(4): 475–480

Acupuncture as an Adjunct Therapy for Osteoarthritis in Chimpanzees

Abstract:


What gets me is that some researchers and doctors want to continue to insist that acupuncture's effects are based upon expectations or placebo, and yet, animal models show an effect and fMRI shows substantially different brain activity patterns when a "verum" point is needled versus an off-channel point.

But, then again, Sammelweis' idea that hand washing could reduce postpartum deaths was ridiculed for years by the medical community who refused to acknowledge the idea that the doctors could be spreading the disease!

in health,

herb ox

So its been a while since I've seen this thread. I'll need to read this study in more detail but just by the abstract and looking at their methods, its garbage. They've conditioned the animals to accept the treatments. For chimps, that positive reinforcement training means a reward (a box of juice). Looking at other studies using the same methods, that reward is removed if they break behavior. This study is useless. Its common knowledge that activating reward centers releases hormones that are also implicated in pain suppression. Their training protocol completely confounds their results. All this study actually shows is that we can train chimps to expect a positive result through behavioral conditioning. Which, to me, sounds an awful lot like placebo.

herb ox
12-27-2015, 10:20 AM
Funny - even with solid research and the medical community publishing reviews of research and finding there is a bona-fide effect to acupuncture BEYOND placebo, and that the effects of acupuncture are actually likely underestimated given research methodology issues, armchair scientists continue to claim to know better.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1835483 concluded that acupuncture is a reasonable option for pain management for several conditions (which is a huge deal considering how conservative the Journal of the American Medical Association is).

There will always be those who do not believe like you do. There will always be those who dig and pick and negate.

I choose to spend my energy on finding more ways to unite, not divide; find more ways that we are common, not different; prefer Yoda and Laozi as my archetypal ideals, instead of Trump and "Pharma-bro" Shkreli.

Would I want to live in a world of hard science that predicts only my eventual demise or believe that there is a faint thread of hope in something more than meets the eye? Yes, I believe in magick :rolleyes:. I'd rather be looked upon as the Fool than to live in the world of grumpy old men who are really only concerned with profit and power.

SoCo KungFu
12-29-2015, 12:19 AM
Funny - even with solid research and the medical community publishing reviews of research and finding there is a bona-fide effect to acupuncture BEYOND placebo, and that the effects of acupuncture are actually likely underestimated given research methodology issues

Congratulations, you can quote mine. Now tell me, do you know anything at all about meta analyses? (I'm thinking not)


armchair scientists continue to claim to know better.

Takes one to know one? I'm going to assume you aren't speaking directly to me, seeing as you aren't qualified to comment on my scientific cred.


http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1835483 concluded that acupuncture is a reasonable option for pain management for several conditions (which is a huge deal considering how conservative the Journal of the American Medical Association is).

See my above comment on meta analyses. Lets see, no reporting on how included studies were obtained (fairly important given the different sources with different publishing standards), what response scoring methods they considered (we're just to assume they standardized correctly), and no listed methodology for excluding faulty studies (i.e. what were they considering "high quality" studies?), no reported bias estimates, etc. This is ****ty journal writing. You can't tell anything from this. And it looks like a number of the studies they used made zero attempt to account for confounding effects given they report no data on demographics other than patient sex and ages. And those effect sizes (which I'm assuming they calculated using Cohen's method), they're so small, especially between acupuncture and sham (the subject of this discussion). And given the low sample size, most likely inflated at that (and nevermind that some of the trials they included contain groups receiving multiple types of treatment. Oh, and I'll ignore that the responses reported were only short term...). Did you even look into the supplement?


There will always be those who do not believe like you do. There will always be those who dig and pick and negate.

What you whine about as digging and picking, those of us involved in actual, legit science call, "standard procedure." Quit complaining because the rest of the world holds you to the same standards. But this is typical for you alt med types. Play victim, demonize mainstream med/research while trying to skate by with limited evidence and no regulation for your own procedures. Makes it easy to prey on those disillusioned by mainstream med and desperate for a fix, eh?


I choose to spend my energy on finding more ways to unite, not divide; find more ways that we are common, not different; prefer Yoda and Laozi as my archetypal ideals, instead of Trump and "Pharma-bro" Shkreli.

Get over yourself. This is your ego attempting to deflect. Its not remotely relevant to the conversation at hand. Its simply emotional begging. Nice ad hominem btw. I like how you managed to wrap it up in non sequitur. You are every bit a part of an industrial machine as those you rail against.


Would I want to live in a world of hard science that predicts only my eventual demise or believe that there is a faint thread of hope in something more than meets the eye?

Irrelevant


Yes, I believe in magick :rolleyes:. I'd rather be looked upon as the Fool than to live in the world of grumpy old men who are really only concerned with profit and power.

Or concerned with protecting vulnerable people from quack medicine, it seems.

This type of whining is why the mainstream medical sciences do not take your field seriously. Quit complaining about being told to do proper research. And quit complaining that the mainstream doesn't do it for you. Get an education in proper trial procedure and analysis, find your own research committee, get your own **** grant money and do your own **** work.

Mor Sao
12-29-2015, 07:11 PM
So its been a while since I've seen this thread. I'll need to read this study in more detail but just by the abstract and looking at their methods, its garbage. They've conditioned the animals to accept the treatments. For chimps, that positive reinforcement training means a reward (a box of juice). Looking at other studies using the same methods, that reward is removed if they break behavior. This study is useless. Its common knowledge that activating reward centers releases hormones that are also implicated in pain suppression. Their training protocol completely confounds their results. All this study actually shows is that we can train chimps to expect a positive result through behavioral conditioning. Which, to me, sounds an awful lot like placebo.

yeah, and where does your degree in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine come from? Yeah, I thought not.

Sounds like the only chimp here is what you see in the mirror, twat.

Mor Sao
12-29-2015, 07:13 PM
fahking mouthboxers who hide behind the internet need not make any comments on things they know nothing about.

SoCo KungFu
01-02-2016, 04:35 PM
yeah, and where does your degree in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine come from? Yeah, I thought not.

Sounds like the only chimp here is what you see in the mirror, twat.

Is this idiocy something you believe constitutes a proper, logical argument sh!t brick? So lets take it with your dumb ass notion you just presented. Where did you get your M.D.? Since you, along with your butt buddy here, seem to like trashing actual medicine. Where did you get your education on experimental design and analysis? Exactly what credentials do you have at all other than "treating stress"? Congrats, you're a blowhard cheerleader with needles. Fuk off. You might be good at hitting coconuts, but you're a freggin idiot when it comes to evidenced based medicine, or evidence in general.

SoCo KungFu
01-02-2016, 04:37 PM
fahking mouthboxers who hide behind the internet need not make any comments on things they know nothing about.

Its quite clear to anyone with 2 functional brain cells, based on my actual destruction of "evidences" you idiots present here, based on actual experimental knowledge and analysis, that I'm probably the only one here that actually knows wtf I'm talking about. You, on the other hand, with your last resort foaming at the mouth ad hominem, demonstrate a complete inability to even comprehend my criticisms on a fundamental level. Get an education, idiot.

SoCo KungFu
01-02-2016, 04:39 PM
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/acupuncture-doesnt-work/


Open source. This article addresses, among many pubs, the articles linked by herb ox.


Comparison of these 2 meta-analyses shows how important it is to read the results, not just the summaries. Although the outcomes were similar for both, the spin on the results in the abstracts (and consequently the tone of media reports) was very different.

This is a bit of advice you, herb ox, specifically need to take to heart. But then this, of course, would require you to actually understand methods of analysis, something they apparently don't teach in CAM...

SoCo KungFu
01-02-2016, 04:42 PM
yeah, and where does your degree in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine come from? Yeah, I thought not.

Sounds like the only chimp here is what you see in the mirror, twat.

I just want to reemphasize how utterly stupid this response is. You, literally, typed a response in which every single word contributes to logical fallacy (3 actually). Way to go retard. Gold star sticker for you! /golfclap

MarathonTmatt
01-03-2016, 07:59 AM
Hi... as for if acupuncture works or not... I can only tell about some of my personal experiences.

I was born at home and not in a hospital. I have never taken any pharmaceutical medicine in my life, and I am fine, at 31 years of age. I have never even had a shot before, such as a flu shot. If I feel like I have a head-ache or am feeling stress, I just do qi-gong exercise or tai chi, or other exercise, even push-ups help or go for a walk. Also I am a former marathon runner. My point is that I am healthy. My diet could be better, but I do incorporate health foods like rice milk, kale, organic energy bars, kombucha drinks, etc. when I can.

A neighbor down the street was taking advil or tylonel for his headaches when he was out hiking, and he ruined his stomach lining because he was taking those drugs (internal bleeding, etc.) And he only took the tylonel's as recommended on label. Even the most common pharmaceutical drugs such as an advil are very dangerous. IMO, most people need to learn how to deal with a "headache" in a more natural way instead of popping a pill.

So I can only conclude 2 things- pharmaceutical medicines, under normal circumstances just aren't necessary unless you experience accident, head injury, etc. than may be okay. Also, they are dangerous.

I have never had acupuncture but my tai chi teacher was a traditional Chinese doctor. She was very good. She would have people flying from across the country to get her acupuncture (as there are a lot of people out there who aren't as skilled as someone like her in the art.) I have seen first-hand how acupuncture can help people with no bad side effects. Also, the theory of traditional Chinese medicine naturally "clicks" with me you might say- but this cannot be said for everyone. I have had clean professional tui na massage work done on me a few times before from various people and I always felt good and charged, grounded and energized after the work was done.

IMO one cannot look at something like acupuncture from a western science/ medicine perspective. It's like an apple analyzing an orange, expecting the orange to be like an apple when this is not the case. A couple thousand years ago when Hippocrates was swigging apple cider vinegar maybe western medicine was similar to eastern... but this is not the case today... too much big money involved, etc. Since the late 19th century big pharma has been swindling the American people.

SoCo KungFu
01-03-2016, 05:30 PM
Incomprehensible nonsense and personal anecdote.

Especially this bit...


IMO one cannot look at something like acupuncture from a western science/ medicine perspective.

So...what, are we supposed to throw some bones? Read some tea leaves? I shouldn't even be justifying this post with a response.

SoCo KungFu
01-03-2016, 05:44 PM
http://comics.rudism.com/?cectic&/133

MarathonTmatt
01-03-2016, 08:01 PM
Especially this bit...



So...what, are we supposed to throw some bones? Read some tea leaves? I shouldn't even be justifying this post with a response.

Well like I said I have never had acupuncture, but have been around my teacher's clinic. I have seen first-hand how acupuncture can help people with no bad side effects. I have seen it help not one, but several people who had severe lime's disease... of course it is not a 'magic' cure but is very much capable of alleviating the symptoms and improving their quality of life. All kinds of people with all kinds of problems have been helped through proper acupuncture with no bad side effects.

A good place to start would be with reading/ understanding the I Ching, as well as books and manuals about Chinese Medicine and other arts.

Mor Sao
01-04-2016, 07:34 AM
funny that the cowards who hide bray the loudest.

Step forward and be known.

until then you are a scared little boy who likes to think he knows something.

Western Medicine kills how many people a year?

More than 100,000

Chinese Medicine? 0.

Yeah keep that logical fallacy bull**** and stick it up your cowardly ass.

Medicine in the west is no longer medicine, its profiteering pain and simple.

herb ox
01-11-2016, 01:47 PM
I call those who think they know better than the brightest minds in research and medicine "armchair scientists".

I call those who are unwilling to consider the other side's evidence "closed minded".

SoCoKungFu, why do you harbor such hostility? Now ya got Mor Sao's Wood element all out of balance :p You would do well to study Chinese medicine, as you would quickly realize this attitude of yours is sure to cause disease in the end. Sure, you have your evidence-based medicine to treat your ails, but wouldn't you rather live a life free from mental anguish, conflict and anger?

This is the essence of acupuncture and Chinese medicine - returning people to a place where they are in touch with their true nature (Ziran). Healing comes when we release our obsession with our emotions, craving for distractions or to feed the senses, and when we cultivate peace within ourselves. Acupuncture and CM will probably never be fully accepted by the "establishment", as these are things that are not able to be made into a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder.

The Tao is free to all. Health, too, should be free for all who wish to attain it.

Just sayin'.

SoCo KungFu
01-14-2016, 12:49 PM
funny that the cowards who hide bray the loudest.

Step forward and be known.

until then you are a scared little boy who likes to think he knows something.

Ad hominem


Western Medicine kills how many people a year?

More than 100,000

Chinese Medicine? 0.


Not only utter bull****, there's a fuking thread on this very **** forum on this very topic. Are you seriously this **** stupid?


Yeah keep that logical fallacy bull**** and stick it up your cowardly ass.

Medicine in the west is no longer medicine, its profiteering pain and simple.

Says the idiot that cannot string together even 2 sentences without showing he has an IQ equivalent of Tinea unguium (that's the fungus infecting your toe nails, since you obviously lack any useful education to have known this)

You're like a 4 year old throwing a tantrum because this is your only coping mechanism when met with a challenge you can't make go away. You lack the education to actually defend yourself. And since you can't use that coconut breaking skill through the internet, you devolve into a mouthbreathing idiot on public display. Congrats, this anonymous "coward" thoroughly trashed you and your profession and you can do nothing about it. Your very identity is that of a fraud. You're a quack, a hack and you suck money from those most vulnerable, the sick. You're disgusting.

SoCo KungFu
01-14-2016, 12:52 PM
Well like I said I have never had acupuncture, but have been around my teacher's clinic. I have seen first-hand how acupuncture can help people with no bad side effects. I have seen it help not one, but several people who had severe lime's disease... of course it is not a 'magic' cure but is very much capable of alleviating the symptoms and improving their quality of life. All kinds of people with all kinds of problems have been helped through proper acupuncture with no bad side effects. [quote]

Placebo. This is sort of, the entire point of this whole conversation....


[quote]A good place to start would be with reading/ understanding the I Ching, as well as books and manuals about Chinese Medicine and other arts.

I have. Probably more than you. I've also an advanced education in biological sciences, experience in research and experience working in health care. Do you have any of these? I'll put my experience and far more thorough education up against your "first-hand" observation of a limited number of cases, any day of the week.

SoCo KungFu
01-14-2016, 01:03 PM
I call those who think they know better than the brightest minds in research and medicine "armchair scientists".

There's an irony here, but I doubt you'll pick it up... Also, I don't need to know better than the brightest minds in research, I only need to know better than you. You are not one of those minds. And I'm far closer to that mark than you.


I call those who are unwilling to consider the other side's evidence "closed minded".

Your "evidence" has been considered and found entirely lacking. I call those that can't accept reality in denial. And I call those that believe BS without valid proof, gullible.


SoCoKungFu, why do you harbor such hostility?

Red herring. Stay on topic. More over, it is you that has responded, repeatedly, in an overly defensive manner to the criticism (valid criticism) of the utterly shoddy "evidence" your camp continues to put out. Now, you can go find better proof (you won't, but sure try), or you can continue on these little self serving ego strokes that you think you are using to lecture me but really just show you off as utterly incompetent on the subject at hand (evidence, and the judgment of).


Now ya got Mor Sao's Wood element all out of balance :p You would do well to study Chinese medicine, as you would quickly realize this attitude of yours is sure to cause disease in the end.

More deflection. Defend your position or go. You're not lecturing to me. Lick your wounded ego somewhere else. As for Mor Sao, he's a overgrown baby incapable of intellectually producing an argument. He's a child that has decided to throw his cheerios all over the floor because he has no other way to cope.


bunch of other irrelevant pseudophilosophical ridiculousness

You've yet to provide a solid argument that acupuncture is anything more than placebo.

Mor Sao
01-14-2016, 06:16 PM
Its quite clear to anyone with 2 functional brain cells, based on my actual destruction of "evidences" you idiots present here, based on actual experimental knowledge and analysis, that I'm probably the only one here that actually knows wtf I'm talking about. You, on the other hand, with your last resort foaming at the mouth ad hominem, demonstrate a complete inability to even comprehend my criticisms on a fundamental level. Get an education, idiot.

I have a Masters in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine as well as B.A. in Japanese Studies from Earlham College

I can prove it easily.

You on the other hand hide but claim you are some fahking wicked smart guy.

Post up your degrees and who you are, or fahk off. Life is too short to hide.

Unless you have something to hide.

herb ox
02-19-2016, 09:59 AM
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/306569.php


Fibromyalgia sufferers might benefit from tailored acupuncture
Written by Tim Newman
Published: Tuesday 16 February 2016

Fibromyalgia affects an estimated 5 million Americans, 80-90% of whom are women. The disorder is characterized by widespread pain and diffuse tenderness. Although there is no cure, tailored acupuncture might provide some welcome respite, according to a new study.

New research shows that tailored acupuncture might relieve fibromyalgia symptoms.

Although difficult to categorize, fibromyalgia is considered a rheumatic condition because it impairs soft tissue and joints and causes pain.

Fibromyalgia carries with it a number of other life-disrupting symptoms that vary from individual to individual.

These symptoms can include muscle stiffness, headaches, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and sensitivity to temperature, sounds and bright lights.

The exact causes of fibromyalgia are not well understood; however, hypothesized culprits include traumatic or stressful life events and repetitive injuries.

There might also be links to other diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis; some researchers believe there is a genetic component at work, too. Because there are no known biological markers, diagnosing fibromyalgia can be problematic. To reach a conclusive decision, other overlapping disorders must first be ruled out.

Because of these questions surrounding genesis and diagnosis, effective treatments for fibromyalgia are not forthcoming.

A recent study conducted at Doňa Mercedes Primary Health Centre, in Seville, Spain, looked at the potential use of acupuncture to ease fibromyalgia's symptoms.
Complementary medicine and fibromyalgia

Perhaps because of the lack of medical treatments for fibromyalgia, one study found that 91% of sufferers seek solace in complementary medicine such as hydrotherapy, massage and acupuncture.

Acupuncture is used by 1 in 5 fibromyalgia patients within 2 years of diagnosis.

Previous clinical trials testing acupuncture's efficacy have been inconclusive, but these studies did not tailor the course of acupuncture to suit the individual needs of each fibromyalgia patient.

To investigate whether this might make a difference, the research team, led by Dr. Teresa Leiva, compared tailored acupuncture against sham acupuncture in 153 patients. Sham acupuncture involved using the same guide tubes as the genuine acupuncture group, but without inserting needles. The sham treatment solely focused on the dorsal and lumbar regions.

Each patient (sham and tailored) received 20-minute-long treatments, every week for 9 weeks. During the trial, the patients continued taking any prescription drugs they were already using.

The participants completed questionnaires rating various parameters such as levels of pain, depression and the overall impact of the disease on their lives. These reviews were carried out before the trial, at 10 weeks, 6 months and 12 months.
Sham vs. tailored acupuncture in fibromyalgia

At the 10-week mark, the tailored acupuncture group reported a 41% drop in pain, whereas the sham acupuncture group reported a 27% reduction.

Twelve months later, the effect was still apparent. The tailored group and sham group reported 20% and 6% reductions in pain, respectively.

The questions that rated the overall impact of fibromyalgia on participant quality of life told the same story across all three time points. The tailored group reported reductions in the disease's negative impact of 35%, 25% and 22%; the sham acupuncture group, at the same points in time, registered reductions of 24.5%, 11% and 5%.

Also, general measures of anxiety, fatigue and depression were significantly better at the 10-week mark for the tailored acupuncture group. The differences were still evident after a year, but the researchers note that antidepressant usage in the group had also risen, making the results difficult to interpret.

The authors of the report, published in Acupuncture in Medicine, a BMJ journal, concluded:

"This treatment produced an improvement in the participants' condition [...] Such an outcome has not been reported by previous studies following the application of standardized treatments: therefore, our results suggest that applying individualized treatment algorithms when starting a course of acupuncture may be important."

As the authors are quick to mention, this is the first time such a positive result has been found; additional, large-scale work will need to be carried out before solid conclusions are drawn. Because current medication only deals with the symptoms of fibromyalgia, any intervention that can ease the suffering will be a welcome advance.

Medical News Today recently covered research showing that acupuncture might be a safe treatment for chronic pain in children.

herb ox
04-21-2016, 08:24 AM
The "results" section of the abstract says it all... "acupuncture therapy is in fact a neuroprotective therapy"...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20034437


Neurol Res. 2010 Feb;32 Suppl 1:5-9. doi: 10.1179/016164109X12537002793643.
Recent development of acupuncture on Parkinson's disease.
Joh TH1, Park HJ, Kim SN, Lee H.

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:
Parkinson's disease is a complex disease with multiple etiological factors involved in disease pathogenesis, and the molecular and cellular pathways for neurodegeneration are still elusive.

METHODS:
We reviewed all the relevant laboratory findings regarding acupuncture mechanism on Parkinson's disease.

RESULTS:
Acupuncture treatments in animal experiments have generated valuable mechanistic insights of Parkinson's disease and shown that acupuncture therapy is in fact a neuroprotective therapy which increases various neuroprotective agents such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor and cyclophilin A. In addition, acupuncture therapy decreases cell death processes and attenuates oxidative stress to substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons.

DISCUSSION:
These results suggest that early application of acupuncture therapy for Parkinson's disease patients may be helpful for the best efficacy of acupuncture treatment.

PMID:
20034437

herb ox
04-26-2016, 08:37 AM
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26433799



J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2015 Oct;8(5):229-35. doi: 10.1016/j.jams.2014.11.005. Epub 2014 Nov 29.

Efficacies of Acupuncture and Anti-inflammatory Treatment for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Hadianfard M, Bazrafshan E, Momeninejad H, Jahani N.

Abstract

This study compared the efficacies of acupuncture and anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Fifty patients with mild to moderate CTS were randomly divided into two groups. Both groups received night wrist splints as the standard conservative treatment for 1 month. The acupuncture group also received eight sessions of acupuncture therapy (twice a week for 4 weeks). The control group received 400 mg of ibuprofen three times a day for 10 days. The visual analog scale (VAS) score, the score on the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire for Functional Status and Symptom Severity (BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT), and the electrodiagnostic findings were evaluated at baseline and 1 month after treatment. At the final follow up, significant improvements were found in both groups (p < 0.05). Statistically significant improvements were observed in the VAS score, the score on the global BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT, and the electrodiagnostic findings, but not in the distal motor latency (DML), in the acupuncture group (p < 0.05). Our findings indicate that acupuncture affected the score on the global BCTQ FUNCT and SYMPT, the VAS score, and the electrodiagnostic findings, except the DML, more than ibuprofen did and that acupuncture might be an effective treatment for CTS.

Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier B.V.

herb ox
04-26-2016, 05:59 PM
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26546644


J Am Board Fam Med. 2015 Nov-Dec;28(6):697-705. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2015.06.150014.

Ear Acupuncture for Acute Sore Throat: A Randomized Controlled Trial.
Moss DA, Crawford P.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Sore throat is a common cause of pain in outpatient encounters. Battlefield auricular acupuncture (the placing of needles in specific points in the ear) is a modality used to treat acute pain associated with a variety of ailments. The aim of our study was to determine whether auricular acupuncture reduces pain, medication usage, and missed work hours when added to standard therapy in adult patients with acute sore throat.

METHODS:

We conducted an unblinded, pragmatic, randomized controlled trial among adult, nonpregnant patients presenting to an Air Force family medicine clinic with pain from acute sore throat. A total of 54 patients were followed for 48 hours after treatment.

RESULTS:

Patients receiving auricular acupuncture reported lower pain scores than those who did not at 15 minutes (6.0 [95% confidence interval (CI), 5.4-6.6] vs 2.6 [95% CI, 1.7-3.5]; P < .0001), 6 hours (4.8 [95% CI, 4.0-5.6] vs 2.5 [95% CI, 1.6-3.4]; P = .0005), and 24 hours (4.1 [95% CI, 3.3-4.9] vs 1.3 [95% CI, 1.0-2.8]; P = .0006). They also reported taking fewer cumulative doses of pain medication at 6 hours (1.07 [95% CI, 0.69-1.45] vs 0.39 [95% CI, 0.2-0.58]; P = .003), 24 hours (2.63 [95% CI, 1.95-3.31] vs 1.37 [95% CI, 0.92-1.82]; P = .004), and 48 hours (4.07 [95% CI, 2.9-5.24] vs 2.19 [95% CI, 1.44-2.94]; P = .009). There was no difference in time missed from work between the auricular acupuncture and standard therapy groups.

CONCLUSIONS:

Compared with usual treatment, battlefield auricular acupuncture was associated with reduced sore throat pain for 24 hours and decreased use of pain medication for up to 48 hours. There was no apparent effect on hours missed from work.

© Copyright 2015 by the American Board of Family Medicine.

David Jamieson
04-27-2016, 07:55 AM
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26546644

I've had great success with experienced acupuncturists.
From muscle spasm relief, to old injuries relief.

I do prefer tui nah though. That pretty much fixes almost everything! But it is not easy to find an adept.
So far I've only found one that is any good in a city of millions. But there are lots who claim to practice it although it's more like a typical harder form of swedish massage and doesn't include the hot water part before and the dit da jow after that is common to the practice.

GeneChing
02-14-2017, 09:46 AM
Relevant here: acupuncture and tai chi. :cool:


American College of Physicians issues guideline for treating nonradicular low back pain (https://www.acponline.org/acp-newsroom/american-college-of-physicians-issues-guideline-for-treating-nonradicular-low-back-pain)

Treatment recommendations include massage, acupuncture, spinal manipulation, tai chi, and yoga

Philadelphia, February 14, 2017 -- The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends in an evidence-based clinical practice guideline published today in Annals of Internal Medicine that physicians and patients should treat acute or subacute low back pain with non-drug therapies such as superficial heat, massage, acupuncture, or spinal manipulation. If drug therapy is desired, physicians and patients should select nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or skeletal muscle relaxants.

Low back pain is one of the most common reasons for all physician visits in the U.S. Most Americans have experienced low back pain. Approximately one quarter of U.S. adults reported having low back pain lasting at least one day in the past three months. Pain is categorized as acute (lasting less than four weeks), subacute (lasting four to 12 weeks, and chronic (lasting more than 12 weeks).

“Physicians should reassure their patients that acute and subacute low back pain usually improves over time regardless of treatment,” said Nitin S. Damle, MD, MS, MACP, president, ACP. “Physicians should avoid prescribing unnecessary tests and costly and potentially harmful drugs, especially narcotics, for these patients.”

The evidence showed that acetaminophen was not effective at improving pain outcomes versus placebo. Low-quality evidence showed that systemic steroids were not effective in treating acute or subacute low back pain.

For patients with chronic low back pain, ACP recommends that physicians and patients initially select non-drug therapy with exercise, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction, tai chi, yoga, motor control exercise (MCE), progressive relaxation, electromyography biofeedback, low level laser therapy, operant therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or spinal manipulation.

“For the treatment of chronic low back pain, physicians should select therapies that have the fewest harms and costs, since there were no clear comparative advantages for most treatments compared to one another,” Dr. Damle said. “Physicians should remind their patients that any of the recommended physical therapies should be administered by providers with appropriate training.”

For patients with chronic low back pain who have had an inadequate response to non-drug therapy, ACP recommends that physicians and patients consider treatment with NSAIDs as first line therapy; or tramadol or duloxetine as second line therapy. Physicians should only consider opioids as an option in patients who have failed the aforementioned treatments and only if the potential benefits outweigh the risks for individual patients and after a discussion of known risks and realistic benefits with patients.

“Physicians should consider opioids as a last option for treatment and only in patients who have failed other therapies, as they are associated with substantial harms, including the risk of addiction or accidental overdose,” said Dr. Damle.

“Noninvasive Treatments for Acute, Subacute, and Chronic Low Back Pain” is based on a systematic review of randomized controlled trials and systematic reviews published on noninvasive pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments of nonradicular low back pain. Clinical outcomes evaluated included reduction or elimination of low back pain, improvement in back-specific and overall function, improvement in health-related quality of life, reduction in work disability/return to work, global improvement, number of back pain episodes or time between episodes, patient satisfaction, and adverse effects.

The evidence was insufficient or lacking to determine treatments for radicular low back pain. The evidence also was insufficient for most physical modalities and for which patients are likely to benefit from which specific therapy. The guideline does not address topical therapies or epidural injection therapies.

ACP’s clinical practice guidelines are developed through a rigorous process based on an extensive review of the highest quality evidence available, including randomized control trials and data from observational studies. ACP also identifies gaps in evidence and direction for future research through its guidelines development process.

ACP’s previous recommendations for treating low back pain were published in “Diagnosis and Treatment of Low Back Pain: A Joint Clinical Practice Guideline from the American College of Physicians and the American Pain Society” in 2007. Some evidence has changed since the 2007 guideline and supporting evidence reviews. The 2007 guideline did not assess mindfulness-based stress reduction, MCE, taping, or tai chi.

About the American College of Physicians

The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States. ACP members include 148,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.

GeneChing
07-19-2018, 10:06 AM
Note: If I ever drink my bodyweight in tequila & vodka, the hangover cure is 200 needles in the face.


*****LY TREAT Lisa Snowdon poses in her bra as she shares snap of acupuncture treatment with 200 needles (https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/6802510/lisa-snowdon-poses-in-her-bra-as-she-shares-snap-of-acupuncture-treatment-with-200-needles/)
The TV presenter's latest post wasn't for the faint-hearted
By Kayleigh Giles
17th July 2018, 5:02 pmUpdated: 17th July 2018, 5:39 pm
LISA Snowdon revealed the painful-looking secret behind her youthful appearance as she underwent facial acupuncture yesterday.

The model, 46, shared snaps of her face covered in 200 needles in a bid to combat the effects of drinking her "body weight in tequila,vodka and rosè" during a recent holiday to the US.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NINTCHDBPICT0004210379291.jpg?w=960
Lisa Snowdon shared some saucy snaps from her acupuncture session yesterday INSTAGRAM

The series of saucy pics also showed the beauty cup her boobs in her hand as she laid and had the treatment done in her underwear.

Lisa wrote alongside the snaps: "I so needed this.. I’ve now progressed to 200 needles!! And yes they are everywhere! Don’t be freaked out, this is a much needed MOT for my body mind and soul.

"I’ve been jet-lagged from our trip to the states, which means my sleep has been all over the place.

"I drank my body weight( which is quite a lot these days! ) in tequila , vodka and rosè, I’ve had A LOT of fun but it’s all about balance."

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NINTCHDBPICT000421037920.jpg?w=960
The model had 200 needles inserted into her face INSTAGRAM

She added: "As I’ve also mentioned before my hormones have been completely out of whack along with my periods and it’s quite exhausting not to mention confusing."

Going on to explain the benefits, which include lifting and toning muscles in the face, Lisa assured fans the procedure was completely pain free.

She divulged: "For those who ask if it hurts, it really doesn’t- i honestly wouldn’t keep going back and paying for a treatment that hurts, it’s actually so relaxing it’s like the body just goes ahhhhhhh when the first needles goes in.

"Sarah also uses LED lights on my tummy to help soothe my digestive and adds the lights to my face once all the needles are in and also does a reflexology treatment with her healing hands. It’s a proper treat for the whole body.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NINTCHDBPICT000421037925.jpg?w=960
The beauty swears by the treatment INSTAGRAM

https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/NINTCHDBPICT000421037922.jpg?w=960
Lisa admitted drinking 'her body weight in tequila and vodka' during her recent US holiday INSTAGRAM



This Sun article is so funny I couldn't resist posting it.

GeneChing
01-25-2019, 10:36 AM
Actually this article was from last year, but late last year.

Astonishing for Tennessee. That's where our east coast Tiger Claw office (https://www.tigerclaw.com/help.php?section=about) is located, but I've never been there.


BlueCross removes Oxycontin, adds acupuncture amid opioid crisis (https://dailymemphian.com/article/2059/BlueCross-removes-Oxycontin-adds-acupuncture-amid-opioid-crisis)
By Michelle Corbet
Updated: December 26, 2018 4:50 PM CT

https://dailymemphian.com/api/image/4190/960
Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee will no longer cover prescriptions for Oxycontin, replacing the class II narcotic with more tamper-resistant drugs. As an alternative to opioids, BCBS will now cover acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine practice used to relieve pain and treat other conditions. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)

Tennessee’s largest health insurance provider realized it was not part of the solution. It was part of the problem.

For the past six years, BlueCross BlueShield (BCBS) of Tennessee has been working to curb the number of available opioids, after noting a significant increase in newborns experiencing opioid withdrawal in 2010.

In 2019, the health benefits nonprofit is removing Oxycontin, one of the most sought-after opioids on the street, from its list of covered drugs entirely, and implementing even stricter policies around all opioid prescriptions.

Changes in 2019

Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, BCBS will no longer cover prescriptions for Oxycontin, replacing the class II narcotic with more tamper-resistant drugs.

“We know Oxycontin has become a favorite drug to abuse on the streets,” said Dr. Andrea Willis, chief medical officer for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.

The insurance provider is replacing Oxycontin with Xtampza and Morphabond, whose formulas make them more difficult to crush and delay the high.

Although the replacement drugs cost more, BCBS will keep member co-pays the same as they were for Oxycontin.

Also, effective Jan. 1, prior authorization, in which a physician needs to obtain approval from the health insurance provider before prescribing, will be required for short-acting opioids that can be dosed every four hours.

Seven-day or less supplies will not be required to go through the additional rigor to authorize.

“We don’t want people to get addicted in the first place,” Willis said. “The longer you’re on them, the more likely you’ll get addicted.”

BCBS is also lowering the daily maximum morphine milligram equivalent (MME) of any opioid, patch, pill or syrup, to 120 ml.

“We feel that’s still too high, but that’s where Medicare will be,” Willis said. “Higher doses overtime have not been shown to reduce pain anymore.”

BCBS is following the best practices and chronic pain guidelines set out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“There are receptors all over the body – the GI tract, nervous system. Giving a higher dose affects those other receptors too,” Willis explained.

BCBS is implementing safeguards against dangerous drug combinations, such as opioids in conjunction with muscle relaxants, by equipping its system with alerts.

Doctors would be the first to receive the alert. If they do not catch it, the pharmacist will also be alerted when a patient attempts to fill the drug combination.

“Conversations on many levels will need to take place when that is detected,” Willis said.

As an alternative to opioids, BCBS will now cover acupuncture, a traditional Chinese medicine practice in which thin needles are inserted in key points of the body to relieve pain and treat other conditions.

Acupuncture has been shown to have a relevant effect on chronic pain that persists over time that cannot be solely explained by placebo effects, according to research by the Acupuncture Trialists' Collaboration, published in the May 2018 edition of The Journal of Pain, the official journal of the American Pain Society.

BCBS is encouraging providers to ask questions such as — have you ever been diagnosed with addiction? does addiction run in your family? have you ever had a problem getting off of a substance? — to identify members who could be at risk of opioid addiction.

“The beauty of all these efforts is to let everyone know they can be at risk,” Willis said. “People may not know they have a predisposition until asked.”

BCBS of Tennessee's efforts historically

There have been more than 4,000 reported cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS), a condition in which an infant experiences withdrawal from opioid substances the mother took during pregnancy, since the Tennessee Department of Health began tracking it in 2013.

In 2016, the rate of babies being born with NAS was more than 60 per 1,000 live births in northeast Tennessee.

“What was happening in East Tennessee made us have to focus on the broader problem,” Willis said. “We knew it was a public health problem, and that we weren’t part of the solution. We were part of the problem.”

While East Tennessee highlighted the problem, the crisis was happening all across the state and country.

Tennessee has the third highest per-capita opioid prescription rate in the entire U.S., down from the second highest in 2016. About 1,200 Tennesseans died from an opioid overdose in 2017.

“What was happening in East Tennessee made us have to focus on the broader problem. We knew it was a public health problem, and that we weren’t part of the solution. We were part of the problem.”
Dr. Andrea Willis, Chief Medical Officer for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee

In 2015, BCBS covered 1 million opioid prescriptions.

In July 2016, BCBS started requiring prior authorization for long-acting opioids that are taken at 12 to 24-hour intervals.

“If you have not been on opioids at all, then you should not get started on long-acting opioids right out of the gate,” Willis said.

In January 2016, BCBS broke its silence and got in line with the national movement to limit the quantity of opioid medications.

In addition to those who were prescribed opioids for the first time, in January 2017, BCBS also required prior authorization for those who were currently on opioids.

“We found through data, some people were on opioids for years and years. The reason why they were put on opioids in the first place was no longer relevant,” Willis said.

BCBS also set the MME of all opioids to 200 ml, which was consistent with Medicare at the time.

"There were 12 million less pills in the hands of BCBS members," Willis said. "That was a huge accomplishment.”

People were also discarding pills at a record high with the launch of the "Count it. Lock it. Drop it." awareness campaign supported by the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation and other state agencies. The public was encouraged to count the opioids they have in possession, lock them up and when they no longer need them or they expire, dispose of them at an appropriate site.

Since 2013, BCBS’ health foundation has invested more than $5.4 million in prevention and treatment support.

“We’ve made progress, but we still have a ways to go,” Willis said.


Michelle Corbet
Michelle Corbet covers business for The Daily Memphian. Prior to, she was a reporter at the Memphis Business Journal. A native Memphian and University of Memphis graduate, Michelle covered business in Conway, Arkansas after college. Michelle got her start covering business as an intern at The Commercial Appeal.

GeneChing
01-30-2019, 01:41 PM
Some needlers are makin bank.


Jan 30, 2019, 12:11pm
The New Wall Street Power Lunch? It's Acupuncture. (https://www.forbes.com/sites/tiffanyleigh/2019/01/30/the-new-wall-street-power-lunch-its-acupuncture/#3e09e3d47ebe)
Tiffany Leigh
Contributor
ForbesLife
I cover fashion, beauty, health+wellness, style, and culture.

Working in a high-pressure job can be taxing on your health and can lead to ailments such as mood irregularities, fatigue, insomnia, migraines and muscle tension.

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftiffanyleigh%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F 01%2F6.jpg
Acupuncture is a burgeoning trend on Wall Street. ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

Wall Street executives are a prime example of those who suffer from such concerns. So what's the cure? Increasingly popular acupuncture sessions at Advanced Holistic Center. With multiple locations and providers across Manhattan, there's been a marked demand in seeking out alternative forms and approaches to health and wellness by high-powered finance players such as employees of Goldman Sachs, the Federal Reserve, Deutsche Bank, Bloomberg and Morgan Stanley.

Irina Logman L.Ac, MSTOM. is a New York and Florida State licensed acupuncturist and a Nationally Board Certified herbalist. As an industry leader, she started Advanced Holistic Center nearly two decades ago. Trained in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in New York City, she graduated within the top 1% of her class. In coming from a family of medical practitioners and doctors, she marries Eastern and Western medical philosophies to offer proactive approaches to care.

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftiffanyleigh%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F 01%2F28423595_1565994816853041_8650530103461582216 _o-1200x800.jpg
Irina (center, front) and her team. ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

Irina explains that "we are recognizing the need to protect against the physical and mental damage of stress. Many are now are choosing to stop by a local acupuncturist during their lunch hour, as it has been proven to help relieve a plethora of medical issues."

More interesting is that, according to Logman, New Yorkers working in finance are the center's main source of income. "I've definitely noticed an overall growing trend. When I began my practice in Brooklyn 15 years ago, I never imagined that I'd be in the hub of Wall Street treating the finance crowd (with bookings primarily done by males) - but it makes sense. They're oftentimes overburdened, overworked and stressed. With a wealth of options that go beyond traditional modes of healing, many are willing to explore more holistic/alternative routes. And most recognize that popping a pill to manage anxiety, insomnia, depression and/or concentration difficulties as an acceptable in-the-moment solution; however, it only offers a quick fix. It's more important to cultivate lifestyle modalities of being that offer lasting benefits, which include regular exercise, a healthy diet and a mindfulness program."

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftiffanyleigh%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F 01%2F7.jpg
Afraid of needles? No need to be squeamish, Irina says. Acupuncture needles are made of stainless steel and generally vary in gauge (thickness) from .16 to .25mm, that's approximately the same thickness of a strand of hair. Needle fear is common, but acupuncture needles are much thinner than the ones we are accustomed to seeing in medical settings. Length and thickness use is dependent on the patient's comfort level as well the varying degree of working on delicate/sensitive parts of the body. For instance, long needles are used for muscular/fleshy areas (glutes/thighs). Short and thin needles are used for bony areas such as wrists and ankles. ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

For skeptics out there, many wonder if it works and if results are instantaneous. Irina says "there's a large body of clinical research in reputable journals that offer supporting evidence of acupuncture being effective to address pain complaints. These include back, hip, knee pain, and headaches being the most common issues people come to us for. And not only that, it's able to target the root source of the problem. After the treatment, most people report less strain and a general sense of well-being. It all depends on the patient and his/her condition. Relief can oftentimes be felt immediately following the treatment, but it usually takes a few sessions to get significant results." And support is being acknowledged and provided by mainstream entities, "it is considered medically necessary by most insurance companies - which implies that the larger community is embracing more well-rounded approaches to pain prevention and/or management."

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftiffanyleigh%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F 01%2F48424986_1958016584317527_4154062553028231168 _o.jpg
Irina explains that "nearly 8 out of 10 people suffer from back pain at some point during their life. It is one of the top reasons people seek out medical care. The good news is, acupuncture can help." ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

How or why does it work? Irina says that "acupuncture releases 'happy' hormones called endorphins. It lowers the threshold of pain and allows your body to switch from living in fight/flight mode to rest and digest mode (sympathetic nervous system vs. parasympathetic nervous system)."

Before beginning the session, the first step is establishing a comfortable and trusting relationship. So communicating with your acupuncturist is essential. "Especially for first-timers, he/she can experience many different sensations. The practitioner should always create an environment where the patient feels free to describe these sensations and ask if they are normal. This keeps him/her calm, reassured and informed throughout the process," Logman explains. Practitioners can also offer additional modalities of healing to couple with the current treatment. After an initial verbal consultation, Logman will feel your wrists and ask to see your tongue. Both provide a "window" into the state and health of the patient. She explains that "in Chinese medicine, tongue diagnosis is a primary method for learning what is going on internally. The tongue is a microcosm for the entire body, and we can learn about each organ by looking at different parts of the tongue; we examine the shape, color, coating, and cracks. It is a helpful tool for diagnosis and subsequent treatment."

continued next post

GeneChing
01-30-2019, 01:41 PM
https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftiffanyleigh%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F 01%2F31349911_1625706284215227_1274750570254062769 _n.jpg
Looking at the tongue as a means of initial diagnosis to help inform subsequent treatment. ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

From there, Logman and her team ask clients about points of pain they want to address. As per Chinese medicine, the Meridian system informs her acupuncture practice - which is the act of restoring the balance of energy (qi) in the body. Once balance is restored, health can be revived and maintained. " We insert the needles into specific acupuncture points - different channels or meridians that run along the body. These channels connect different parts of the body and to each other - forming a connective web throughout the entire being. And along these channels are specific acupuncture points, each with its own function. A skilled acupuncturist can find these points with a combination of point location and feeling for the points with touch. We then tap into the acupuncture points with the needles. By doing this, we are activating the functions of the different points and also sending messages across the meridian web to promote healing and release tension/pain."

https://thumbor.forbes.com/thumbor/960x0/https%3A%2F%2Fblogs-images.forbes.com%2Ftiffanyleigh%2Ffiles%2F2019%2F 01%2F44039963_1858058820979971_6698763296461291520 _o.jpg
Irina says that "Chinese medicine uses the meridian system to restore the balance of vital energy (qi) in the body. Once balance is restored, health can be maintained" ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

Because the procedure is considered 'invasive' (after-all, needles are being inserted into your body), this kind of treatment requires a lot of tact and thoughtfulness. At Advanced Holistic Center, aid is intuitive and depending on the level of comfort and pain tolerance of the patient, Logman and her team will sometimes couple acupuncture with additional forms of treatment such as e-stim (electric stimulation). "By sending electricity through the needles we can make the muscles contract and then relax. E-stim is administered by first inserting needles via regular acupuncture (points) and then attaching wires to the needles with clips. We then send electrical impulse through the wire; this causes the acupuncture point to be continuously stimulated and sometimes produces a 'jump' or contraction in the muscle." A "tamer" approach that can be an alternative or addition to treatment is the use of heat lamps which 'hover' over the most strained part of the body. Doing this allows for swifter absorption. Irina explains that, "in Chinese medicine, pain is due to stagnation - so where there isn't a sufficient flow of energy and blood - it stagnates and creates pain. While western medicine will use e.g. ice for pain and injury, we opt for heat because it speeds up movement and flow, as opposed to cold - which slows it down."

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Electric stimulation (e-stim) applied to a client. E-stim is successful at treating conditions such as: chronic pain, neurological disorders, and muscle spasm and injury. ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

It can often be overlooked, but this holistic maintenance of well-being is directly related to external and internal beauty. Irina explains how it works: "Acupuncture improves blood flow and creates micro-trauma to allow new collagen to form. It also helps restore and balance emotions, therefore preventing wrinkles from forming. In reference to the face, each wrinkle is directly reflective of any emotional imbalance. Frown lines, for instance, are from liver qi stagnation. Once liver energy is balanced, you should feel no need to frown and your face will look more relaxed." Clients can take it a step further and opt for facial acupuncture which addresses such issues/concerns directly. "The face and skin are initial indicators of the state of our internal organs. If there's any imbalance, they will manifest as puffiness, sagging, premature aging, etc. When I treat the face with acupuncture, it offers facial rejuvenation (a treatment within the Chinese medicine wheelhouse). By inserting very thin needles into specific parts of the face, collagen promotion occurs, along with lymphatic drainage and blood circulation - all of which restore vital nutrients and oxygen to the skin cells. Elasticity is improved and can eliminate fine lines and wrinkles."

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Facial acupuncture ADVANCED HOLISTIC CENTER

We often live in a world that is reactive to external stimuli and stress. Acupuncture not only heals but is a proactive form of care because it endeavors to identify imbalances and offer preventative work to further stop symptoms and new ones from developing. Irina supports this observation: "I note that the long-term, low grade stress that we are all exposed to on a daily basis can be extremely detrimental to our physical and mental states. 'Fight or flight' modes of being should only be turned on in extreme danger. Acupuncture is able to turn off these overactive and draining stress responses and thereby allows our bodies to not overreact to every little stimuli."

Well played Irina. Got in Forbes.

GeneChing
03-14-2019, 08:46 AM
THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2019
In fight against opioid crisis, Governor’s Task Force endorses ear acupuncture (https://manchesterinklink.com/in-fight-against-opioid-crisis-governors-task-force-endorses-ear-acupuncture/)
Monday, March 11, 2019 Elizabeth Ropp & Eric Zulaski

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Acupuncture Detoxification Specialist practices her skills during a training in Manchester. Photo by Eric Zulaski

Last week, Governor Sununu’s Recovery Task Force showed unanimous support to expand Ear Acupuncture services in New Hampshire. As one of seven task forces that form the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Other Drugs, the Recovery Task Force will present their recommendation to the Commission next month.

Meeting minutes from Friday, March 8 state that a motion was made by Kristine Paquette to recommend to the Governor’s Commission the following:

“Support the expansion of ear acupuncture services that follow the NADA protocol or equivalent training throughout New Hampshire to Peer Recovery Coaches and Peer Recovery organizations.”

The task force’s recommendation came after a February presentation by members of the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA).

“Since the 1970s, ear acupuncture has proven to be an effective adjunct treatment for early and long term recovery,” says Laura Cooley, trainer of the NADA protocol. “With the new state law that allows peer counselors and recovery coaches to practice ear acupuncture, we hope to see the practice widely adopted so we can be better equipped to serve the needs of people in recovery.”

Keith Howard, Task Force chair and Executive Director of Hope for New Hampshire Recovery, stated in a previous meeting, “I have expressed skepticism. But from what I’ve seen it does no harm and it seems to do some good. I talk to people who have experienced the treatment. Eighty-percent of the people I talk to [about ear acupuncture] report a positive experience after treatment. Twenty percent feel no change whatsoever. No one has mentioned to me a negative experience from receiving ear acupuncture.”

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognizes ear acupuncture for the treatment of addictions. SAMSHA is a branch of the US Department of Health and Human Services.

THREADS
Acupuncture (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?2790-Acupuncture)
Auricular Therapy (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?15874-Auricular-Therapy)

GeneChing
07-02-2019, 08:14 AM
Kung Fu
Xu Xiaodong mocks ‘acupuncture master’ Huo Yanshan for ‘fake’ win over Chinese Sanda fighter (https://www.scmp.com/sport/martial-arts/kung-fu/article/3016982/xu-xiaodong-mocks-acupuncture-master-huo-yanshan-fake)
Huo Yanshan ‘beats’ supposed Chinese Sanda fighter with a comical blow to the chest – and gives him some acupressure karate chops to alleviate the pain
Chinese MMA fighter Xu challenges Huo to a fight so he can ‘defend the dignity of Sanda’
Nicolas Atkin
Published: 7:44pm, 2 Jul, 2019

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/styles/1200x800/public/d8/images/methode/2019/07/02/e801f95c-9cba-11e9-baa5-dd214ed0de8f_image_hires_194446.jpg?itok=zoTP5xnC&v=1562067891
Huo Yanshan faces off against the supposed Chinese Sanda fighter – who flops to the floor in faux agony. Photos: Fighting World

Xu Xiaodong has mocked a “fake” kung fu practitioner, ridiculing Huo Yanshan as the “acupuncture master” after he won what clearly appears to be a staged bout in China against a supposed Sanda fighter.
Dressed in traditional martial arts attire but wearing boxing gloves for last weekend’s fight, Huo circled around the ring with his opponent before checking a couple of his kicks.
The “Sanda fighter” then flopped to the floor after one mighty chop to his left pectoral from Huo, and rolled around for a bit while clutching his upper body and grimacing slightly.
Huo danced around the ring celebrating while the commentators screamed in awe at his “knockout”, but our honourable master made sure to go back and check on his opponent – and this is where things got really silly.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIwVzcY_NW0

Huo helped his opponent up to his feet with the Sanda fighter comically stumbling and shaking as his team tried to prop him up.
A member of his team then delivered some acupressure chops to his back to help alleviate the pain (even though he was hit on the chest).

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/07/02/d53b61ba-9cb9-11e9-baa5-dd214ed0de8f_1320x770_194446.jpg
Huo Yanshan gives his opponent some acupuncture to alleviate the pain as he is carried out of the ring.

Huo also helpfully joined in with some gentle acupuncture chops of his own as his stricken opponent was carried out of the ring.
It didn’t take long for Huo to start boasting of his momentous victory on Chinese social media, either.
“After my fight, many people requested a fight against me,” Huo said in a video. “I hereby state I would accept any of form of fight, provided it is going to be held on a reasonable and legal platform.”

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/07/02/7b41adfe-9cb9-11e9-baa5-dd214ed0de8f_1320x770_194446.jpg
Huo Yanshan fells his opponent with an almighty chop to the chest.

Well, as we know well enough by now, outspoken Chinese MMA fighter Xu doesn’t need a second invitation to challenge what he sees as traditional martial arts frauds.
“This chap is the disciple of Taiji cheater Chen Xiaowang – the so called acupuncture cheating master Huo Yanshan,” Xu wrote in a post on his Weibo account.
Chen is the taijiquan “grandmaster” who successfully sued Xu in the Chinese courts last month. Xu was ordered to publicly apologise and had to pay damages of around 400,000 yuan.

https://cdn.i-scmp.com/sites/default/files/d8/images/methode/2019/07/02/ea168ea2-9cb9-11e9-baa5-dd214ed0de8f_1320x770_194446.jpg
Huo Yanshan’s opponent is helped to his feet by his team after his flop.

“I, Xu Xiaodong, will be the first one to go and fight against this fake master,” he added.
“I call for organisers from all over the world to contact me for the fight and also give me an appearance fee to support my living!
“I am not joking, a fight of any kind will do. Please contact me as I will wait for you. Xu Xiaodong will fight for the dignity of Chinese Sanda.”

THREADS
Xu Xiaodong (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?70253-Xu-Xiaodong-Challenges-to-Kung-Fu)
no touch knockdown in MMA (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?59345-no-touch-knockdown-in-MMA)
Acupuncture (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?2790-Acupuncture)

herb ox
07-31-2019, 07:23 AM
I dunno - looks like dim mak to me :D

GeneChing
09-06-2019, 08:45 AM
Follow the link for the paper.


Acupuncture attenuates alcohol dependence through activation of endorphinergic input to the nucleus accumbens from the arcuate nucleus (https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/9/eaax1342)
Suchan Chang1, Dan Hyo Kim1, Eun Young Jang1, Seong Shoon Yoon1, Young Seob Gwak2, Yoo Jung Yi1, Jun Yeon Lee1, Song Hee Ahn1, Jin Mook Kim1, Yeon-Hee Ryu3, Seung-Nam Kim4, Hyo Sun Roh4, Mi-Young Lee5, Sang Chan Kim1, Bong Hyo Lee1, Hee Young Kim1,* and Chae Ha Yang1,*

Science Advances 04 Sep 2019:
Vol. 5, no. 9, eaax1342
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aax1342

Abstract
A withdrawal-associated impairment in β-endorphin neurotransmission in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) of the hypothalamus is associated with alcohol dependence characterized by a chronic relapsing disorder. Although acupuncture activates β-endorphin neurons in the ARC projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a role for ARC β-endorphin neurons in alcohol dependence and acupuncture effects has not been examined. Here, we show that acupuncture at Shenmen (HT7) points attenuates behavioral manifestation of alcohol dependence by activating endorphinergic input to the NAc from the ARC. Acupuncture attenuated ethanol withdrawal tremor, anxiety-like behaviors, and ethanol self-administration in ethanol-dependent rats, which are mimicked by local injection of β-endorphin into the NAc. Acupuncture also reversed the decreased β-endorphin levels in the NAc and a reduction of neuronal activity in the ARC during ethanol withdrawal. These results suggest that acupuncture may provide a novel, potential treatment strategy for alcohol use disorder by direct activation of the brain pathway.

GeneChing
09-23-2019, 09:10 AM
New acupuncture textbook marketed in U.S. as needle technique becomes popular (http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/15/c_138392169.htm)
Source: Xinhua| 2019-09-15 04:52:47|Editor: xuxin

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/15/138392169_15685064413051n.jpg
Acupuncture experts unveil the fourth English edition of "Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion" in Maryland, the United States, on Sept. 14, 2019. The new edition of a widely-received international acupuncture textbook was marketed in the United States on Saturday, offering a long-awaited tutorial for the growing number of acupuncture practitioners in the country. (Xinhua/Zhou Zhou)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The new edition of a widely-received international acupuncture textbook was marketed in the United States on Saturday, offering a long-awaited tutorial for the growing number of acupuncture practitioners in the country.

"Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion," initially edited by the late Chinese acupuncture master Cheng Xinnong, included, in its fourth English edition, treatment techniques for more common diseases for modern people.

Also, it was more integrated with World Health Organization medical standards in describing the locations and structures of acupoints, the specific points on the body where a needle is inserted, said Cheng Kai, an editor of the new book and professor in Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, at the launching ceremony.

Allyson Wilson, an acupuncture therapist, told Xinhua that "it is the basic in the United States you have to read to begin understanding the traditional Chinese medicine."

Acupuncture, which has been practiced in China for thousands of years, is being increasingly embraced by patients and doctors in the United States. There are about 38,000 licensed acupuncturists and more than 60 authorized acupuncture schools in the country.

Megan Haunges, administrative dean of New York College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, told Xinhua that the new edition would be helpful to the new generation of students who came from all walks of life. Haunges' school taught 200 students including physical therapists and nurses.

Now, the U.S. medicare and medicaid are looking to acupuncture as a way to address the opioid crisis in the country, according to Haunges. The United States is seeking non-pharmaceutical approaches to pain management and addiction, and the acupuncture is one of the most promising therapies.

"The acupuncture is becoming better known and integrated into the general health care, like the cancer hospitals," said Wilson, who taught 150 students at Atlantic Institute of Oriental Medicine in Florida.

Hundreds of clinical studies on the benefits of acupuncture show that it improves conditions ranging from back pain to nausea and even depression, insomnia, and infertility, according to the Center for Integrative Medicine at University of California, San Diego.

Cheng Kai, the grandson of Cheng Xinnong, also gave a lecture on Saturday on the ongoing two-day seminar where nearly 100 acupuncture therapists from across the country joined to learn the needle techniques.

Acupuncture has shown effectiveness in treating emotional, metabolic, degenerative, neurological, digestive and reproductive system diseases, according to Cheng.

At the U.S. Center for Chinese Medicine in Maryland, Cheng demonstrated how to stick the needle tips into the proper depths to solve shoulder and back problems, and how to use a Virtual Reality system to improve acupuncture teachings.

http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-09/15/138392169_15685064570481n.jpg

Cheng Kai (2nd L), an editor of the new book "Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion" and professor in Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, demonstrates the needle therapy at an acupuncture seminar in Maryland, the United States, on Sept. 14, 2019. The new edition of a widely-received international acupuncture textbook was marketed in the United States on Saturday, offering a long-awaited tutorial for the growing number of acupuncture practitioners in the country. (Xinhua/Zhou Zhou)


THREADS
Acupuncture (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?2790-Acupuncture)
specific book recommendations? (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?20938-specific-book-recommendations)

GeneChing
10-17-2019, 10:14 AM
Salma Hayek posts nude photo of herself getting acupuncture (https://pagesix.com/2019/10/15/salma-hayek-posts-nude-photo-of-herself-getting-acupuncture/)
By Eileen Reslen October 15, 2019 | 10:46am


salmahayek (https://www.instagram.com/p/B3mlk8oJH6Y/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=dlfix)
Verified


https://scontent-sjc3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/d09841df0d92e88336176b022eac6e42/5E30CB33/t51.2885-15/e35/s1080x1080/70054654_583562162182661_95401913765461646_n.jpg?_ nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_cat=1

Liked by
jedinitekrew.emperor
and
salmahayek
Verified
I’m very grateful to all of you for your love and support. Yaaaay!!! You have gotten me to the 12 million!!! A needle for health and well-being representing each million of you. Gracias a todos ustedes por su cariño y apoyo. Braaavoooo!!! Ya llegamos a los 12 millones! Una aguja de salud y bienestar representando cada uno de los millones.

Salma Hayek gave her fans a special thank you gift for following her on Instagram: a nude photo.

The 53-year-old actress posted a photo Monday in which she appears topless and her lower back is visible.

She captioned the pic, “I’m very grateful to all of you for your love and support. Yaaaay!!! You have gotten me to the 12 million!!!”

Hayek, who was getting acupuncture when the picture was taken, explained, “A needle for health and well-being representing each million of you.”

She also translated the message in Spanish for her international followers.

The photo has received more than 700,000 likes as of Tuesday morning.

This is not the first time Hayek has shared a revealing picture of herself on social media.

In September, the “Frida” star posted a picture of herself in a sexy, blue bikini to celebrate her most recent birthday with the caption, “Yes, tomorrow I’m 53. So!?”

Yes, I'm one of Salma's 12 million gram followers. I met her once, at the Puss in Boots (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/index.php?p=article&article=1008) premiere. She is even more gorgeous in person. Photos just don't do her justice. Here's mine from our Puss in Boots facebook album (https://www.facebook.com/pg/Kung-Fu-Tai-Chi-Magazine-135964689362/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10150428475014363).

https://scontent-sjc3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/316300_10150428476864363_313576069_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1 07&_nc_oc=AQkmQS9bsQVmm8oWiPmxAkovv2oxLZSBKsUVEmSFruK WpZInbGPsdxEU6M1iZCDc-6U&_nc_ht=scontent-sjc3-1.xx&oh=a68a090a9764bae3c20c7775df76abad&oe=5E26533B

THREADS
Celebrities endorsing TCM (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?57050-Celebrities-endorsing-TCM)
Acupuncture (http://www.kungfumagazine.com/forum/showthread.php?2790-Acupuncture)