Acupuncture
Acupuncture had been practised effectively for over 2000 years.
Acupressure has Calming Effect on Children
Tom Vasich tellls us that UC Irvine anesthesiologists have learned that an acupressure treatment applied to children undergoing anesthesia noticeably lowers their anxiety levels and makes the stress of surgery more calming for them and their families,
Dr. Zeev Kain, anesthesiology and perioperative care chair, and his Yale University collaborator Dr. Shu-Ming Wang, saya that this noninvasive, drug-free method is an effective, complementary anxiety-relief therapy for children during surgical preparation. Sedatives currently used before anesthesia can cause nausea and prolong sedation.
“Anxiety in children before surgery is bad because of the emotional toll on the child and parents, and this anxiety can lead to prolonged recovery and the increased use of analgesics for postoperative pain,” said Kain, who led the acupressure study. “What’s great about the use of acupressure is that it costs very little and has no side effects.”
In this study, Kain and his Yale colleagues applied adhesive acupressure beads to 52 children between the ages of 8 and 17 who were to undergo endoscopic stomach surgery. In half the children, a bead was applied to the Extra-1 acupoint, which is located in the midpoint between the eyebrows. In the other half, the bead was applied to a spot above the left eyebrow that has no reported clinical effects.
After thirty minutes, the researchers noted decreased anxiety levels in the children who had the beads applied to the Extra-1 acupoint. In turn, anxiety levels increased in the other group. Overall, they found the use of acupressure had no effect on the surgical procedure.
“As anesthesiologists, we need to look at all therapeutic opportunities to make the surgical process less stressful for all patients,” Kain said. “We can’t assume that Western medical approaches are the only viable ones, and we have an obligation to look at integrative treatments like acupressure as a way to improve the surgery experience.”
Vasich ends by saying "Surgery is traumatic for most children, and Kain leads research to find integrative methods, such as soothing music, massage, and Chinese acupuncture and acupressure treatments, to make the surgical period more calming for patients and their families".
Reference:
Source: http://www.healthcare.uci.edu, Posted on Sept. 30, 2008
Author: Tom Vasich
Article Name: Acupressure Calms Children Before Surgery
Acupressure relieves Nausea in Chemo Patients
Acupressure—the application of pressure to specific points along the body's meridians—is frequently utilized by massage therapists.
New research shows acupressure may be effective in reducing chemotherapy-related nausea and may decrease the use of drugs to control vomiting after chemotherapy.
The study consisted of 34 patients with gynecologic cancer. The acupressure was applied to the pericardium 6 (P6 or Neiguan) acupuncture point with a wristband, according to an abstract published on www.pubmed.gov.
"We found a significant decrease in the patients' mean scores of nausea and the use of antiemetic [anti-vomiting] medications following acupressure applied
to the patients with a wristband, when compared with their mean scores of nausea and the use of antiemetic medications prior to the application," the researchers noted.
The research was reported in the European Journal of Oncology Nursing.
Previous research reported by MASSAGE Magazine showed acupressure and meridian massage applied three times per day for 10 days resulted in significant weight gain among premature infants; acupressure may reduce sleepiness and help keep students awake during class; and acupressure was effective in reducing low back pain, with effects lasting for six months.
Acupuncture & Infertility
Health NewsView in an article posted on Sept 8, 2008, tells us that Infertility problems, caused by polycystic ovary syndrome, may be helped by acupuncture, a U.S. researcher suggests.
University of Virginia Health System's Lisa Pastore reports preliminary results in a trial in which she showed acupuncture may help women with PCOS -- a disease that causes hormone imbalances that interfere with ovulation and can cause infertility.
They continues to say that "over the last year we have seen women who never had a regular menstrual cycle start having regular periods.
We can also boast several pregnancies since the study began," Pastore says in a statement. "Now we would like to recruit more people to the study in order to complete the acupuncture study.
It is important for research to have enough participants to ensure that the results are scientifically credible and not due to chance."
Five percent of reproductive age women are affected by PCOS, Pastore says. Symptoms can include small cysts on the ovaries, infrequent or irregular vaginal bleeding, male-pattern hair growth and acne. Insulin resistance and pre-diabetes can also develop.
Health NewsView concludes by saying "While there are many traditional drugs and therapies that manage PCOS, Pastore says, if acupuncture proves useful it would provide an alternative, non-drug therapy to help women deal with PCOS symptoms. "
Reference:
Source: Health NewsView, Published: Sept. 8, 2008
Article Name: Acupuncture may help with infertility
Acupuncture Eases Radiation-induced Dry Mouth In Cancer Patients
Twice weekly acupuncture treatments relieve debilitating symptoms of xerostomia - severe dry mouth - among patients treated with radiation for head and neck cancer, as reported by researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in the current online issue of Head & Neck.
Dry mouth, Xerostomia, develops after the salivary glands have been exposed to repeated doses of therapeutic radiation. People who have cancers of the head and neck typically receive large cumulative doses, rendering the salivary glands incapable of producing adequate saliva, said Mark S. Chambers, M.S., D.M.D., a professor in the Department of Dental Oncology. Saliva substitutes, lozenges and chewing gum bring only temporary relief, and the commonly prescribed medication, pilocarpine, has short-lived benefits and bothersome side effects of its own.
"The quality of life in patients with radiation-induced xerostomia is profoundly impaired," said Chambers, the study's senior author. "Symptoms can include altered taste acuity, dental decay, infections of the tissues of the mouth, and difficulty with speaking, eating and swallowing. Conventional treatments have been less than optimal, providing short-term response at best."
M. Kay Garcia, LAc, Dr.P.H., a clinical nurse specialist and acupuncturist in M. D. Anderson's Integrative Medicine Program and the study's first author, noted that patients with xerostomia may also develop nutritional deficits that can become irreversible.
Garcia, Chambers and their team of researchers conducted a pilot study to determine whether acupuncture could reverse dry mouth, xerostomia. Acupuncture therapy is based on the ancient Chinese practice of inserting and manipulating very thin needles at precise points on the body to relieve pain or otherwise restore health. In traditional Chinese medicine, stimulating these points is believed to improve the flow of vital energy through the body. Contemporary theories about acupuncture's benefits include the suggestion that needle manipulation stimulates natural substances that dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow to different areas of the body.
The M. D. Anderson study included 19 patients with xerostomia who had completed radiation therapy at least four weeks earlier. The patients were given two acupuncture treatments each week for four weeks. The acupuncture points used in the treatment were located on the ears, chin, index finger, forearm and lateral surface of the leg. All patients were tested for saliva flow and asked to complete self-assessments and questionnaires related to their symptoms and quality of life before the first treatment, after completion of four weeks of acupuncture, and again four weeks later.
The twice weekly acupuncture treatments produced highly statistically significant improvements in symptoms. Measurement tools included: the Xerostomia Inventory, asking patients to rate the dryness of their mouth and other related symptoms; and the Patient Benefit Questionnaire, inquiring about issues such as mouth and tongue discomfort; difficulties in speaking, eating and sleeping; and use of oral comfort aids. A quality-of-life assessment conducted at weeks five and eight showed significant improvements over quality-of-life scores recorded at the outset of the study.
"In this pilot study, patients with severe xerostomia who underwent acupuncture showed improvements in physical well-being and in subjective symptoms," Dr. Chambers said. "Although the patient population was small, the positive results are encouraging and warrant a larger trial to assess patients over a longer period of time."
Garcia said that a phase III, placebo-controlled trial is planned and is currently under review. She also noted that in other studies, the M. D. Anderson researchers are examining whether acupuncture can prevent xerostomia in patients treated for head and neck cancer, not just treat it.
"Recently, we completed a study at Fudan University Cancer Hospital in Shanghai, China that compared acupuncture to usual care to prevent xerostomia. We have now started a two-arm placebo-controlled pilot trial in Shanghai. In the prevention trials, acupuncture is performed on the same day as the radiation treatments," Garcia said.
In addition to Chambers and Garcia, other authors on the all-M. D. Anderson study include: Joseph S. Chiang, M.D. and Thomas Rahlfs, M.D., Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine; Lorenzo Cohen, Ph.D. and Qi Wei, M.S., Department of Behavioral Science/Integrative Medicine; Meide Liu, LAc, Place of Wellness; J. Lynn Palmer, Ph.D., Department of Palliative Care and Rehabilitation Medicine Research; David I. Rosenthal, M.D., Department of Radiation Oncology; and Samuel Tung, M.S. and Congjun Wang, Ph.D., Department of Radiation Physics
Source:
ScienceDaily
Apr. 25, 2009
Acupuncture Effective for Headaches & Migraines
Acupuncture, an ancient Chinese needle piercing therapy, is an effective treatment for the people suffering from headaches and migraines. This has been suggested by Cochrane Researchers in two separate systematic review.
The Cochrane reviews show that the process of sticking needles in the body is an effective treatment for prevention of tension and migraine headache.
Acupuncture is a procedure adapted from ancient Chinese therapy in which certain body areas are activated by the insertion of sharp, thin needles in order to relieve pain or produce regional anesthesia.
This method is already widely used for the relief of pain. But what the novel reviews show is really amazing, saying that piercing needles into specific energy points might not be that important.
To find out whether acupuncture could reduce the occurrence of headaches, researchers in both studies conducted 33 trials, involving a total of 6,736 patients.
One study focused on 'tension-type' headaches, which are common headaches and cause frequent mild to moderate pains, whilst the other focused on migraine headaches, which are more severe but less frequent headaches.
All the study participants having either mild to moderate "tension" headaches, or migraine attacks were treated with acupuncture therapy.
After 8 weeks of treatment, acupuncture patients suffered fewer headaches than those given only painkillers.
In the migraine study, acupuncture was superior to preventive drug treatments, but so-called "sham" acupuncture treatments, in which needles were either pierced on non-traditional needle body positions or did not penetrate the skin, were no less effective.
However, in the tension headache study, acupuncture relying on traditional needle positions was actually slightly more effective than sham treatments, in which needles were inserted at incorrect points.
The latest findings clearly indicate that acupuncture could be a used as an alternative for those headache and migraine sufferers who prefer not to use drug treatments.
Acupuncture Found to Alter how Brain manages Pain
Researchers at University of Michigan have found that acupuncture alters the way the brain manages long-term pain regulation. The study suggests that the procedure increases the brain’s ability to bind pain-killing opioid drugs.
Acupuncture has been a thorn in the side of scientists for some time, no more so than this year when sham acupuncture treatment was shown to be just as effective as true treatment. How the procedure was able to relieve pain, once a mystery, now seemed to be largely a placebo effect. People felt better after acupuncture because they thought they should feel better.
But even as that study was published in BMJ, an editorial appeared in the same issue warning against drawing too many conclusions until the mechanism of acupuncture was better understood. So the hunt continued the pursuit of acupuncture’s ability to decrease chronic pain.
Using brain scans, Dr. Richard E. Harris and his team were able to see that acupuncture “increased the binding availability of mu-opoid receptors (MOR) in regions of the brain that process and dampen pain signals – specifically the cingulate, insula, caudate, thalamus and amygdala.” Opiod drugs such as morphine bind to those receptors. The researchers think that the higher binding availability caused by acupuncture enable the drugs to work more effectively in patients suffering from chronic pain.
But what of the ‘sham’ treatments? The argument becomes somewhat muddled, as the actual mechanism by which acupuncture works is still poorly understood. In the traditional procedure, needles are placed in specific tissue regions important to body meridians and Qi, a vital life force in the body. A sham procedure still uses needles, but the insertions are not in the traditional regions. Harris claims that while both procedures do cause a reduction in pain, “the mechanisms leading to pain relief are distinctly different."
With the current study, published in Journal of NeuroImage, true acupuncture has been shown to not necessarily rely on the placebo effect, that there is some physiological difference that occurs in the brain in response to the treatment. Therefore, it is thought that the procedure could be used in tandem with opioid treatments to help increase the alleviation of chronic pain. Just how sham acupuncture creates a cessation in pain remains to be seen. But if it is merely placebo, the interesting fact remains, that “needles as a placebo have a greater effect than placebo pills, for some reason that is not fully understood.”
Source:
Examiner.Com
Acupuncture Helps Labor Pain
Labor pain has been treated with Chinese Medicine for over a thousand years and now receives attention by modern researchers.
A recent study was conducted by Smith C, Collins CT, and Crowther C. Acupuncture and Acupressure for Pain Management in Labor: a systematic review appeared in the Australian Journal of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine in 2007- ;2(1):25-32.
It concludes that, “Acupuncture may be beneficial for the management of pain during labor.”
The focus of the study was to examine the effects of acupuncture and acupressure on labor pain and its relationship to maternal and perinatal morbidity.
Women receiving acupressure noted less anxiety and labor pain in clinical trials.
Women also showed significant benefits from acupuncture for pain management during labor.
The women studied were in either spontaneous or induced labor of the first or second stage.
Reference:
Source: www.healthcmi.com
Journal: The Australian Journal of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine published these findings in 2007.
Acupuncture Really Works
Acupuncture has been just scientifically proven to be able to render a pain-relieving effect by triggering a naturally occurring painkilling chemical, according to a new study published in Nature NeuroScience.
For a long time, the western medical circle ridiculed acupuncture, an ancient Chinese therapy indicated to relieve pain in patients with conditions such as arthritis, as something that works by giving some patients a placebo effect.
The current study led by Dr. Maiken Nedergaard and colleagues at the University of Rochester in New York found that acupuncture raises the level of a naturally occurring painkiller known as adenosine by more than 20 times.
The level of adenosine, a chemical that is also good for sleep and heart health, is boosted drastically when the skin suffers an injury, such as in the case of acupuncture, to inhibit nerve signals that trigger pain.
In the study, Dr. Nedergaard first demonstrated in animal models that adenosine is the painkiller induced by acupuncture and involved in the pain-relieving effect. Acupuncture did not work to relieve discomfort in mice that were unable to produce the compound.
Secondly, the researchers applied acupuncture to mice with sore paws - rotating tiny needles in points near their knees and found adenosine was boosted by 24 times and the discomfort was reduced by two-thirds.
The authors of the study also found that a drug given leukemia patients, called deoxycoformycin tripled the accumulation of adenosine when injected into mice; the duration of high levels of adenosine induced by acupuncture were also tripled.
The drug prevented the tissue from ridding itself of adenosine, thus maintaining the pain-relieving effect for a longer time.
Acupuncture Successfully treats drug & alcohol Addiction
Addiction can be a tough cycle to break.
Whether you are addicted to nicotine from years of smoking or alcohol or other drugs, the basic concept of recovery is the same.
You must find a way to detoxify your body and control the strong cravings of your addiction.
Rehabilitation clinics and centers that specialize in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) often use auricular acupuncture to treat addiction. This form of acupuncture focuses on acupoints in the ear.
Here are some guidelines or you:
1 Schedule an appointment with your primary care physician to discuss your problems with addiction. Your doctor can help you determine whether you can safely treat your addiction with acupuncture on an outpatient basis or if you should enroll in a residential detoxification program.
2 Locate a certified acupuncturist in your area who has been trained to use the NADA protocol first introduced by Dr Michael Smith MD.
Acupuncture used to treat addiction is based on a five-point auricular (ear) method developed by the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association (NADA). Acufinder, an online referral service, may assist you in find ing professionals who specialize in addiction and auricular acupuncture.
3 Enroll in an inpatient detox program that offers acupuncture to combat severe addictions to alcohol and drugs. Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center(LMMHC) in New York City was one of the first hospitals to use acupuncture in this way and remains one of the top programs in the country.
4 Begin acupuncture sessions after you have stopped smoking, drinking or using drugs. The acupuncture will help detoxify your body, alleviate physical symptoms of withdrawal and curb cravings by restoring balance to your energy system. However, the treatment will not be successful if you are still using the harmful substances.
5 Schedule two to three acupuncture appointments in the first 2 weeks to help you break your addiction to smoking. Further weekly sessions may be needed to become smoke-free and will almost certainly be required to successfully treat a drug or alcohol addiction.
6 Learn the correct way to apply acupressure to the five NADA points on your ear. The acupuncturist may attach tiny seed-like fixtures to your ear for ease of use. Once you have learned how to manipulate these points, you can help reduce your cravings in between treatments.
Source
ehowto.com
Acupuncture is Energy Medicine
Dr. Brett Kueber recalls his first experience with acupuncture. It was before the Purdue University aeronautical engineering grad went to medical school.
“My golden retriever had severe arthritis. I had to help her to even stand up,” Kueber said. The dog's quality of life was so diminished Kueber decided putting the dog to sleep was the most humane thing. But the veterinarian offered a different option.
“He told me he had just taken a course on using acupuncture in dogs. He asked if I would be willing to let him try it.” Kueber agreed. The next day at home, after the first treatment, “She ran up to me with her ball and wanted to play. She was running around like nothing was wrong.”
For Brett Kueber, it was an epiphany: “There's no placebo effect in dogs,” he said.
Seven years of medical school and residency later, plus a 300-hour course in acupuncture at UCLA's Helms Medical Institute, Kueber now incorporates acupuncture into his practice at DeKalb Medical Services in Garrett, which is affiliated with DeKalb Memorial Hospital in Auburn.
Energy-moving treatment
Twelve years ago, the National Institutes of Health issued a consensus statement on acupuncture: “There is sufficient evidence of acupuncture's value to expand its use into conventional medicine and to encourage further studies of its physiology and clinical value.” Yet a medical doctor doing acupuncture in northeast Indiana is a rarity.
“Acupuncture is an energy-moving treatment,” Kueber said. When he inserts thin needles at strategic points of the skin, turns them or applies mild electrical stimulation, the premise is the blocked energy pathway is opened. Sometimes multiple treatments are needed, other times the response is immediate, as with soft-tissue injuries.
“That's where acupuncture shines,” he said. If it's done soon after a sprained ankle, the signals from the brain that elicit a cascade of responses such as swelling and spasms are interrupted.
Studies are also looking at whether acupuncture activates natural pain-reducing chemicals in the brain. Using functional MRIs – real-time scans of the brain – changes in the pain centers during acupuncture are visible.
‘A firm believer'
Justin O'Rourke, 51, of Auburn, tried numerous things, including muscle relaxants and chiropractic, to ease the pain of a pulled hamstring. Nothing helped. A carpenter by trade, O'Rourke plays with the Indiana Dragons, a lacrosse travel team. He decided to try acupuncture.
“I was hesitant to have a bunch of needles stuck in me.” But the needles didn't hurt, he said. After four treatments, the pain was gone for good. His daughter Mollie, 19, also has found relief from headaches with acupuncture.
When he pictured trying acupuncture, O'Rourke said, “I thought you'd go in there and there'd be incense burning, beads hanging in the doorway. Dr. Kueber's office looks like any other regular doctor's office. I was skeptical … but wow, for me, I'm a firm believer.”
Military hospitals are using acupuncture to treat amputees who feel phantom pain in the missing limb. The thinking is that the treatment interferes with the brain's processing centers. In March, a pilot program was begun to train 44 U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army doctors to use acupuncture as part of emergency care in combat hospitals.
Slow to catch on
While the military health system is more aggressively embracing acupuncture, the public sector has been slow to do so. Insurance rarely covers treatments for Indiana patients. But a growing number of consumers are paying out of pocket.
In 2002, Fort Wayne internal medicine specialist Dr. Rebecca Minser moved from a large traditional medical group to an acupuncture-based practice. Like Kueber, she is a graduate of UCLA's Helms Medical Institute, which exclusively trains physicians in acupuncture.
“Medicine has become so complicated. I got really frustrated with the only tool in my toolbox being a prescription pad. So many things I saw that some effort on individuals' parts and some alternative (therapies) could do just as well as medication,” Minser said. But she does not cast aside traditional medicine. “The problem with the word alternative is it implies ‘either-or.' The whole goal is to have people realize there is a middle ground, and it can all work together.”
More time with people
About 60 percent to 70 percent of Minser's patients come for pain relief. She also does specialized allergy-focused work in a system called Nambudripan's Allergy Elimination Techniques.
“Part of what is an advantage to this kind of practice is I have more time with people,” Minser said. “I see things physicians haven't had time to see or the people haven't had time to discuss with their doctor.” People may need lab tests or X-rays. If the problem is outside her acupuncture practice, patients are referred elsewhere. She recalls one patient who had fallen off a roof and wanted acupuncture for the pain. “I told him, ‘You go get an MRI.'
“Acupuncture isn't cookie-cutter,” but neither is traditional medicine, Minser said. Prescription medicines are known not to work in 100 percent of patients. “Traditional medicine doesn't know why. Acupuncture is the same way. …
“We don't really know by stimulating those points what we're doing, but I see things I can't explain except in its own context…we're working with an energy. After that is where the art of medicine comes in.”
Acupuncture treatment for Children at Washington DC Hospital.
Dr. David Sniezek provides medical acupuncture at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC. He is also teaching doctors and his medical staff how they can help their patients by using medical acupuncture for children suffering with pain and other conditions such as nausea and vomiting.
Dr. Sniezek, is a pioneer in Integrative Rehabilitation in the Washington, DC area. He is also a graduate of the UCLA School of Medicine's Medical Acupuncture for Physicians and the Harvard Medical School's Structural Acupuncture for Physicians programs. He is Board Certified and a Fellow of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture and American Association of Integrative Medicine.
"I get great satisfaction teaching physicians, residents, and medical staff how to help their patients using safe, effective, and inexpensive strategies such as medical acupuncture."
Dr. Sniezek was invited by the Pediatric Advanced Needs Assessment and Care Team (PANDA) physicians at CNMC, to provide acupuncture for palliative care and pain management as well as participate as a clinical investigator in an NIH study using acupuncture in the treatment of children with solid tumors that suffer with nausea from chemotherapy.
He says, "I have no doubt that sharing integrative medicine strategies with my medical colleagues will turn into improved patient care and an increase in further study of complementary methods by conventional physicians. I believe that sharing the science behind acupuncture and explaining exactly how acupuncture is performed to the medical community will take some of the mystery out of it.
Acupuncture is used to treat many childhood conditions in China and we are just beginning to see the benefit of combining acupuncture with our commonly used medical treatments for both adults and children.
Especially with regard to health care, I believe that two hands are better than one and that by combining Western and Oriental medicine we can improve upon the outcomes and the overall treatment experience for our patients".
Acupuncture useful for Cancer Treatments
Mainstream medicine is becoming more accepting of other less traditional therapies.Studies have shown that complementary therapies such as acupuncture can have a broad range of benefits for cancer patients.
Acupuncture is part of ancient Chinese medicine. It's been around for thousands of years. But only recently has it been offered to help patients cope with the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.
"These are therapies that have not traditionally been part of what medicine has offered patients, like massage, nutrition, counseling, and acupuncture," said oncologist Dr. Neal Rothschild.
Complementary therapies like acupuncture can be useful in treating many side effects of cancer treatment.
"It can be very helpful with addressing the nausea and vomiting that can frequently be associated with different cancer treatments. And we've also found it is very effective in treating hot flashes which is a common side effect of some of the medications that we use, explained Dr. Rothschild.
Harmony Brown studied acupuncture in Shanghai and worked in an oncology unit there.
"Each point has a specific function. And the whole point of acupuncture is to balance. And based on each individual we come up with specific prescriptions or points to use to basically bring back balance to the body," said Brown.
And this will bring new balance to the medical field as alternative approaches work in conjunction with traditional medicine.
"Over the last few years we've seen it move more and more into the mainstream. All the major cancer centers across the country - Sloan Kettering, Dana Farber, M.D. Anderson - have started programs in integrative oncology," admitted Dr. Rothschild.
Acupuncture without using Needles?
Angela England writes for the Oklahoma Alternative Medicine Examiner. She says that for some that are curious about acupuncture, the use of needles may make them hesitant to try the technique. While acupuncture needles are very small, and do not cause painful sensations when they are used, some people cannot get past the thought of needles.
Shes suggests other options for acupuncture-type treatments, even for those with a phobia of needles.
Cupping - The use of partial vacuum by placing cups over the body has been used in traditional Chinese medicine and also in Aryuvedic medicine, the ancient healing art of India.
Moxibustion - Moxibustion is the treatment of diseases and other conditions by stimulating the acupuncture points using heat. Sometimes medicinal herb cones are burnt - mugwort is a popular herb choice. The deep heat created by the herbs stimulate the acupuncture points.
Acupressure - Another way to stimulate the meridians of the body without the use of acupuncture needles is through acupressure. Similar to the Japanese bodywork tradition of Shiatsu, acupressure works when the massage therapist uses direct pressure on the meridian points. Bodyworkers often use their fingers, elbows or fists to apply pressure to the meridian points.
Even those who are afraid of needles can enjoy the healing benefits of acupuncture. With so many conditions and complaints eased through the use of acupuncture, more and more clients are seeking qualified acupuncturists.
by Angela England,
Oklahoma Alternative Medicine Examiner
Acupuncture | Vietnamese Professor, Nguyen Tai Thu
Nguyen Tai Thu is a 79 year-old-professor, who has spent over half a century doing acupuncture, has used his needles to treat hundreds of thousands of local and foreign patients.
Thu’s acupuncture methods, particularly his techniques used to substitute or supplement anesthetic in surgery and detoxification for drug addicts have been successfully applied in Vietnam and introduced to nearly 50 countries and territories. Only 5-10 percent of his clients have been re-addicted after being treated with his acupuncture method.
“I was very concerned about how to implement effective detoxification to drug addicts, as there was a large increase in the number of addicts in Hanoi in the 90s,” Thu said. “In fact, I started to be interested in the field when I treated injured soldiers who heavily depended on pain-killers in the 70s.”
Canada, Mexico and Italy have invited him to teach the detoxification acupuncture method. Some foreign doctors have come to the Central Acupuncture Hospital to study the rudiments of Vietnamese acupuncture from Thu, who pioneered the technique.
Nguyen Tai Thu has opened acupuncture training courses in 49 countries, including the US, France, Holland, Mexico and China, as well as teaching acupuncture in English, French and Chinese.He has also helped open four acupuncture centers in Mexico, offering treatment to nearly one million Mexican residents. Robert Anaya, General Secretary of the Mexican Labor Party, on a trip to Vietnam late last year, visited Thu and thanked him for the generosity he showed to Mexico’s health sector and people.
“My greatest happiness is to see patients recover and introduce Vietnam’s valuable traditional medicine to the world,” says Thu who has devoted his life to teaching and practicing acupuncture.
Thu’s passion for medicine started when he was a young soldier. “Seeing many Vietnamese injured or killed in the war against French colonialists in 1945, I wished to study medicine to save people,” he said.
After studies in China in 1958, he returned to Vietnam and focused on researching how to apply acupuncture when there was a shortage of equipment.
“All of my studies have been conducted without using modern electronic equipment. Many nights, my late son would wake up, and seeing long needles all over my body "- as Thu tested his techniques on himself -"he would cry out, as he didn’t know what had happened”.
Thu has been honored as the “People’s Physician” and “Labor Hero,” He has helped 500,000 disabled children nationwide access free treatment, as well as over 1,200 drug addicts recover using acupuncture.
He is also a founder of the Central Acupuncture Hospital, formerly the Vietnam Acupuncture Institute, and the 25,000-member Vietnam Acupuncture Association.
Despite his age, the professor has continued studying acupuncture and treating patients.
Thu has collected money, most often from non-governmental organizations, to build an acupuncture hospital in Vietnam for disabled children. “I want the hospital’s construction to be finished soon, so that I can have more opportunity to help over three million disabled children nationwide,” he said.
He also wants to open a college and name it after himself, as he is worried that Vietnam does not have an official acupuncture training establishment yet, “I am waiting for a state license for the college. Two firms from Russia and Taiwan have expressed their interest to invest in it,” he said. “In fact, I dream of opening an acupuncture university. But, I am afraid that I’ll run out of time.”
Ear Acupuncture Helps recovering Addicts
Linda Braden Albert tells us that an old technique has become a new weapon in helping people recover from drug and alcohol addiction. Cornerstone of Recovery, a residential treatment facility for people recovering from drug and alcohol addictions, is now using auricular, or ear, acupuncture to aid in the difficult detoxification process.
Sue Orr, assessment orientation director at Cornerstone, said the ancient art of acupuncture gives clients relief from the sleeplessness, stress, cramps and other symptoms they experience while in detoxification. The process involves using small, hairline needles placed in five specific points on the surface of the ear.
"They are pretty blunt needles," Orr explained. "We're not putting anything into the patient or taking anything out of the patient, as far as any medicines, or anything. They are just very small needles placed in five very specific points on their ears."
Ear acupuncture is based on the premise that there are points for the entire body mapped out on the ear surfaces, Orr said. "What they found is a protocol specific for detox. It's actually the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association, called NADA. They developed the protocol to treat addiction using those five points. It's a technique that helps get energy flowing freely and restores balance to the body. It creates healing changes in the various functional systems of the body."
NADA believes this technique, called the acudetox program, should be used in conjunction with other treatment models, such as the 12-step program and group therapy. "It's not a standalone treatment, it needs to be used as a group-therapy setting," Orr said. "I like that. I felt like it supported what we are already doing at Cornerstone."
Clients receptive
The acudetox group at Cornerstone began about six weeks ago. The residential clients have been very receptive to the program.
"We have gotten very positive reactions from the clients," Orr said. "This is offered five days a week for the detox patients. We didn't think the patients would want it every day because they are coming and going so much in those first five days. We made it available for five days for the people who wanted it, and they have wanted it every day that they have been in detox."
Orr said clients have reported that they can sleep better -- sleeplessness is one big complaint when they first come to the facility -- and that they feel calmer.
"It allows them to rest, gives them a moment of peace, less agitation," Orr said. "We've found that clients who do utilize this are calmer. They are more pleasant to work with than the clients going through the detox and withdrawal systems. People who've utilized acudetox say they feel less withdrawal systems, less cramping, less nausea versus the people who don't utilize it. They stay the same. We don't see a marked improvement in a day like you do with the patients who are utilizing the acudetox."
Source:
Linda Braden Albert
lindaba@thedailytimes.com
January 10, 2010.
Last modified: January 09. 2010 8:41PM
IBS and other Digestive Complaints Helped with Acupuncture
In a preliminary, randomized, sham/placebo-controlled trial involving 29 men and women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), treatment with acupuncture and moxibustion, twice a week for a period of 4 weeks, was found to significantly improve symptoms of abdominal pain/discomfort, intestinal gas, bloating, and stool consistency.
Subjects who received real acupuncture and moxibustion therapy were assessed by an acupuncturist according to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and treated with an individualized acupuncture point prescription.
The results of this study are promising, suggesting that acupuncture and moxibustion therapy may be an effective treatment for managing symptoms in patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrom IBS.
Reference:
“Symptom management for irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot randomized controlled trial of acupuncture/moxibustion,” Anastasi JK, McMahon DJ, et al, Gastroenterol Nurs, 2009; 32(4): 243-55. (Address: Columbia University School of Nursing, New York, NY 10032, USA. E-mail: jka8@columbia.edu ).
Source:
Alternative Health Blog
By Derrick DeSilva Jr., M.D., Community Expert
September 9, 2009
Treating Addiction with Acupuncture
According to Claire O'Brien, “There are many different ways to treat addiction, but one Charlottesville agency is turning to an ancient method to help its clients on the road to recovery. It's literally using pins and needles to help people relax in preparation for therapy.“
She says that centuries-old medicine finds a home at Region Ten, where about a dozen people are learning how to use acupuncture to help others. Mark Farrington with the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association explains, "There are five points in each ear and so the counselor puts the needles in, puts those five points in, and the person just sits and relaxes for about 30 to 45 minutes,"
Claire O'Brien goes to say that it may seem unorthodox, but Region Ten says acupuncture can be used to help treat a lot of different kinds of addictions. According to Farrington, "It's not a cure for addiction, but it's a way to prepare people for the treatment they need."
She tells us that Farrington says auricular acupuncture, targeting specific points in the ear, helps patients by reducing anxiety and cravings. That way traditional treatments, such as counseling and therapy, have a better chance of working.
"People often use substances to deal with their feelings," said Farrington. "The acupuncture helps them to deal with those feelings in a way that's tolerable and that's why it helps to prepare them for verbal treatment."
She ends by saying Farrington says the acupuncture treatments help people stay in therapy longer and the longer they receive help, the more successful the treatment. He says he's seen a patient in a full-blown panic attack so relaxed by the acupuncture that he actually fell asleep.
Reference:
Source: http://www.nbc29.com, Posted: Oct 21, 2008
Author: Claire O'Brien
Wrist Acupuncture Prevents Nausea
Up to 80 percent of patients who have surgery complain of nausea and vomiting afterwards, but stimulating an acupoint in their wrists can help reduce these symptoms, finds a new evidence review.
Treatment for nausea and vomiting after surgery and anesthesia typically results in the use of anti-nausea (antiemetic) medications. However, the cost and side effects of these medications have raised interest in finding more simple and noninvasive ways to prevent the symptoms. The aim of the systematic review was to determine whether stimulation of the wrist acupuncture point is an effective option.
The researchers found that stimulation of the
Pericardium (P6) point is in the wrist prevents nausea and vomiting.
The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates research in all aspects of health care. Systematic reviews draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing trials on a topic.
Professor Anna Lee, researcher at the Department of Anesthesia and Intensive Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong led the current review.
Stimulating the P6 point can occur by several methods such as acupuncture or acupressure. Acupuncture involves penetrating the skin with thin, metallic needles at defined points. It is one of the main medical treatments in traditional Chinese medicine and began there more than 2,000 years ago. One type of acupressure involves wearing a wristband that presses down on the P6 point.
Lixing Lao, a licensed acupuncturist and director at the Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, described how the treatment works to prevent nausea.
“After a stimulation on the acupuncture point, the nerve system is then activated and signals the brain to release certain chemicals known as neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, dopamine or endorphins,” Lao said. “These then block the other chemicals that cause the sickness, nausea and vomiting, in this case, in the central nerve system. Therefore, the patient won’t feel that sick or nauseated.”
Lee and her colleague looke at 40 studies involving 4,858 patients. Most of the studies included healthy adults undergoing elective surgery with general anesthesia. The studies all compared the stimulation of the P6 acupoint with sham (placebo) treatment or drug therapy with antiemetics for preventing nausea and vomiting after surgery.
The studies used 10 different methods of P6 stimulation, such as needle acupuncture, laser stimulation, transcutaneous (through the skin) nerve stimulation and acupressure wristbands. They used five different antiemetic drugs.
“Of the 40 trials included, the most common method of stimulation was wristband alone, in 17 studies,” Lee said. “The wristbands used to prevent both postoperative nausea and vomiting are the same sold for seasickness, travel sickness, morning sickness and chemotherapy-related nausea and vomiting.”
The Cochrane reviewers found that compared to sham treatment, stimulation of the point P6 can significantly reduce the risk of nausea and vomiting after surgery, with little side effects. Lee said that “for 100 people, of whom 80 would vomit or feel sick after surgery if given sham treatment, about 25 people would benefit from P6 stimulation and 75 would not.”
Lee suggests that by reducing nausea and vomiting for surgery patients through P6 point stimulation it could reduce costs, such as the cost of antiemetic medication and length of hospital stays, and improve the quality of patient care.