Fibromyalgia is a medically unexplained syndrome affecting the muscles and connective tissues. Currently, the disease affects as many as 12 million Americans and has been reported two times as prevalent in deployed veterans. Acupuncture may be helpful as an adjunctive therapy for fibromyalgia.“Agonizing pain, debilitating fatigue, joint stiffness, and … read more..
The process of treating back pain with acupuncture, or any pain for that matter, is complex. As an acupuncturist, we have many factors to consider in the treatment. Important factors for the acupuncturist to decide are what acupuncture points to use, how long the needles stay in, what position the patient should lie, the use [...] read more..
A recent patient with headaches at my New York acupuncture reminded me of the powerful way acupuncture treats the whole person. She was coming in for tension headaches which were exacerbated by seasonal allergies. Stress was also a major factor. The acupuncture had almost an immediate effect in reducing the headaches. After 4 treatments she [...] read more..
Constipation is an issue that I often treat in my NYC acupuncture clinic. I always teach my patients this simple two-step acupressure routine for relieving constipation to supplement the acupuncture treatment. Rub belly in clockwise circle Rubbing your abdomen will help wake up your digestive system. Place your whole palm on the abdomen and apply [...] read more..
A 2011 study in the journal Acupuncture in Medicine tested 53 post-menopausal women who reported having menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes. Half the women were given acupuncture treatment that lasted 20 minutes twice a week for 10 weeks. The needles were inserted, then left in place without any further manual or electrical stimulation.
By the end of the 10-week treatment, the group of women who received acupuncture reported having significantly fewer hot flashes as well as hot flashes that were less severe when they did get them. No significant differences were found in hormonal levels between the two groups. Typcially, it is believed that hormonal changes cause the hot flashes, so this is somewhat surprising, and the authors suggest that the hormonal fluctuations were not considered to be the reason for the improvement in menopausal symptoms.
To contact me for an appointment, call 303-947-6224. To follow this blog click here: http://www.feedblitz.com/f/?Sub=777691 read more..
Acupuncture has a unique effect to help individuals who have stubborn injuries and chronic pain which have not improved despite treatment. A recent report at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting suggests that acupuncture helps to stimulate muscle tissue regrowth. The research group showed that acupuncture reversed the decrease in muscle mass in mice and in [...] read more..
The authors state: "We demonstrated clinically relevant improvements in DOE [dyspnea on exertion] (Borg scale), nutrition status (including BMI), airflow obstruction, exercise capacity and health-related quality of life after three months of acupuncture treatment."
Not only did the patients' lung health improve but their weight improved!!!
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-05-acupuncture-linked-patients-chronic-obstructive.html
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For an appointment call 303-947-6224 or email DrMLucas@Acupuncturewoman.com. My specialty is diagnostics and treating conditions that haven't responded to other treatment (fertility challenges, weight loss, chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, chemotherapy related symptoms, allergies, sports injuries - cold laser, PMS and other women's issues, cosmetic improvements using Mei Zen). read more..
Atopic eczema causes profound itching. Often the itching is the first sign of the condition and scratching leads to the inflammation. A recent research report examined acupuncture treatment of itch in atopic dermatitis (1). This study was quite sophisticated. They compared acupuncture versus antihistamine treatment to reduce itching. They also compared acupuncture and antihistamine to [...] read more..
I'm thinking of adding a satellite office to my practice up North. Have been hearing of people renting 2 rooms one day a week (furnished) for about $100/month and so am looking for something like that. DrMLucas@AcupunctureWoman.com or 303-947-6224. read more..
This morning on NPR there was a very informative piece about the causes of migraines and why women suffer more from migraines than men. The story explains the that one reason migraines occur is because of bursts of electrical activity in specific areas of the brain. Often they begin in the visual center, which [...] read more..
Acupuncture is a constantly evolving art. Electro-acupunctrue was only developed within the last 100 years. Electro-acupuncture is used to augment the pain relieving and anti-inflammatory aspects of acupuncture Electro-acupuncture is very similar to regular acupuncture. That is the acupuncture point selection is generally the same and the treatment time is also similar. Electro-acupuncture provides additional [...] read more..
Why do I need a number of acupuncture treatments when I only need to see my MD once?
Ahhhh .... the ever frequent question about why you need more than one acupuncture treatment in order for your chronic symptoms to go away ..... i.e., be miraculously cured. My pet peeve: when people get one acupuncture treatment after suffering through 10 years of back pain and then say it didn't work. Healing takes time. Even a small cut takes time to heal and sometimes healing takes effort (i.e., more than one treatment, change in lifestyle, etc.).
So here's the deal. You see your MD once and come home with Vicodin for your pain, birth control pills to control your PMS, diuretic for your high blood pressure, Protonix for your acid reflux or GERD, Imitrex for your migraines, etc. etc. You need a pill box. If you really think about it, theoretically you are seeing your MD every day - in fact sometimes more than once a day since you need to take your pain meds more than once a day. Further, some of these pharmaceuticals are only masking the cause of your pain or other symptoms while the promise of Chinese Medicine is to find the cause and treat it; treat the root.*
Take my own back pain as a case study. I've had years of back pain probably mostly sports induced (structural damage). I was at the point of seeing surgeons for opinions, being offered all manner of prescriptions, etc. etc. .... the story of many people who have back pain. But I KNOW that the body can change despite what some diagnostic tests show - I see it in my patients every day.
I wanted to change my situation. Bone on bone. You might rightfully ask, how can any treatment besides surgery and pain meds deal with that? Well, acupuncture, structural yoga therapy, and deep tissue massage seem to have me on the very right path! WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS PATH? - I want to be healthy and active not drugged with the condition that is causing the pain continuing to get worse. I am now faithful in receiving regular acupuncture treatments and taking Chinese herbal formulae. I see a dynamite structural yoga therapist and do the postures that she teaches me and receive MT. I am considering canceling my next MD/spine specialist appointment because the AM crookedness, stiffness, and pain are minimal now and I am back to being able to do my AM workouts which I couldn't do 4 months ago. Yay!!
Your body CAN change; it's a matter of whether you are willing to find the proper cache of treatments/practitioners and then DO the work! Do I get discouraged sometimes, wish I didn't ever have to do any work to be pain free or not stiff? I do. But when I look at the alternatives, I'm super happy that I have found therapies that work.
*Naturally there are some conditions that can't be "cured" by dealing with the cause when they are too far gone. But, quality of life, for example pain reduction, chemo induced nausea relief, etc. etc., can be much much better. read more..
The art of electro-acupuncture is in the details of how one uses the therapy. An effective electro-acupuncture treatment comes from what electric stimulation machine is used, proper selection of acupuncture points, how long you use the stimulation, and the proper frequency. Acupuncture Microstim In our New York City Acupuncture clinic, we use the Pantheon Research [...] read more..
Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to reduce joint pain, swelling, and stiffness which comes from arthritis. Acupuncture and Arthritis Symptoms Pain and stiffness are the most common symptoms from arthritis. Arthritis can effect both small joints, such as the hands and feet, as well [...] read more..
This is one of the most common questions I get in my NYC acupuncture clinic. The acupuncture point prescriptions will differ between patients, but also will change over time within one treatment plan. Acupuncture is highly focused on treating the correct imbalance at the correct time. As the acupuncture treatment progresses, the imbalances will change [...] read more..
I tell my students all the time that acupuncture affects the brain. Here is an interesting read about MRI studies and acupuncture.http://www.healthcmi.com/index.php/acupuncturist-news-online/474-mristudyrevealsacupuncturemechanisms read more..
Have some stress in your life? Acupuncture reduces negative effect of stress on the body. I tell people this all the time but no Georgetown U says so!http://www.healthcmi.com/index.php/acupuncturist-news-online/473-acupuncturestressgeorgetownstudy read more..
