Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Needling Kids Back to Health

Kate Ruma & Associates Acupuncture
180 Mass Ave., Suite 301
Arlington, MA 02474
(617)372-3960

www.KateRuma.com
Info@KateRuma.com

Many adults I meet ask me about the needles I use in acupuncture treatment. "Are they big? Will they hurt?" they ask, revealing some level of fear about the process. Rest assured, acupuncture needles are small (about the size of a period at the end of a sentence) and are painless when inserted during treatment. The needles are so benign that even young kids are unphased by them, thankfully, because the benefits of acupuncture for children facing both chronic and acute ailments are powerful.

Take E, age 11, of Arlington. She was diagnosed with Hashimotos Thyroiditis—a common thyroid gland disorder. It can occur at any age, but is most often seen in middle-aged women, caused by a reaction of the immune system against the thyroid gland. Her mom, who was being treated for the same condition with acupuncture, decided the best offense for E’s condition was to augment her medication with acupuncture—knowing that acupuncture treats the root while medicine treats the symptoms. After three months of treatment, E noticed many health changes, including the cessation of a chronic cough, less frequent colds, and feeling more energetic. After six months of treatment, her thyroid is now normal size and her medication has been reduced.

K, age 4, also of Arlington, had eczema behind her ears, on her eyelids, in her elbows and arm pits. She was treated with herbs, diet changes and a technique called sho-ni-shin-non — a kit of metal tools used to brush the meridians or stimulate the acupuncture points-in the case of eczema, the ones that relate to the lungs and spleen and liver. After six weeks of treatment, K’s eczema was gone from her eyelids and armpits and disappearing behind her ears and in her elbows. After another six weeks, the eczema was completely gone from behind her ears, with just a trace left in her elbows.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine works to correct the body at its root so that symptoms no longer appear. It increases blood flow to organs via pathways called meridians. These meridians are the external way to access the internal organs. This is done through placing stainless steel needles in a network of organ pathways called meridians. Each meridian is connected to specific organs. As the needles move, energy flows thru the pathways, qi (energy) is increased to the organs and heath is restored.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Prolonged Television Viewing Linked to Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Premature Death

This is a good reason to get out and go for a long walk, or to zumba or qi gong!

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/2011-releases/tv-diabetes-cardiovascular-disease-premature-death.html