Putting Chinese Herbal Medicine to the Test

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704615504576172060516209494.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Short-Term Effects of Acupuncture on Open-Angle Glaucoma in Retrobulbar Circulation: Additional Therapy to Standard Medication

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3062145/?tool=pmcentrez

Massage for Autism

Massage therapy can be adapted to accommodate patients with autism. The massage techniques are slightly modified to help autistics become more comfortable with human touch. Clinical results have shown great improvements in communication between autistic patients and their caregivers, leading to a better quality of life. Autism, or Kanner's Syndrome, is a developmental disorder with early onset that causes both children and adults to seem withdrawn or dissociated from their environments. Patients may respond defensively to being touched, and tend to respond negatively to certain textures. This improper or incomplete maturation of the tactile system can be treated with therapeutic massage, where the senses are stimulated gradually with a safe and nurturing approach. Massage therapists who specialize in Autism have to slowly develop a very consistent relationship with their autistic patients in order to make progress with the treatment. Interestingly, autistics are more sensitive to light touch than heavy touch. Glancing, inconsistent, or brief skin contact sends irregular neural signals to the brain where they interfere with and over-stimulate the central nervous system. This makes it difficult to perform organized behavior or to concentrate. Massage on the other hand, utilizes deep tissue massage and joint compression, which do not send such confusing signals to the brain cortex. According to data collected by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control), Autism affects 1 in 150 children in America, over half of which have opted for alternative treatment methods like massage. There are clinical studies to support the use of massage as a complementary therapy. For example, a small-scale intervention was performed on just under 50 autistic children using Qi Gong Sensory Training. With weekly massage sessions over the course of 5 months, both the teachers and parents of these children noticed less autistic behavior and improved social and language skills. Additionally, young autistic children between the ages of 3 and 10 have been shown to respond well to a sensory integration therapy that incorporated massage. More specifically, a Thai massage technique was used over the course of eight weeks with a variety of positive effects. This form of massage uses stretches and yoga poses to energize the patient while stimulating circulation and challenging flexibility. Patients experienced an immediate reduction of anxiety, and outside of the clinic, they enjoyed higher quality sleep, heightened concentration, and more positive social interactions. Those with Autism can also benefit greatly from a deep massage of the foot and leg muscles. Children with Autism tend to walk on their toes, so the feet and legs become tense. This form of massage targets the gastrocnemius and soleus to fully relax the feet, allowing the patient to walk flat-footed for at least a short period of time following the massage. Massage also promotes relaxation and breathing regulation. Breathing exercises often work to calm autistic patients and reduce hyperactivity. Overall, with the proper patience and communication techniques, massage therapy can be extended to autistic patients. By providing consistent, nurturing human contact and touch, massage can overcome some of the defensive tendencies characteristic of the tactile system in those with autism. While massage is not a cure for this disability, it can help autistic patients to relax, communicate more effectively, and greatly improve their quality of life. [Excerpt from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Newsletter - March 15, 2011]

Mindfulness Meditation Is Associated With Structural Changes in the Brain

According to a recent study, practicing mindfulness meditation appears to be associated with measurable changes in the brain regions involved in memory, learning, and emotion. Mindfulness meditation focuses attention on breathing to develop increased awareness of the present. Previous research has demonstrated that mindfulness mediation may reduce symptoms of anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, but little is known about its effects on the brain. The focus of the current study—published in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging—was to identify brain regions that changed in participants enrolled in an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program.

In this study, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, Bender Institute of Neuroimaging in Germany, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School, took magnetic resonance images of the brains of 16 participants 2 weeks before and after they joined the meditation program. (Participants were physician- and self-referred individuals seeking stress reduction.) Researchers also took brain images of a control group of 17 non-meditators over a similar time period. Participants in the meditation group attended weekly sessions that included mindfulness training exercises and received audio recordings for guided meditation practice at home. They also kept track of how much time they practiced each day. Members of both groups completed a questionnaire, before and after joining the group, which measured five aspects of mindfulness: observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging of inner experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience.

Brain images in the meditation group revealed increases in gray matter concentration in the left hippocampus. The hippocampus is an area of the brain involved in learning, memory, and emotional control, and is suspected of playing a role in producing some of the positive effects of meditation. Gray matter also increased in four other brain regions (though not in the insula, a region that has shown changes in other meditation studies) in the meditation group. Responses to the questionnaire indicated improvements in three of the five aspects of mindfulness in the mediators, but not the control group.

The researchers concluded that these findings may represent an underlying brain mechanism associated with mindfulness-based improvements in mental health. Additional studies are needed to determine the associations between specific types of brain change and behavioral mechanisms thought to improve a variety of disorders.

(Source: NCCAM website - http://nccam.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/012311.htm)

How Cupping Can Help Your Pain

By Katherine MacKenzie, L.Ac.

What is cupping?

Cupping is a simple method of pulling “stuck,” stagnant, and congealed blood and fluids out of the injured area. Plastic or glass cups are placed on the skin and then applied using suction. Cups are kept on from three to fifteen minutes, according to the judgment of the acupuncturist. Cupping releases tight, painful muscles and increases blood circulation.

How does cupping help my injury?

After any injury, areas that you hurt are areas that now have a blockage of blood and body fluids. Injured joints become swollen and painful. Backs become stiff, painful and difficult to move. This blockage of blood and body fluids that accompanies an injury is like a beaver dam. The force of the accident or injury creates the initial obstruction – the sticks, mud and leaves of the dam. The free flowing water of the mountain stream is slowed down to a small trickle as stagnant water backs up behind the dam. And like the water of a beaver dam, which can cause flu like symptoms for those who swim in it, the stagnant blood and body fluids that occur at the injury can cause pain and inflammation. Just as the still waters of a beaver dam heat up in the sunlight, stagnant blood and fluids in our body are heated up by our naturally warm body temperatures.

Eventually, with time, the body may be able to unblock these injured areas and return to healthy circulation. Sometimes, even after surgery, the injured area continues to hurt, and never feels completely the same. That’s why you come to get acupuncture and therapy – to speed up the rate at which you heal, and to increase your body’s ability to heal itself completely. But to do this, the beaver dam has to be moved so that blood can flow through the injured area, healing the injured muscles, joint, tendons, and bones. If the area is still blocked and "dammed up" then the body cannot properly heal.

A good example of blood and body fluids that are "dammed up" or stagnant is a blood clot. After an accident, small blood vessels are ruptured, causing blood to collect in muscles. This blood then is heated up the body temperature, and begins to act like glue. The muscles, which have tightened up in response to the accident, now have "glue" holding the muscle fibers together even tighter. The joints, which have joint fluid, stuck blood, and white blood cells, minerals, nutrients all congealing in the area, become stiff and painful as these do not move along back into circulation a week after the injury, but instead begin to stick in the joint area, and sometimes even swell up. Tears and sprains are not able to heal as circulation is not repaired, and as the area is painful to use, one tends to keep it as still as possible…and not using the injured area at all can also prevent blood flow from circulating properly and thus healing the injury.

Acupuncture uses acupuncture needles to increase the flow of blood to the area so that an injury can heal faster and better than it would without acupuncture. But if the area is badly dammed up, and circulation is increased, the dam just begins to get bigger and bigger. Increasing circulation actually makes it worse but only because first, the dam needs to be moved, and then increasing the circulation of the water (the injury) will assist the body’s healing process. This is where cupping really helps.

What is the real purpose behind cupping?

One purpose of cupping is to relieve the pain of tight and sore muscles. This is done by pulling the muscle fibers into the cup. This loosens the muscles and relieves pain. It also pulls the stuck blood within the muscle onto the surface of the skin. This occurs when an injury ruptures small blood vessels within the muscle fibers, causing blood to collect in the muscle and "glue" the already tight muscle fibers together. Cupping is able to pull the congealed blood out of the muscle and onto the surface of the skin.

Another purpose of cupping is to pull blood and body fluids up to the surface of the skin, removing it from stuck areas like swollen knee joints or frozen shoulders. As a result, cupping will often produce a red or purple circle upon the skin that may take a few days to heal. These circles are only dark colored if the area that is cupped has "stuck" body fluids and blood. You should expect some circular discoloration or bruising if you are cupped. Keep in mind, this is only occurring because stuck fluids and blood congeal and act like glue, keeping joints stiff and swollen and gluing muscle fibers. These circular discolorations and bruising occur in the process of drawing these stuck fluids and blood out of injured areas – they are part of the healing process.

As you improve with each treatment, the circular discolorations will become less and less red. Everyone heals at their own pace, and some of the healing will also depend on how physically active you are, how well you treat your body (diet, posture, stress levels), and how often you come to therapy. Bottom line, this is your healing process, and your treatment, so you have to honor your body and accept however long it takes to get better.

What should I be cautious about?

If you are very concerned with bruising or discoloration, cupping may not be the right therapy for you. Since cupping marks take a few days to heal, please consider if you are going to the beach or to an event where you will be revealing the cupped area.

If you are pregnant, have a circulation disorder, hemophilia, lupus, or diabetes, cupping may not be appropriate for you. Although cupping does release tight muscles and increase blood circulation and move congealed body fluids, bruising and bleeding may sometimes occur.

Source: A TOOTH FROM THE TIGER'S MOUTH: How to Treat Your Injuries with Powerful Healing Secrets of the Great Chinese Warriors by Tom Bisio (Simon & Schuster, October, 2004

(Taken from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine February 2011 Newsletter)

Acupuncture for Substance Abuse

Acupuncture combined with substance abuse counseling and group therapy programs is effective for treating drug and alcohol users. It produces a calm, yet alert feeling, reduces withdrawal symptoms, and decreases future cravings. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners use techniques like acupuncture, herbal remedies, and massage to treat and prevent disease and illness in the human body. Acupuncture involves stimulating specific points on the body by inserting metal needles through the skin to restore balance in the body. A person's life force, or qi, flows through the body and provides energy, blood flow, and a feeling of wellness. When that flow is disturbed or interrupted, it results in illness and/or disease. There are certain meridians, or pathways, along the body, each representing a different area of the body. Depending on the condition of the patient, a TCM practitioner may use herbal remedies in conjunction with acupuncture. Moxibustion is the practice of burning herbs near an acupuncture point. Massage techniques like rubbing, cupping, and pressing may also be used around specific acupuncture points. Auricular acupuncture is popular among practitioners who treat substance abuse patients. The practitioner positions thin needles on points in the ear while the patient relaxes for 20 to 30 minutes. The National Institute on Drug Abuse recommends ear placement in points that correspond with the traditional points of the kidneys, lungs, liver, and sympathetic nervous system. In a 1989 study, practitioners treated 80 severe alcoholics. They treated 40 people with auricular acupuncture combined with substance abuse counseling. They treated the other 40 people with only substance abuse counseling. Twenty-one of the 40 people who received acupuncture combined with counseling completed the program while only one of the 40 people receiving substance abuse counseling alone completed the program. Six months after study completion, the patients receiving both acupuncture and counseling were twice as likely to remain alcohol free. Located in New York City, the Lincoln Clinic has used acupuncture to treat drug and alcohol addicts for years. Practitioners there use acupuncture along with counseling, urine testing, and a 12-step group therapy program. Acupuncture helps relieve withdrawal symptoms and produces a calming, relaxing effect on patients, which helps fight drug and alcohol cravings. Patients of the Lincoln Clinic report that acupuncture treatment produces a strong calming effect while still feeling remarkably alert. The success of acupuncture treatment on substance abusers has spurred some courts to order acupuncture as part of a comprehensive drug rehabilitation program. As a result, the judicial system has found that substance abusers who receive acupuncture treatment along with counseling and vocational training are less likely to reappear in court on similar charges than substance abusers who are sentenced to prison. Acupuncture combined with substance abuse counseling and group therapy programs is effective for treating drug and alcohol users. It produces a calm, yet alert feeling, reduces withdrawal symptoms, and decreases future cravings. (Excerpt from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine Newsletter - 02/01/11)

New Winter Hours

Our new hours are:

Monday: 8am - 12:30pm (Caitlin)
1pm - 7pm (Kate)

Tuesday: 10am - 2pm (Kate)
3pm - 8pm (Brette)

Wednesday: 10am - 8pm (Caitlin)

Thursday: 10am - 2pm (Kate)
3pm - 8pm (Brette)

Friday: 8am - 12:30pm (Caitlin)
2:30pm - 7:30pm (Brette)

Saturday: 10am - 5pm (Caitlin)