November 15, 2016 in Acupuncture News, Chinese Medicine by admin

An Integrated Approach to Fertility – by A Hambley

One of our patients, Mrs Hambley, wrote a wonderful article for the ‘Green Parent’ magazine on combining IVF with naturopathy and acupuncture for the best chances of pregnancy. It’s highly recommended for a good read. Life style, relationships, various types of treatments, diet, mind practice and many other elements need to be taken care of to make miracle true.

Full article  here (external link)

Or you could download a pdf here.

July 26, 2016 in Chinese Medicine by admin

Acupuncture Enhances Sports Performance and Recovery

Acupuncture has been used time and again to help athletes to relieve pain. But acupuncture and the accessory modalities associated with it can do so much more. Using acupuncture treatments can actually enhance an athlete’s performance and recovery from any sports-related injuries.

When an athlete is in training, he or she is constantly pushing themselves to be better: a better speed, a higher jump, a further distance, etc. An athlete’s body is put through constant stress. Muscles are pushed to their maximum and sometimes tiny microscopic tears form. If the athlete were able to rest properly, these micro-tears would self-heal. But, when an athlete is in training, the micro-tears don’t have time to heal properly. So the body becomes continuously fatigued, sometimes painful and the probability of serious injury increases. Acupuncture helps the body to heal, restores healing levels of energy or Qi (pronounced “chee”) and strengthens the body inside and out, thus accelerating the athlete’s recovery time.
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June 15, 2016 in Chinese Medicine by admin

Summer is the most ‘Yang’ season

By Dr. D Zou

Summer is the most ‘Yang’ season. Warm temperature stimulates the growth of all things in nature. For us, summer is the best time to have our body functions balanced and prepare a healthy body for the whole year. Here I list a few tips to help you to get through the summer.

1. more fruits
   With higher temperature and more outdoor activities life style, we loss more body liquid in the summer, and the water from fruits is the most absorbable fluids to our body. The preferred juicy seasonal fruits are melons, especially water melon, Cantaloupe.
2. more ‘cooling’ vegetables 
   Cucumber, tomato, Celery & Lettuce, mushrooms and bitter melon
3. more ‘anti-inflammatory’ diet 
   Summer is the season with most digest problems. Add some ‘anti-inflammatory’ ingredients into your summer diet is a great way to prevent from ‘bad guts’. The helpful ingredients are: garlic, onions garlic chives and leeks.
4. ‘muti-Vitamin’ diet
   Tomato, green pepper, plums, and pears are great source of Vitamins.
5. keep up with water and mineral salt
   Avocado & Soy bean products (such as bean curd & miso soup) are good source of  Potassium
6. protein rich food
   More activities mean more burning of our body protein. More fish, lean meat, eggs  and Soy products would keep your energy up and prepare a heathy body for the gruesome winter ahead

Wish you all having a glorious summer!

April 29, 2014 in Chinese Medicine by admin

What you need know  after an acupuncture session

People having an acupuncture treatment probably understood what the treatment look is like. It is rather relaxing than hurtful as they thought! Here is some important information of what to expect after the acupuncture session and what to do next.

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November 7, 2013 in Chinese Medicine by admin

Acupuncture and Stress

According to Health and Safety Executive 2011 report, up to half a million people in the UK experience work-related stress every year, which often results in illness. There are many  factors that affect stress levels including alcohol, smoking, exams, pregnancy, divorce, moving, death in family, lifestyle, drugs, poor nutrition and unemployment.

Lead author Dr Ladan Eshkevari, of Georgetown University, In the first study of its kind,  found the ancient Chinese therapy reduces levels of a protein linked to chronic stress. This is reported by Daily mail.

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November 7, 2013 in Chinese Medicine by admin

Acupuncture and Obesity

According to research in Birmingham University, Obesity rates in the UK are the highest in Europe and have increased dramatically over the past few years to such an extent that in excess of 20% of the population are now obese and the costs to the UK economy exceed £3 billion per year. In Birmingham, over 25% of the population are obese – the third highest rate in the UK.

The Nature magazine published an article on Acupuncture treatment for obesity:

“Although acupuncture is being utilised to treat a variety of important health problems, its usefulness in obesity management has not yet been fully evaluated. The aim of this review paper was to survey and critically evaluate the descriptive and controlled trials of acupuncture for enhancing weight loss. The underlying principles of acu-point stimulation are described, with an emphasis on auricular (ear) acupuncture, the method most often chosen for obesity studies. The difficulties of selecting suitable placebo controls are highlighted. To date, most trials have been descriptive in nature, of short duration (12 weeks), and designed using nonstandard treatment protocols. Despite the unique challenges involved, further careful study of acupuncture’s potential usefulness as an adjunct in weight management is recommended. An agenda for future research in this area is provided. ”

 

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July 7, 2013 in Chinese Medicine by admin

Acupuncture pain molecule pinpointed

A molecule which may control how acupuncture relieves pain has been pinpointed by US researchers.

From BBC:

Experiments in mice showed that levels of adenosine – a natural painkiller – increased in tissues near acupuncture sites.

The Nature Neuroscience study also found that in mice resistant to the effects of adenosine, acupuncture had no effect.

Pain experts said the findings may partly explain how the treatment works.

Adenosine is known to have many roles in the body including regulating sleep and reducing inflammation, the researchers said.

Other research has shown that it becomes active in the skin after an injury to act as a local painkiller.

In the latest study, the researchers were looking at the effects of the molecule in the deeper tissues which acupuncturists target with fine needles.

The team performed a 30-minute acupuncture session at a pressure point in the knee of mice that had discomfort in one paw.

They found that in mice with normal functioning levels of adenosine, acupuncture reduced soreness by two-thirds, as assessed by nerve sensitivity measurements.

In mice specially engineered to lack the receptor for adenosine, acupuncture had no effect.

And during and immediately after an acupuncture treatment, the level of adenosine in the tissues near the needles was 24 times greater than before the treatment, the researchers said.

Then using a drug which extends the effects of adenosine, they found that the benefits of acupuncture lasted three times as long.

Variety of effects

Study leader Dr Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said: “Acupuncture has been a mainstay of medical treatment in certain parts of the world for 4,000 years, but because it has not been understood completely, many people have remained skeptical.

“In this work, we provide information about one physical mechanism through which acupuncture reduces pain in the body,” she added.

Acupuncture is used for a wide range of treatments but on the NHS its use is limited to lower back pain.

Experts pointed out that acupuncture may mediate its effects in a number of different ways.

A spokesman from the British Pain Society said: “We have known for a long time that acupuncture alters the response to pain by modulation of some of the pain pathways in the spinal cord, and also by the release of endorphins.

“It is very interesting that scientists have found an alteration in the tissue levels of adenosine, which helps to explain some of the modulatory effects of acupuncture on pain perception.”

Professor Edzard Ernst, professor of complementary medicine at Peninsula Medical School agreed the study might go some way towards explaining how acupuncture reduces pain.

“We need, I would argue, independent replications with more rigorous controls before we can fully accept its findings.

“The curious thing with acupuncture is that we seem to understand better and better how it might work and, at the same time, we have more and more reason to doubt that it works.”

Source of Article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10185247

August 2, 2011 in Chinese Medicine by admin

Guardian: Acupuncture and infertility

Proving a point

There is growing evidence that acupuncture can greatly increase a woman’s chance of becoming pregnant. Rowan Pelling is not surprised – she has first-hand experience of the link between fertility and needles

I was last in the queue for the BCG jab at school and am not the sort of person who generally embraces needles. So it’s with considerable surprise that I have had to admit that acupuncture works for me. Over the four years I have received treatment, I have discovered its efficacy in all manner of areas, none more so than in boosting fertility.

….
Full article here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/19/health1