Tag Archives: pain
Cupping + Acupuncture: More Than the Sum of its Parts
Do any of these scenarios sound like your life: a stubborn knot between the shoulder blades, a low-back flare that keeps returning, or a neck that feels “stuck” after long hours at a desk? Acupuncture needles can calm the nervous system and change pain signaling and cupping can mechanically decompress tight tissue and improve local circulation. Used together thoughtfully and safely they’re often paired to help pain move from “sharp and guarded” to “dull and workable,” and then to “resolved or manageable.”
Electroacupuncture: Ancient Wisdom, Modern Current
The clinic was quiet except for the soft hum of a small device on the treatment table. A runner lay comfortably, acupuncture needles placed along her calf and lower back to address chronic pain that kept her from her regular running routine.
Because of the chronic and nagging injury, she turned to acupuncture to find healing. But it wasn’t quite what she expected. Rather than simply resting with the needles inserted, the practitioner gently attached thin leads to several of the needles and turned on a device that sent a gentle electrical current through them. A subtle pulsing sensation began, almost like tiny waves moving through her muscles. Within minutes, she felt her body responding, warming, releasing.
This therapy was electroacupuncture, a technique blending the longstanding principles of traditional acupuncture with modern electrical stimulation.
How Acupuncture Supports Recovery from Sports Injuries
Whether you are an elite athlete or a weekend warrior taking your sport of choice seriously, every practice, every competition, and every training session or practice is likely aimed at perfection. But when you get sidelined by injury, your whole world can change quickly.
And when standard injury recovery options like physical therapy provide little improvement, many athletes at every level are turning to acupuncture to aid recovery, manage pain, and get back in the game stronger than before.
Five Transformative Health Benefits Acupuncture Provides for Overall Health
As more insurance plans and more allied health practitioners begin to embrace what has traditionally been known as “alternative medicine” treatments, acupuncture has enjoyed a surge in popularity with potential patients desperate for a drug-free alternative for their overall health and wellness.
Acupuncture, an ancient practice rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has been gaining traction in modern healthcare as a holistic approach to promoting physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing. While skeptics may question its efficacy, a growing body of scientific research supports acupuncture’s myriad health benefits. From pain relief to stress reduction, this time-honored therapy offers a natural and effective way to enhance overall health.
Unlocking the Ancient Wisdom of Gua Sha
Gua sha is rooted in traditional Chinese medicine. Practitioners of this medicine believe that a person’s qi, or energy, must flow unhindered throughout the body so you can feel your best. When qi becomes stagnant, health problems occur. With Gua sha, your acupuncturist uses a smooth-edged tool to gently scrape areas of your body where inflammation or stagnant qi exist to help improve circulation and promote healing. When done correctly, Gua sha can help you unlock radiant skin and achieve holistic well-being.
Acupuncture for Orthopedic Pain
Orthopedic pain is a big deal for many Americans, and it comes in many different forms including knee, hip, shoulder, and other joint pain. Acupuncture has been proven an effective tool to deal with orthopedic pain…even Harvard Medical School thinks so.
Acupuncture & Athletes: A Winning Combination
Whether a weekend warrior or a seasoned semi-professional or professional competitor, athletes are always looking for that competitive edge, the thing that can keep them healthy and give them a bit more in the tank to defeat the competition.
Sports acupuncture is a great tool athletes can use as part of their overall health care strategy. Sports acupuncture is a hybrid form of acupuncture and sports medicine that is specifically used to support sports-related activity. Athletes and runners especially can use sports medicine acupuncture to relieve pain, accelerate the healing of sports related injuries, improve performance, and increase muscle flexibility. Let’s unpack each of these benefits and see just how sports acupuncture can be used to treat athletes.
Acupuncture for Sports Injuries
Whether you are a professional, college, or high school athlete (or maybe just a weekend warrior), you know that injuries can happen when you least expect it. Sometimes, it’s a traumatic injury because your body was pushed beyond its limit and sometimes, the injury comes from simple overuse. And every athlete wants to get back on the field, court, or track as quickly as possible.
Acupuncture as an Alternative to Opioids
According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, almost 50,000 people die every year from opioid overdoses, more than 10 million misuse opioids in a given year, and opioids are a factor in 72% of overdose deaths. You hear about the opioid crisis on the nightly news frequently but what can be done to help people deal with chronic pain (the reason they are likely taking the opioids in the first place). Can acupuncture really help?
Acupuncture Helps Treat Arthritis Pain
According to the CDC, arthritis is a common health problem in the U.S., affecting more than 54 million people, with this number expected to rise to 78 million in the next 20 years. Among chronic diseases in the U.S., arthritis causes more disability than any other condition, including heart disease, diabetes, and back or spine problems. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the third most common type of arthritis behind osteoarthritis (prevalence 31 million) and gout (prevalence more than 8 million). RA affects More than 1.3 million in the U.S.