Acupuncture St Helens Benefits

For over 4000 years, the Chinese have relied on their unique kind of treatment.  They hold the body in high regard and believe that the body is attuned to the natural world.  It is nature that gave the body the energy balance it needs to remain healthy and grow.  Hence, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a natural type of medicine was developed to address the imbalances that arose whenever the body suffers from energy deficiency or excess.

The energy referred to is called Qi or chi, which means vital force or life energy flows throughout the body like blood.  This energy uses pathways called meridians to allow chi to flow all over the body.  TCM believes that hundreds of pressure points just below the surface of the skin connect to the meridians that in turn connect to major body parts or organs.  These pressure points also known as acupuncture points or just acupoints are where acupuncture needles are applied to heal a certain disorder.

Acupuncture St Helens is such a versatile treatment that it is used to treat disorders of all the body systems (circulatory, endocrine, reproductive, respiratory, neuromusculoskeletal, excretory, etc.).  A qualified and experienced acupuncturist would know the acupoints that correspond to the organs and parts of these body systems and this knowledge can only be gained from years of applied healing experience.

For those who are not familiar with this type of treatment, the theory behind acupuncture is that the needles rectify energy imbalances in the body allowing the body to naturally heal itself.  The treatment addresses the underlying cause of the symptoms and not merely addresses the symptoms.  This fact makes acupuncture superior to medications.  Also, acupuncture can be a supplementary modality to other treatment modalities already applied on the patient.  Chemotherapy, for example, acupuncture can relieve the symptoms of nausea and vomiting caused by the so-called therapy.

Acupuncture works as well as deep tissue massage in the removal of tension and stress and its effects lasts longer than deep-tissue massage.  One of the most important benefits of acupuncture is that it does not cause any untoward side effects something again medications do.  One thing one notices with drug commercials is the first part of the ad introduces the drug to what it does and how it solves one’s health problems; the other half then lists the untoward side effects these drugs can cause a person after using them for awhile.

The reason the body becomes weak and sick is due to the stresses of life, diseases and other negative factors that causes the body to suffer from energy deficiency.  Acupuncture is a good remedy for this and it can effectively relieve all kinds of pains and ailments in the body.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Acupuncture St Helens

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), which is also called chronic fatigue immune deficiency syndrome is a condition entailing more than one body system dysfunction. CFS is a disorder that involves the muscular systems, immune system and neurological system of the body. This disorder does not have a cause that is known, no type of test to diagnose it properly nor a medical treatment for it. There are about a million people suffering from CFS in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states and about ten million others manifest symptoms that correspond to chronic fatigue syndrome but are not quite in its full criteria. CFS affects women more; however, anyone can be potentially diagnosed with it. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and acupuncture St Helens provides relief for CFS symptoms and can help as well restore the patient to a balanced and normal life.

CFS patients should manifest these types of symptoms:

1) Chronic and acute fatigue lasting for six months and have no proper diagnosis of the fatigue.

2) Manifest at the minimum four of the following conditions:

a) short-term memory problems

b) problems in concentration

c) sore throat

d) mild or slight fever

e) malaise that worsens with exertion

f) inadequate sleep

g) headaches

h) pain in multiple joints with no redness or inflammation

i) muscle pain

j) tender and sore lymph nodes

Some other conditions that come together with CFS symptoms, which mimic the latter symptoms, may manifest making it hard to properly diagnose CFS:

1. Neurasthenia
2. Fibromyalgia syndrome
3. Various chemical sensitivities
4. Post-viral weakness
5. Chronic mononucleosis
6. Myalgia encephalomyelitis

In TCM perspective, CFS can be seen as an imbalance in the energy of the liver-spleen. The energy stagnation in the liver can be the result of yang deficiency or under nourishment of blood in the liver, anger or stress. The energy imbalance of the spleen may be caused by the imbalance of liver chi, lack of exercise, anxiety, overexertion or a poor diet.

Acupuncture points for the treatment of CFS symptoms are located in the legs arms and body. These points remove blockage in the liver meridian and as the liver is nourished with blood and energy, spleen chi improves as well. Herbal remedies can be effective with some of the symptoms and nutritional modifications recommendations are needed to avoid fatigue and treat the root causes of the condition. Acupuncture and TCM can also dispel the emotional conditions that go with CFS like anxiety, insomnia and depression. Acupuncture and TCM can be used in conjunction with other conventional modalities. These treatments give the patient added energy, uplift their emotional state and, with the added energy can compel the patient to exercise or do activities and restore their normal daily life.

Acupuncture St Helens and Restless Leg Syndrome

Restless leg syndrome or RLS is an unpleasant sensation in the legs felt after lying in bed for quite a while.   The person may feel the urgency to rise and walk to shake off the uneasy sensation. The cause and cure for RLS is unknown.  This condition usually strikes adults ages 40 and above although there are cases where it even strikes teenagers.  It can be a cause for insomnia and inadequate sleep.  Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture St Helens have been known to effectively give relief from its symptoms and make the body strong enough to prevent its recurrence.  The sensations felt in an RLS attack are twitching, stiffness, burning, bubbling, tingling, crawling, pulling and aching all felt in the legs.  RLS episodes may be lengthened with the extreme emotions and distress.  RLS attacks mostly happen at night and evenings with durations lasting for a few minutes to more than an hour.  Daytime episodes of RLS are less severe.

Since there are no physical diagnostic evidences of RLS, x-rays or MRIs are not performed on an RLS patient.  However, lab examination such as a blood test can check for iron content in the blood.  Patients suffering from RLS usually have low iron content in their hemoglobin and suffer from anemia.  RLS can also be connected to peripheral neuropathy.  It can also be a side effect symptom from intake of certain medications.  Some researchers have observed that it can also be due to genetic disposition.  The best way to diagnose RLS is by consulting one’s healthcare provider.

Western medicine’s answer to RLS are massages, warm baths, stretching exercises and drugs to relieve muscle stiffness and stress.

In the point of view of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which acupuncture is a part of, restless leg syndrome can be the result of series of energy imbalances and disharmonies in the body.  Some of these disorders may manifest in factors (again, in accordance with TCM perspective) such as:

1.    Yin weakness or deficiency – This happens when body essence is drained.  This condition may physically be felt at night as the uneasy sensation felt in the leg when in bed.
2.    Qi or chi stagnation – When energy pathways called meridians that carry chi are blocked, weakness and painful and uneasy sensations arise in the legs.  These sensations are usually aggravated with emotional problems and stress.  Stretching the legs can mitigate these symptoms.
3.    Blood deficiency – Circulation of blood is poor under nourishing the muscles, sinews and tendons in the legs.

These are all disorders that can result in restless leg syndrome and specific acupuncture points are treated according to the symptom.  Acupuncture coupled with herbal concoctions can help improve circulation and restore energy balance to the body effectively addressing the causes that lead to RLS.

Acupuncture St Helens and Heart Diseases

The Chinese have practiced acupuncture for over 2500 years as a treatment for various numbers of illnesses.  The theory of acupuncture is to treat diseases by activating different regions of the body using needles.  Acupuncture remains somewhat of a mystery for Western medicine though Americans have generally accepted it over the last 4 decades.  There have been countless tests to observe how acupuncture St Helens empirically works.  The basis of acupuncture lies in the existence of a force or energy in the body, called chi, responsible for its growth and life.  This energy circulates within the body similar to blood circulation and if this circulation is obstructed, disease then starts to manifest.  Traditional Chinese medicine have discovered a dozen or so energy pathways called meridians forming networks around the body just like the arterial and venous systems in the body.  These meridians are the conduits where chi travels around the body.  They connect to thousands of acupuncture points on the skin dispersed all over the body on one end and to the major body organs on the other end.  To diagnose a disease, the acupuncturist uses visual inspection of the patient, breathing auscultation, interviewing the patient regarding the patient’s breathing and general health condition, analyzing the patient’s tongue and even smelling of the patient’s breath and urine.  This type of examination seems odd to Western medicine but this determines whether the patient’s energy flow is deficient or whether it is too much.

There are different kinds of acupuncture techniques.  There is traditional acupuncture, electro acupuncture, and moxibustion, which is acupuncture combined with using an herb called moxa.  New studies have shown the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating some types of cardiovascular disease. These studies have observed acupuncture’s ability to lower blood pressure and its usefulness in calming heart activity by releasing opioid peptides to calm an excited cardiovascular state.  Electro acupuncture produces low frequency electric stimulation effective in stimulating the nerves responsible for cardiovascular reflexes. Stimulating the acupuncture site where the nerves are located helps the body produce acetylcholine.  Acetylcholine helps set off a series of reactions in the brain at the hypothalamus, midbrain and medulla that help improves cardiac functions.  Acupuncture has also been observed to enhance blood flow in the myocardium, which is good for patient suffering from ischemic heart disease and cardiac arrhythmias.  Studies show that acupuncture and electro acupuncture can improve unhealthy cardiac conditions due to the stimulation of endorphins and enkephalins in the blood improving the balance of energy in the heart area.  The enhancement of blood flow to the myocardium has proven acupuncture’s ability to dilate the blood vessels, which is beneficial to patient’s suffering from Raynaud’s syndrome.  This disorder is distinguished by the tightening of the small blood arteries and the discoloration of body areas affected by this disease.