Dealing with Depression. Try Acupuncture

Depression is one of the most widespread ailments with over 8 million afflicted people in the US alone. It’s a major cause of suicide claiming about 40,000 American lives every year. The biggest problem with western anti-depressants is their side effects, and you have to take those pills all the time. The depression patients have found acupuncture as a reliable and promising therapy.

Acupuncture is a Chinese method that uses thin needles to treat an illness. There is a Chinese saying, “emotions are the root of 100 diseases” and depression is an outcome of imbalance in the flow of emotions. These wild emotions can cause stress, indigestion, insomnia, fatigue, pain and sensation of heat.

Treating depression with acupuncture calms your spirit and unblocks the emotional stagnation. Some therapists use electro –acupuncture especially to treat the depression patients. Applying a small electric current through acupuncture needles has been found extremely beneficial in mild as well as chronic depression. Acupuncture helps you find emotional balance in a natural way by promoting healing abilities of the body.

What Research Says

Recently the Chinese researchers compared fluoxetine hydrochloride and acupuncture to find out which one is more effective in treatment of depression. Fluoxetine hydrochloride is the active ingredient in most of the anti-depressants including Prozac.

The researchers decided to treat 60 depression patients with acupuncture and other 60 such people were given western medicine containing fluoxetine hydrochloride. Acupuncturists precisely chose the points for each patient depending on their unique symptoms. The patients under western medication received 20 mg of fluoxetine hydrochloride per day.

The acupuncture procedure and drug treatment was continued for eight weeks, and at the end, two assessment tests – Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS) and Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (TESS) were conducted to measure the success rate of each treatment method. Both the group of patients showed similarity in effectiveness of treatments.

However, the researchers who published their work in Hong Kong Medical Journal, observed a major difference in emergent symptoms. Patients treated with fluoxetine developed adverse reactions with visible symptoms like anorexia, nausea, diarrhea, etc, whereas no adverse reaction was reported in acupuncture group. 

How it Works

Many of us usually wonder how inserting tiny needles provides relief from depression and how acupuncturists know where in the body to insert them. Well, there are fourteen main pathways (meridians) that are responsible for the flow of energy, fluids and emotion. Along these meridians are about two thousand pressure points that acupuncturists target depending upon the symptoms of your depression. The needles enhance the flow of emotions through pathways, thus relieving stress and depression.

You should be flexible with your thoughts when taking acupuncture treatment. Meeting new people and making friends can change your mental outlook by keeping upsets and disappointments away. Since insomnia is a crucial part of depression, do everything you can to get a nice sleep. Another important thing when treating depression with acupuncture is to eat healthy foods that are easy to digest. They help you fight lethargy and fatigue.

Healing elements of acupuncture are fully capable to improve the life of people living with depression. The western world hasn’t utilized its full potential yet to help patients get rid of depression and lead a normal life.

Using Acupuncture for Fertility Treatment

Acupuncture for fertility is an ancient alternative medicine treatment originating from china which is gradually gaining popularity in fertility treatments in western medicine. This treatment uses long hair thin needles that stimulate energy points. These energy points are believed to be very important in ones overall physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. It has been used widely for common ailments like the common cold and back pains.

Choosing acupuncture for fertility                             

There are many testimonials of women who have used acupuncture for fertility successfully. Needles are placed into specific parts of the body where they relate to the reproductive organs, improving energy flow to the reproductive system. Acupuncture is known to increase the amounts of endorphins that the brain releases. This in turn reduces stress which is a major origin of infertility.

The effectiveness of acupuncture for infertility depends on the cause of the infertility. For example if the man’s sperm count is low, acupuncture will do very little for the woman. While on the other hand if the woman has a damaged uterus or fallopian tubes, acupuncture may not be helpful. However, in the earlier case where the man has a low sperm count, then acupuncture for fertility would be helpful. Acupuncturists recommend the use of other infertility treatments along with acupuncture. For example a woman may use acupuncture along with IVF.

Starting acupuncture treatment

Similar to physical therapy, acupuncture for fertility is a medical intervention method. Patients can be treated about three to four months before conception through in vitro fertilization (IVF), donor egg transfer, or insemination. This early treatment is therapeutic and women are also encouraged to have acupuncture before and after embryo transfer. Treatment is recommended up to the twelfth week of pregnancy to avoid miscarriages which mostly occur within the first three months of pregnancy.

Acupuncture for fertility is used to treat different forms of infertility including spasmed tubes. It is often used with other herbal medications to treat, repeated pregnancy loss, elevated follicles stimulating hormone, idiopathic infertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, luteal phase defect and other male factors including sperm DNA fragmentation.

Risks in acupuncture

Acupuncture for fertility has no known risks; however, miscarriage risks may be increased if the treatment is carried on for too long into the pregnancy. For this reason a woman who is considering acupuncture for fertility should seek a specialized fertility acupuncturist.  Overall acupuncture has no contraindication.

How acupuncture enhances fertility:

Principles of oriental medicine dictate that a person’s health is largely determined by the quality of Qi which is the vital life energy and blood flowing through the body. When blood and Qi are circulating properly the body is well nourished and optimally functional which is fertility enhancing. It has been confirmed that acupuncture helps in the following areas:

·    Regulate menstrual cycle

·    Normalize endocrine and hormone systems.

·    Decreases chances of miscarriages

·    Regulates the menstrual cycle

·    Reduces anxiety and stress associated with infertility

·    Increases blood flow to the uterus

·    Increases pregnancy chances in women undergoing IVF.

How much does it cost

Many forms of fertility treatments can be expensive running into thousands of dollars and are typically not covered by most insurance plans. However acupuncture for fertility is relatively affordable ranging from a few hundred to about a thousand dollars.

Natural Weight Loss and Acupuncture

Weight loss and acupuncture is a widely researched and discussed subject among traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. Chinese medicine has been widely practiced in the east for more than 5000 years and largely gaining popularity in the west lately. This is the Chinese art of treating various medical conditions by piercing the body with hair thin needles at particular body points to regulate the flow of energy rejuvenating life in the body cells.

How weight loss and acupuncture work

This treatment treats the psychological and physical components of excess weight. It affects the physical functioning of the body and heals the mind too. This helps one lose weight and keeps it off in the long run.

From a traditional Chinese medicine point of view, the herbs and foods chosen when combined with acupuncture influence the spleen, Qi and liver systems. This activates direct loss of weight and treats the root imbalances that cause weight gain. Western and Chinese medicine have a direct effect on the nervous system endocrine and digestive systems, influencing food cravings and overall metabolism. This maximizes nutrients absorption and energizes the body, suppresses appetite and controls overeating while reducing anxiety, which is a major contributor to overeating.

Treatment is usually centered on the needs of the individual patient with treatment duration being anything from 8 weeks to 12 weeks or until the desired weight has been achieved. These may include auricular (ear) and body acupuncture. Ear seeds or tacks are left on in between the treatments in combination with herbs food and lifestyle recommendations.

The ear is a micro system of the body and auricular points for weight loss and acupuncture are effective at treating obesity. The seed sized magnets taped to the points enhance the effectiveness of the auricular points at home. The beads can stay on the ear for 3 to 7 days, and should be gently massaged at 10-second intervals if food cravings occur. The most commonly used auricular points for weight loss and acupuncture are:

·    Mouth: this is calmed to minimize overeating over talking and smoking

·    Hunger point: used to control compulsive eating and reliever hunger

·    Shenmen: calms the mind and reduces stress

·    Small intestine: promotes digestion and reinforces spleen

Conditions treated with acupuncture

Apart from weight loss and acupuncture, it is also used to treat other medical conditions like migraines, lower back pains, hormonal imbalance, and other medical conditions. These include diseases of the muscles joints and bones, diseases of the central nervous system, digestive disorders, diseases of the heart and blood vessels, respiratory system and obstetrics gynecology conditions.

Weight loss and acupuncture benefits

Acupuncture is a natural way of losing weight that has no known side effects that are associated with crash diets and supplement medication. Weight loss and acupuncture is a natural and methodically slow process, which does not offer instant or magical results. It regulates the metabolism and controls food cravings.

When one is considering weight loss and acupuncture along with other Chinese medicine, one is assured of weight loss. When used along with other weight management tools Chinese medicine and acupuncture are effective at boosting energy, overcoming cravings and enhancing the overall will power to lose weight. Weight loss and acupuncture are great when one is struggling to increase metabolism while eating less.

Balancing Hormones in Menopause with Acupuncture

Acupuncture and herbal Chinese medicine have today been appreciated as effective methods for regulating hormones imbalance in menopause. There are many factors related to hormonal imbalance apart from menopause. These may include irregular heavy and painful periods, PMS and fertility challenges. These imbalances may be caused by a number of factors. Lack of physical exercise, exposure to harsh elements like heat or cold, inadequate rest emotional stress and a poor diet are some contributory factors.

Balancing hormones in menopause with acupuncture

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that we posses an important life force called Qi. This force circulates through our bodies through channels that are similar to the way blood flows through the veins. These channels are invisible however, they are central to a persons well being. When these channels are blocked, they cause illnesses including hormonal imbalance in menopause. Hormonal imbalance in menopause can be very uncomfortable and acupuncture has become a preferred treatment option for many women today. It helps in nerve, connective tissues, and muscle stimulation. This stimulation on the other hand results in increased and effective blood flow to all areas of the body.

Benefits of acupuncture

Acupuncture is not only a natural Chinese treatment method but also a great pain reliever and widely used to treat other ailments. In spite of the fact that it uses needles, the procedure is painless using hair thin needles. It helps women suppress mood swings, night sweats, and hot flashes which cause discomfort in menopause. Unlike other menopause treatments, this Chinese treatment does not have side effects.
It is also great for treating other gynecological obstetric conditions like heavy irregular and painful periods, fertility conditions, and PMS challenges. These are corrected with acupuncture as a stand alone treatment or combined with other Chinese medicine treatments. This treatment success is greatly accelerated by changes in lifestyle like an exercise regime and a good diet.
In relation to the female hormonal system, acupuncture channels connect the kidneys with the uterus, the brain, and heart restoring health and balance. It also influences the thought patterns, emotions, and the overall hormonal function. It manipulates the production and circulation of hormones within the body, and also has an effect on endorphins which link largely to hormones that affect ones mood during our different life cycles like menopause and pregnancy. In hormonal imbalance treatment, it is used along with herbal treatments to enhance each others results.

Treating other medical conditions

Acupuncture is widely used to balance hormones. However, there are many other conditions like chronic back pain that are treated with Chinese medicine. It is used for non surgical pain relief of spinal stenosis which is pain in the neck and back.  For couples who are having fertility challenges it has also proven to be very helpful. It works by improving blood circulation in the ovaries and the uterus. However it does not work for all infertility disorders, for example some like blocked tubes require surgical treatment. Many women are known to gain weight in menopause. Acupuncture is helpful in balancing hormones and consequent weight loss through increased metabolism in menopause.

Treating Lower Back Pain with Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a form of Chinese medicine that encourages natural lower back pain relief while healing and improving body functions. This treatment is administered by insertion and manipulation of hair thin needles into the body and by applying electric stimulation at particular acupuncture points. This procedure is widely used today in the west as a solution for pain relief for the back.

How the procedure works

The typical Chinese medicine explanation for acupuncture is that is relays energy in regular modes through and over the body’s surface. These channels act like streams of water flowing through the body to hydrate and nourish the cells and tissues. A hindrance to the free movement of the energies behaves like a blocked dam. These channels can be influenced by inserting needles that help unblock the “dam” blockages and reinstate the regular flow of energies through the channels. This procedure helps correct imbalances in digestion, energy production activities, absorption, and the overall energy circulation through the channels.
It is scientifically explained that acupuncture needle points stimulate the nervous system releasing chemicals to the muscles of the spinal cord and brain resulting in pain relief for the back. The chemicals work by changing the whole pain experience or trigger the release of other hormones and chemicals that influence the body’s internal regulating system. In the end, the body’s natural healing abilities are enhanced promoting ones overall well being.

Conditions best suited to treat with acupuncture

The procedure is performed by specially trained practitioners either as stand alone form of treatment or in combination with other methods of treating lower back pain. This treatment influences three major areas of an individual’s health; these include illness prevention, treatment of various conditions and promotion of the overall health.
This treatment is related to lower back pain control while it has broader medical applications that can be explained in clearer details by an acupuncture practitioner. These are:

• Menstrual, urinary, and reproductive disorders
• Respiratory conditions like sore throat, sinusitis, bronchitis, recurrent chest infections, and asthma
• Digestive tract conditions like , diarrhea, spastic, colon gastritis, and hyper-acidity
• Muscular and neurological disorders that include headaches, neck pains, lower back pain frozen shoulder, facial tics, sciatica, osteoarthritis, tennis elbow, and various forms of tendinitis.
• Emotional and tension related physical problems.

Benefits in pain relief for the back

When one is looking for pain relief for the back, then they may consider acupuncture which has a track record running over 2000 years. The procedure relaxes the body muscles relieving lower back pain while stimulating the body to heal itself. Daily stresses accrued to the body through lack of exercise trauma and poor diet weaken the immune system leaving one susceptible to illnesses and bodily pains and aches. Acupuncture helps in improving blood circulation removing blockages to the affected areas that are functioning insufficiently and easing lower back pain.
Pregnancy discomfort consisting of pelvic and lower back pain are also treated effectively with acupuncture. Studies have shown that about 25% of pregnant women seek medical attention for lower back pain related to pregnancy. The basic treatment given that may include physical therapy has proved to be effective in relieving lower back pain during pregnancy and after delivery. Acupuncture is a great alternative to conventional treatments for pain relief for the back and has very limited risks to it.