Eastern Medical Center offers a number of complimentary acupuncture brochures both in the office and right here in this post, which can be downloaded and printed:

‘Your First Visit’ Acupuncture Brochure

Download: (Acupuncture brochure – Your First Visit)

It’s easy for us in California’s Bay Area to forget that acupuncture is still a mystery (or even a scary unknown) to some. But once a person understands what to expect from their first visit, things are quickly demystified and comfortable. From there, newbies often get quite excited about the benefits and possibilities of acupuncture.

Here’s an excerpt from the “Your First Visit” Acupuncture Brochure:

Initial visits generally last from 30 to 90 minutes. Your acupuncturist will take a detailed health history and a physical exam and will provide you with your unique treatment plan.

During the first exam, your acupuncturist will spend time getting to know you and your health concerns. You may be asked a wide range of questions about your symptoms, eating, exercise, sleep habits and emotional states — anything that may offer insight into your health. Once your acupuncturist has gathered enough information, you’ll receive a comprehensive diagnosis and a treatment plan that will explain:

• Your underlying imbalances
• Your timeline of care
• What types of treatment you will receive

‘Acupuncture Questions & Answers’ Brochure

(Click here to download)

What is acupuncture? What will my acupuncturist do? What is cupping? Will my insurance cover this? This “Questions & Answers” acupuncture brochure will put your mind at ease — quickly answering the most common acupuncture questions on people’s minds.

Here’s an excerpt from “Acupuncture Questions & Answers”:

How safe is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is extremely safe. It is an all-natural, drug-free therapy, yielding no side effects except for feelings of relaxation and well-being. There is little danger of infection from acupuncture needles because they are sterile, used once, and then discarded.

‘Acupuncture & Sports’ Brochure

(Click here to download)

More and more recreational to professional athletes are utilizing the benefits of acupuncture to heal faster and perform better. If there’s an athlete in your life, he or she should take five minutes to read this “Acupuncture & Sports” brochure. It could change their life — or at least get them back to the sport they love far faster.

Here’s an excerpt from “Acupuncture & Sports”:

In today’s hectic lifestyle, we often don’t allow adequate time to heal. We use painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications to dull the aches and pains and reduce inflammation. It’s a quick and easy approach, but only a temporary fix … Acupuncture can provide a competitive edge, leading to improved performance. It is also a viable therapy in the treatment of acute sprains, strains and pains. This ancient and effective form of health care can reduce swelling, improve range of motion, strengthen your body, speed recovery time and address any underlying problems that could contribute to a future injury. Acupuncture can help create a healthier, strong, faster and more agile You.

After one acupuncture treatment, the pain was gone he could walk normally again. He was at first in disbelief, and he probably was wishing he had come in sooner, knowing two years were lost to this injury. He wouldn’t have even come in at all if not for the urging of his wife to try something different in order to get a better result. But at least he came in when he did, still with years left to on some level enjoy playing the sport he loved.

This isn’t an isolated story; it happens here all the time.

Most professional athletes are now aware of the benefits of acupuncture and most pro teams either have an acupuncturist on staff or on a short call list for both new and repetitive injuries. But many recreational athletes—especially men—just don’t think to try acupuncture to recover faster (or recover at all) from sports-related injuries.

Maybe it’s a cultural thing, or maybe they’ve never had an opportunity to learn and understand what acupuncture and acupressure are all about. Whatever the case, too many athletes are in unnecessary pain and paying far more for other care that isn’t working.

What I would wish is for the club soccer players, the recreational football players, the pickup-game baseball guys and gals, the golf enthusiasts and even the ultimate Frisbee stars to THINK to come in for acupuncture RIGHT AFTER they suffer an injury or notice something “nagging.”

The sooner they get in, the faster they’ll heal. And often, all it takes is a single session—especially when caught early. So, we’re calling all sprained toes, sore shoulders, kinked necks, wrenched backs, damaged knees, “tennis elbows” and “dead” arms!

If you hurt it on the field, court, diamond, ice, slopes or track … make acupuncture your first resort instead of the last. And if you’ve already had a positive acupuncture experience, please spread the word. We want more play and less pain among our athletic friends in the Bay Area.

But it’s not “normal.”

No woman should have to suffer every month, and from the perspective of Chinese medicine, you shouldn’t have those difficult symptoms. “Normal” from an acupuncturist’s point of view is a body in balance — a body that’s not exhibiting signs of Qi stagnation. PMS as we known it is the result of blocked energy. That’s what causes the swelling, cramping, distention pain and imbalance (physical and emotional).

Different women regularly experience different kinds of pain. Pain before menstruation suggests energy blockage and blood stagnation together, along with other lifestyle and emotional factors. Pain now and after menstruation is likely a result of a deficiency from having lost so much Qi and blood during the cycle. Pain in a particular part of the body is a combination of energy and lifestyle: Some have low back pain, whereas others have breast distention or are emotionally distraught.

What acupuncture is able to do is replenish or free up the energy the body needs to function properly. We’ll open up the liver or gall bladder channel, strengthen and tonify kidney energy, remove blood stagnation — whatever the particular situation calls for. In doing so, we’ll eliminate much of the pain and allow you to get back onto a regular, far more comfortable cycle.

“Regular” can refer to the amount and the timing. Acupuncture and medicinal herbs well help balance both by balancing the body’s hormone levels.

How Long Will it Take to Get Relief?

As a general rule, I say to receive regular acupuncture treatment through the course of three menstrual cycles to enjoy all the potential benefits. When the body’s natural energy and blood is flowing and its hormones are nicely balanced, the change can be tremendously significant. For some women, one treatment is enough to feel very different; they just need that little boost to get back on track. Some women take longer, depending on the other lifestyle factors in play.

Anger, unhappiness and stress can put additional stress on the body and work against the treatment’s balancing benefits. Anything that brings a person farther out of balance will require more help to bring back. So, to avoid rocking back and forth from improvement and regression, it’s helpful to address the pain holistically. What lifestyle changes can be made that will complement the treatment and lead to lasting relief and improvement?

Good information is also key. Many women don’t realize that eating cold food and drinking ice-cold beverages at that time of the month has a “numbing” effect that slows down blood flow and works against a natural, comfortable cycle. Constricted blood vessels will not help menstruation flow. On the other side of the equation, drinking warm liquids and eating warm foods will increase circulation and help keep things open. Many women having extreme discomfort will drink ice water and other iced drinks simply because they don’t know it will make them feel worse.

At Eastern Medical Center, we hope to be a source of helpful information through this blog and private in-office consultations, as well as a source of healing and relief through acupuncture treatments. If you’re in intense (or even marginal) discomfort every month, it’s not to be expected. There are straightforward steps we can take to improve your health and comfort level.

There can also be great beauty during times like these, when we see what (and who) really matters … when we see past the superficial to the true being inside … when people come together to overcome adversity.

These stories—and there are so many of heroic patients overcoming illness—are so heartwarming. But what breaks my heart as a physician is knowing some of their suffering is avoidable through utilizing Eastern medicine.

Acupuncture is a powerful resource for both treating disease and alleviating cancer-related nausea, pain, numbness and even anxiety. Most of my patients find me after already going through cancer and chemo, and they come to keep their body healthy so that cancer does not return and other ailments can’t take hold. Acupuncture helps cancer patients feel stronger in body, mind and spirit … and helps create hope and give the support many need.

I am proud to be a part of The Sandra J. Wing Healing Therapies Foundation as well as the Tri-Valley Community Foundation and to have volunteered my services to Relay for Life, being of service when and where I can.

There are many fine organizations raising awareness about illness-causing agents and Eastern treatment options. Most recently, I have been corresponding with David Palombo, the National Awareness Coordinator for the Mesothelioma Center (asbestos.com). He writes:

“Acupuncture has been linked to alleviating the nausea associated with chemotherapy and the pain incurred from the constant surgeries that cancer patients undergo. The Mesothelioma Center offers the most comprehensive and current information on asbestos exposure and a complete list of malignant mesothelioma symptoms.”

Their site also points out that when it comes to the treatment of asbestos-related cancers, acupuncture treatments not only relieve pain but make breathing much easier.

We will continue to use this blog to shine a light on patient resources, so feel free to post a comment if you know of something we should spotlight. And if you or someone you love is in pain and suffering from cancer-related treatment, I encourage you to set up a consultation to discuss how Eastern medicine may be able to provide some additional support, healing and relief. It would be an honor to help.