The low energy, unyielding pain and “coldness” all negatively impact lifestyle. You want to be active. You want to dress normally (instead of wearing tons of layers). You want peace of mind and a sound body. And these are all totally understandable, reasonable “wants” for a human being to have.

Our goal at Eastern Medical Center is to try to fulfill those “wants” to the fullest possible extent using acupuncture and Chinese herbs. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the symptoms I’ve described are typically a result of a “yang deficiency.” That can be addressed through acupuncture to restore the proper balance and radically increase the body’s energy flow.

One of my acupuncture patients spent $50,000 on Western specialists and fibromyalgia clinics simply trying to “feel better” and find relief from constant pain. She lost her job and her house because she couldn’t move, couldn’t go outside and couldn’t drive at night because the intensity of oncoming car headlights would create piercing head and eye pain. Saddest of all, she began to adapt to this abnormal lifestyle and expect life to look that way.

After $50,000 and no relief, she turned to Eastern Medicine. After one treatment here, she noticed a change. And after every treatment, she felt a little better, with a little less pain. Then, she had a little more energy. Then, she felt a little warmer. Treatment after treatment, all these “little” amounts began to total a “lot” of change. After four treatments she could go outside at night. Recently, she told me she was able to have friends and family over whom she hadn’t seen in some time — and they all commented about how beautiful she looked. She has more energy she can give to herself and her loved ones. That $50,000 didn’t do anything, but acupuncture changed everything.

Maybe more than anything, fibromyalgia sufferers need hope. I hope this story provides an idea of what a brighter future can look like, and I’m here eager to help new patients find more energy and heal.

As far as the day-to-day impact of this condition, when the spine’s curve is incorrect, it can cause a great deal of pain. Fortunately, acupuncture can help dramatically with the pain for scoliosis sufferers, and it the right circumstances can help the body restore the spine’s natural curvature, eliminating the problem altogether.

From an Eastern medical perspective, congestion in energy and blood flow is often the culprit for scoliosis sufferers. When acupuncture opens up that congestion — those “blocks” along the spine — allowing for efficient blood flow throughout the body, it relieves the pain tremendously. The body’s metabolism regulates, and the body finally has an opportunity to really heal.

Acupuncture is so powerful in relieving scoliosis pain that many of the patients I’ve treated relax more deeply than they have in years … sometimes even falling asleep during treatment. And as the body starts getting long-sought nourishment, tight areas and muscles continue to relax more and more, expanding the relief and release.

We are capable of putting up with so much pain and adapting so completely to medical conditions that when we’re actually finally comfortable, the physical and emotional relief is enormous. One of my greatest joys as an acupuncturist is helping people be comfortable while rediscovering how great they can physically feel when they have a little support in their healing process.

For more about fire cupping, please check out our dedicated post on that topic. Below are the details of our current cupping special to give you even one more reason to pick up the phone and make a cupping treatment appointment!

Cupping can help you feel better, lose weight and look younger! Call EMC today for special rates and packages.

Weight Loss/Cellulite/Skin-tightening Cupping Special!
Cupping will increase local and whole-body circulation on all the trouble spots in your body … and much more. For a limited time, cupping treatments are only:

• $300 for a 10-treatment discount package
• $40 for a single treatment

Check out Cosmetic Acupuncture and Cupping for Weight Loss
Using the secrets of the Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture system, we can help you lose inches off your waist naturally!

This special includes acupressure, cupping in all the trouble areas and Mei Zen Cosmetic Acupuncture all together for an amazing treatment.

For pricing on this special offer, please call Eastern Medical Center at (925) 847-8889. We are happy to answer all your questions and are excited to help you feel better and look your best with cosmetic acupuncture and cupping!

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.

I am a member of the American Pregnancy Association, a wonderful organization promoting pregnancy wellness. Their Web site is an exceptional resource for all things relating to pregnancy and infertility, and they also have sections that go into treating infertility with acupuncture and herbal medicine in great detail.

Here’s a brief excerpt from their article on treating infertility using acupuncture:

“Acupuncture can be used to treat any type of fertility disorder including spasmed tubes. (Spasmed tubes are often de-spasmed with acupuncture, though blocked tubes will not respond to acupuncture). Acupuncture is often combined with herbs to treat elevated follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), repeated pregnancy loss, unexplained (idiopathic) infertility, luteal phase defect, hyperprolactinemia (when not caused by a prolactinoma), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with annovulatory cycles, and male factor including men affected with sperm-DNA-fragmentation.”

Their articles also discuss how acupuncture can help prevent miscarriages (and on the other end of the spectrum, help women have a quicker, easier, less painful time giving birth). Please browse their site for more on herbs, acupuncture and many other articles, videos and tools for a comfortable, healthy pregnancy.

If you or someone you love is experiencing infertility problems, has a fear of miscarriage or is going through a difficult pregnancy, please feel free to call Eastern Medical Center (925-847-8889) or come in for a consultation to talk about how acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine can help.

Acupuncture is like opening up the dam and letting fresh water rush in.

Picture that rushing river of clean, fresh, fully moving energy. Cells are fully oxygenated. Blood is circulating. By just thinking about it you begin to feel better because our body and our Earth are the same. They need the same essential nourishment and conditions for prosperity. That’s why no matter what’s going on in your life, start “at the roots.” Start with your body.

When you’re feeling healthy and energetic and clear, only then can you really be of help to others in a sustainable way.

Emotions and Stuck Energy

When we have certain emotions, they cause our energy to go certain directions. When you’re regularly experiencing a range of different emotions, it all generally balances out. But when we stay with one emotion for a very long time (anger, jealousy, resentment, fearfulness, etc.) and keep the energy fixated in that emotional place, problems start to develop. With frustration or anger, for example, energy becomes trapped high in your head. That leads to high blood pressure, migraines, headaches, red eyes, neck pain and shoulder stiffness … it’s all energy that’s stuck up there because of a constant emotional state.

When you relax and release that energy through acupuncture or other means, the benefits are immediately noticeable. But one emotional break followed by weeks of anger and frustration won’t effect substantial change. It has to be consistent. Just like with nature, it took time to get there, and it will take time and consistency to get out of it.

This may sound more obvious when discussing something such as exercising. If you really want to build muscular strength, you can’t just work out once a month (and skip a month here and there) and expect a dramatic result. It takes persistence and time to see and feel a difference in your body.

You instinctively know when you’re “stuck” or something is out of balance. Whether it’s physical or emotional discomfort, you can use acupuncture as a support system to achieve balance, release and movement toward where (or who) you want to be.