ACUPUNCTURE AND MIGRAINES

Migraine attacks are severe headaches that last from 4 to 72 hours. The pain is often on one side of your head, throbbing and gets worse when you move. You may also have other symptoms, such as feeling and being sick or being extra-sensitive to sound or light. About 1 in 6 people who have migraines get what's called an aura. This can cause symptoms like temporary problems with your vision, or pins and needles or numbness in parts of your body. You may be more likely to get a migraine attack if you are tired, hungry or stressed, or eat or drink certain foods. Migraines are common. About 1 in 10 people will have a migraine attack in any one year and nearly 1 in 5 people will have an attack at some point in their life. Women are more likely to have migraine attacks than men.

How acupuncture can help?

Traditional acupuncture theory sees pain as being largely due to obstruction of the body’s vital energy or qi. Acupuncture needles are thought to act like switches in the body’s energy circuits, freeing up stagnant energy and getting it flowing.

Research has shown that acupuncture is significantly better than no treatment and also at least as good, if not better than, standard medical care for migraine. From a biomedical perspective, acupuncture can help in the treatment of migraine by:

• providing pain relief – by stimulating nerves located in muscles and other tissues, acupuncture leads to release of pain killing endorphins and changes the processing of pain in the brain and spinal cord.

• reducing inflammation – by promoting release of various biochemical substances.

• increasing blood flow in and around the brain.

• affecting the brain levels of a chemical called serotonin, which has various functions, including control of appetite and mood.

Traditional acupuncture takes a holistic approach to health and regards illness as a sign that the body is out of balance. The exact pattern and degree of imbalance is unique to each individual. The traditional acupuncturist’s skill lies in identifying the precise nature of the underlying disharmony and selecting the most effective treatment. The choice of acupuncture points will be specific to each patient’s needs. Traditional acupuncture can also be used as a preventive measure to strengthen the constitution and promote general well-being.

An increasing weight of evidence from Western scientific research is demonstrating the effectiveness of acupuncture for treating a wide variety of conditions. From a biomedical viewpoint, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system, influencing the production of the body’s communication substances - hormones and neurotransmitters. The resulting biochemical changes activate the body's self-regulating homeostatic systems, stimulating its natural healing abilities and promoting physical and emotional well-being.

by Dr. Maria Phillips, DAOM, L.Ac.

Herniated Disc? Now what?

Not so long ago a diagnosis of a herniated disc often had you heading for an open surgery with a long recovery. This is no longer the case. In fact, it is most important to always verify the true cause of your pain or symtoms. For example, in many instances it may not be the disc causing the problem. We now know many people have disc herniations and are totally asymptomatic. There are many techniques and methods to determine and verify the true cause of your pain. The good news is there are many minimally invasive procedures such as spinal decompression, such as the DRX9000 or endoscopic disectomies that have patients regain their lives. It is important to make sure you seek out conservative options first prior to undergoing more invasive procedures.

What is functional training?

The days of working out "body parts" are a thing of the past. For example, working out your back and biceps on one day and your chest and triceps on another. This methodology, although good for muscular growth, does not translate to real life activities. So what we create are muscular people who are not able to perform integrated movements successfully. In other words these people can lift heavy weight in one plane or direction but when you put the person in real life situations, where they need to move at certain angles, they cannot perform them and are subject to spine or joint injuries. Working out should prepare your body to prevent injury and pain syndromes and increase performance in everyday MOVEMENTS such as lifting, bending, reaching etc. In functional training the difference is in training movements and not muscles. When you train movements you integrate several muscle groups at the same time, strengthen your core and prepare the body for real life movement and performance.