Tag: traditional medicine

How Many Acupuncture Treatments Will it Take?

Acupuncture is a well-established and increasingly accepted treatment procedure for pain, for emotional troubles, and for an ever increasing number of physical ailments. More and more traditional physicians are referring patients to acupuncture clinics for a certain set of problems that may be treated more effectively, and without the side effects of medication. Also, individuals may decide to use an acupuncture clinic as the first choice to heal a disease.

The length of a treatment varies widely from person to person, depending on the particular symptoms, the age of the patient, how long the condition has existed, and the environment of the patient. There also seem to be patients that are naturally responsive to acupuncture, when all the other factors are similar. A patient that is responsive to acupuncture may only require one or two visits, as is the case with a number of children. Adult patients that are responsive generally require one to six visits for a particular symptom or set of symptoms. In other cases, up to twenty visits may be required, depending on the severity and length of time the symptoms have persisted. But even some remarkable cases such as recovery from paralysis may come about after a very long series of treatments.

For some conditions, such as for chronic pain, daily treatments are recommended until the pain subsides. The same is true for clients using acupuncture as a means to help stop drug addiction, which require daily treatments in order to keep the cravings at a minimal level. In a few patients, the initial treatment may aggravate the symptoms. A similar possibility is that there is a marked improvement after the first treatment, which may be followed by an aggravation of symptoms at the next few treatments. These should be reported in detail to the acupuncture practitioner, who may revise the locations of needles for the treatment, depending on the particular patient.

It is always a good idea to consider an acupuncture practitioner for whatever health problem you might have. Some problems respond exceptionally well with acupuncture. Acupuncture has a very good success rate for such symptoms as headaches, head congestion, cramps (menstrual, muscular, or intestinal), pain, depression, fatigue, hemorrhoids, and children’s nervous disorders. Acupuncture treatments have frequent success in the following areas, though not quite the same success rate as in the areas above. These include diarrhea, painful menstruation, eczema, gastric problems, kidney and gall bladder malfunction, nervous disorders, palpitations, rheumatism, shingles, autonomic nervous problems, especially following surgery.

There are a number of other conditions that acupuncture can be effective for, and for these a practitioner should be consulted, as new results are coming out frequently. Currently, it is thought that acupuncture is more helpful for symptoms rather than curing such diseases as tuberculosis, infantile paralysis, and Parkinson’s disease. Acupuncture treatments are sometimes surprisingly effective after traditional medicine has been tried without success. Lets look at two simple cases. In the first, a lady suffered with pain in her ankle for three years, and no standard medical treatment helped. Careful observation of her symptoms by an experienced acupuncture practitioner cured her in three treatments. The second case was of a farmer who had a low grade fever (about 100 degrees) nearly every night for a number of months. Regular physicians could not determine a cause, nor a solution. Regular acupuncture treatment was not effective. The acupuncture practitioner then applied the treatments at the optimal time (very early AM, not during the normal clinic hours), and the fever disappeared permanently. I hope this introduction to some uses of acupuncture may help you or someone you know to better health.

The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture

It is surprising to many people that a large and growing number of traditional physicians support the use of and practice of acupuncture techniques. The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture was organized by physicians who want to further the use of acupuncture in regular medical treatment. The Academy was founded nearly twenty years ago by a group of physicians trained in acupuncture, which graduated from courses sponsored by the UCLA School of Medicine.It used to be that acupuncture practitioners had vast knowledge of the traditional acupuncture techniques and philosophy, but little or no training in traditional western medicine. At the other end of the medical spectrum were physicians, who knew nothing about traditional Chinese medicine, and looked with some doubt on the claims of acupuncture treatment. However, a number of studies and experiments showed that acupuncture gave consistently good results in a number of areas, and so physicians started referring their patients for particular problems, such as persistent pain. After some time traditional physicians starting learning and using acupuncture techniques as part of their own methods of treatment. In addition to the techniques, they learned the long history behind the current acupuncture techniques.

The Academy (known as AAMA) is important to both physicians and patients, for members of the AAMA meet the highest standards for both traditional medicine and certified acupuncture practitioners. Most patients implicitly trust physicians, both for their extensive training and for their high standards of practice. They extend both of these to the practice of acupuncture within their offices.

One of the goals of the AAMA is to spread knowledge and appreciation of acupuncture to other physicians and health professionals that presently know little about its use. Most physicians in hospitals have heard of the possible use of acupuncture instead of anesthesia, but it is also becoming more accepted in other areas, such as minimizing pain and nausea for the patient once the operation is over and the patient is in the recovery room. Acupuncture also has some interesting uses possible in emergency room treatments.

The AAMA is also very dedicated to pursuing research and studies into new applications for acupuncture in both the hospital and physician office settings. It is especially interested in researchers to look into the fundamentals of why certain acupuncture techniques are as successful as they are. In other words, many doctors want a traditional medical explanation of the process that the acupuncture treatment starts. It seems that a simple insertion of a number of needles is a mystifying way to accomplish the results, and there is a good deal of research into how to exactly explain the mechanisms that occur. Doctors who do research into these areas may publish their results in a magazine called
Medical Acupuncture, the official journal of the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture. These magazine presents authoritative papers, case reports, and research findings that integrate concepts from traditional and modern forms of acupuncture with Western medical training. This publication covers the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture in pain relief, cancer, stroke, pulmonology, urology, OB/GYN, gastroenterology, and much more.

The existence of a large and growing numbers of qualified physicians that are also trained acupuncturists guarantees that the benefits of each discipline will continue to make current American health practice better for the patients.

Chiropractic Care and Children

We all experience pain and discomfort at one time or another. This pain and discomfort can be caused by many factors, including injury, arthritis, and poor joint use. Pain is not a walk in the park. When children suffer the pain, it can be unbearable, for both them and parents. If your child complains of pain or difficulty moving, your first thought may be to take them to their primary care physician. Yes, you can, but why not opt for natural relief? You can get it with chiropractic care.

If you didnt already know, chiropractic care is a natural form of medicine. Patients can opt to take over-the-counter pain relievers, but they are rarely needed when proper treatment is sought. Chiropractic care involves manual therapy, also known as hand therapy. A child suffering from neck pain may need neck realignment or regular therapeutic massages. A child suffering from constant and severe headaches may need a vertebrae alignment. These treatments sound complicated, but they are all done with precision force and with the hands.

One of the first questions parents ask is about safety. Many wonder if chiropractic care is safe for children. Yes. In fact, it is safer than most forms of traditional medicine. Your childs primary care physician may prescribe pain reliever. Both prescribed and over-the-counter pain relievers are risky for children. There are many risks and typically some side effects. Chiropractors cannot prescribe medication. Most wouldnt want to anyways. Instead, natural treatment is sought and through the hands. The treatment will depend on the diagnosis made, but remember it is usually a joint adjustment or a therapeutic massage. These are 100% all natural and not risky.

Another important point parents, like yourself, are urged to consider is long-term relief. Many mistakenly believe that chiropractic care is long-term. It can be, but not always. Parents and chiropractors develop long-term treatment plans together. If your childs lower back problems were caused by improper posture, therapeutic massages or readjustment may be necessary, but continued treatment is usually rare. Your childs chiropractor will however discuss the importance of proper posture with you and your child and share helpful tips.

If your child needs long-term care, cost may be a concern. Although some classify chiropractic care as alternative medicine, many insurance companies extend coverage. Talk to your insurance provider and find a chiropractor that accepts it. If uninsured, inquire about payment plans.

As previously stated, a primary care physician may prescribe over-the-counter pain pills for the pain and offer a brace for support. These are only temporarily solutions to the problem. Many physicians only treat the symptoms, not the problem at hand. As previously stated, a child suffering from neck pain may need an adjustment or realignment. With chiropractic care, this is done with precise hand manipulation. A primary care physician is likely to write a prescription for pain pills, slap a brace on your child, and send them on their way.

As shown above, chiropractic care is safe for individuals of all ages, including children. Still, there are many ways that you can eliminate the need for chiropractic care. In fact, it might be a lot easier than you think. For starters, the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) claims that poor quality backpacks and improper use can lead to lower back pain in children. So, if you are the parent of a school aged child, make sure your childs bag is less than 10% of their weight, do not let it hang too far below the waistline, keep pointy objects away from your childs back, and choose a backpack with wide and adjustable straps.

Another easy way to reduce pain and discomfort in children is encourage proper posture as a parent. This is particularly important today, as children spend many hours watching television, playing video games, and using a computer. Encourage your child to sit up straight. This simple step can later reduce the likelihood of back and neck pain.

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