Oriental Medicine, or Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is as diverse in its practice as western medicine. It is employed in both acute and chronic illnesses, and it includes internal and external pharmacological therapy. Chinese herbal medicine includes the use of plant, animal and mineral substances. Preparations are administered, similar to western medicine, via a number of routes:

• oral consumption (such as pills, teas and powders)

• nasogastric administration

• topical applications

• vaginal and rectal preparations

• ear and eye preparations

• intravenous, intramuscular,

• subcutaneous injections

• acupuncture, including traditional manual needle stimulation

• modern usage of laser and electrical stimulation

• embedding needles

• Chinese massage

• dietary and lifestyle advice

• specific techniques including moxibustion, cupping, scraping, point injection therapy, breathing, movement and meditation

TCM is based on an understanding of health and illness which differs substantially from that in western medicine. Clinical phenomena are interpreted by reference to theories of bodily operation which are alien to the western-trained scientific eye. A brief overview of the key differences between Oriental and Western medicine can be provided.

Functional Medicine is a natural, science-based approach to return to a healthy state. It is patient-centered medical healing at its best. Instead of focusing on symptoms and treating health problems as isolated diseases, functional medicine treats the whole individual.

Similar to looking at an iceberg, a named disease such as diabetes, cancer, or fibromyalgia might be visible above the surface, but according to Functional Medicine, the cause lies in the altered physiology below the surface. Often, the cause of a disease and its associated symptoms is an underlying dysfunction and/or imbalance of bodily systems. A named disease is usually just the tip of the iceberg. According to Functional Medicine, the real causes of a patient’s health problems are below the surface. If health care only treats the tip of the iceberg, it rarely leads to long-term relief and vibrancy. Functional Medicine seeks to identify and treat the underlying root cause or causes for a much better chance to successfully resolve a patient’s health challenge.

Using scientific principles, advanced diagnostic testing and treatments other than drugs or surgery, Functional Medicinerestores balance in the body’s primary physiological processes. The primary goal is your lifelong optimal health!

Functional Medicine has been shown to be effective for:

• Auto-Immune Disease

• Chronic Pain

• Diabetes

• Cardiovascular Support

• Hypertension

• Fatigue

• Infertility

• Insomnia

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Digestive Disorders

• Headaches

• Hair Loss

• Skin Disorders

• Cancer Support

• Allergies/Asthma

What is Acu Graph®?

The AcuGraph® Digital Meridian Imaging™ system is a computerized tool used to analyze and document the energetic status of the acupuncture meridians. We use this system in a short examination by touching a moistened probe to acupuncture points on your hands and feet.

What are Acupuncture Meridians?

Acupuncture meridians are invisible energy pathways in your body that have been used therapeutically for over 5000 years. These meridians conduct life-force energy, or Qi (pronounced “chee”) in and around all the parts of your body. Blockage or interference in these meridian pathways can result in energetic imbalances that may contribute to negative health conditions. The primary goal of acupuncture treatment is to restore energetic balance and proper energy flow to these meridians, thus allowing your body to function normally and return to health naturally.

How can AcuGraph® help me?

The AcuGraph® system allows us to measure and analyze the energy level of each acupuncture meridian. Armed with this information, we can make better-informed decisions about your condition, and provide the best treatment possible.

Acupuncture is an area of traditional Chinese medicine which originated in China over 5,000 years ago. It is based on the belief that living beings have a vital energy, called “qi”, that circulates through meridians in the body. There are twelve of these meridians. Each meridian is associated with a different organ system. When the flow of qi throughout a meridian becomes imbalanced, then disease begins.

Acupuncture has been shown to be effective for:

• Low back pain

• Neck pain

• Sciatica

• Tennis elbow

• Knee Pain

• Peri-arthritis of the shoulder

• Sprains

• Facial pain

• TMJ

• Headache

• Dental Pain

• Acute and chronic gastritis

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Induction of labor

• Breech birth presentation

• Morning sickness

• Nausea and vomiting

• Postoperative pain

• Stroke

• Essential hypertension

• Primary hypo-tension

• Renal colic

• Leucopenia

• Radiation/ chemo reactions

• Allergic rhinitis

• Hay fever

• Biliary colic

• Depression

• Acute bacillary dysentery

• Primary dysmenorrhea

• Acute epigastralgia

• Peptic ulcer

Cupping refers to an ancient Chinese practice in which a cup is applied to the skin and the pressure in the cup is reduced (by using change in heat or by suctioning out air), so that the skin and superficial muscle layer is drawn into and held in the cup. In some cases, the cup may be moved while the suction of skin is active, causing a regional pulling of the skin and muscle (the technique is called gliding cupping).

This treatment has some relation to certain massage techniques, such as the rapid skin pinching along the back that is an important aspect of tuina. In that practice, the skin is pinched, sometimes at specific points (e.g., bladder meridian points), until a redness is generated. Cupping is applied by acupuncturists to certain acupuncture points, as well as to regions of the body that are affected by pain (where the pain is deeper than the tissues to be pulled). When the cups are moved along the surface of the skin, the treatment is somewhat like guasha (literally, sand scraping), a folk remedy of southeast Asia which is often carried out by scraping the skin with a coin or other object with the intention of breaking up stagnation. Movement of the cups is a gentler technique than guasha, as a lubricant allows the cup to slide without causing as much of the subcutaneous bruising that is an objective of guasha. Still, a certain amount of bruising is expected both from fixed position cupping (especially at the site of the cup rim) and with movement of the cups.

Traditional cupping, with use of heated cups, also has some similarity to moxibustion therapy. Heating of the cups was the method used to obtain suction: the hot air in the cups has a low density and, as the cups cool with the opening sealed by the skin, the pressure within the cups declines, sucking the skin into it. In this case, the cups are hot and have a stimulating effect something like that of burning moxa wool.

Today, cupping is mainly recommended for the treatment of pain, gastro-intestinal disorders, lung diseases (especially chronic cough and asthma), and paralysis, though it can be used for other disorders as well. The areas of the body that are fleshy are preferred sites for cupping. Contraindications for cupping include: areas of skin that are inflamed; cases of high fever, convulsions or cramping, or easy bleeding (i.e., pathological level of low platelets); or the abdominal area or lower back during pregnancy. Movement of the cups is limited to fleshy areas: the movement should not cross bony ridges, such as the spine.

Thermography, or digital internal thermal imaging, is used as a screening tool. This method is a physiological study of your body’s organs & functional systems according to their heat temperatures and patterns of functioning. Infra-red equipment is utilized to take “heat pictures” in a non-invasive fashion. These images can reveal malfunctions at their onset before noticeable symptoms develop. This early detection allows ample time for lifestyle modifications and preventative treatments before serious conditions develop. This can also create awareness much earlier than traditional anatomical study which uses radiation and more invasive techniques once more significant symptoms develop.

Like Acupuncture and other Alternative Medicine practices, the focus of thermography is your body’s flow systems. The images indicate where there are blockages, stagnation, increased heat, decreased heat, etc. In essence, we are looking for areas where there is toxicity causing inflammation from chemicals, pesticides, stress, hormones and other environmental toxins that bombard your body in our busy culture. With diagnostic thermography, we can detect these issues and work to modify issues creating your system’s imbalance long before the traditional treatment process is sought for invasive testing, devastating diagnosis, harsh procedures and brutal side effects. Prevention is always better than recovery!

Diagnostic Thermography can be utilized to detect underlying issues related to:

• Allergies & Sinus
• Breast Health
• Cardiovascular Health
• Dental Health
• Digestive Disorders
• Musculoskeletal Disorders

Microcurrent Therapy uses extremely small amounts of electrical current (millionths of an amp) to help relieve pain and heal soft tissues of the body.

Injury to the body disrupts its normal electrical activity. Microcurrent Therapy produces electrical signals like those naturally occurring when the body is repairing damaged tissues. By applying similar electrical currents, the healing process is enhanced.

The electrical current used in Microcurrent Therapy is so small that it is rarely felt. However, the water-moistened electrodes or gel used to conduct the current may seem cool when first applied.

Microcurrent Therapy is often recommended in cases involving soft tissue inflammation or muscle spasm. Since Microcurrent Therapy mimics the body’s electrical fields it is helpful in relieving pain and stimulating the healing of soft tissues.

Microcurrent Therapy:

• Can help speed the healing process

• Reduces swelling and inflammation

• Masks acute and chronic pain

• Releases muscle trigger points

• Improves soft tissue regeneration

Microcurrent Therapy approximates the natural electrical currents of the body to enhance the healing process.

From Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine / 2013

Special Issue of Clinical Efficacy, Mechanisms, and Safety of Acupuncture and Moxibustion

The Mechanism of Moxibustion: Ancient Theory and Modern Research

by Hongyoung Deng and Xueyong Shen

“Moxibustion is a kind of external treatment; it is based on the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), and it usually bakes acupoints with burning moxa wool. Moxibustion can dredge meridians and regulate qi-blood and has been used to prevent and cure diseases for more than 2500 years. Zuo zhuan of the pre-Qin dynasty in China, which recorded a disease discussion occurred in 581 B.C., is considered to be the earliest literature of moxibustion. The silk books discovered in Mawangdui tomb of the Han dynasty (about 168 B.C.), Moxibustion Classic of Eleven Foot-hand Meridians and Prescriptions for Fifty-two Diseases, had documented the use of moxibustion to treat complex diseases. There are a lot of moxibustion contents in Inner Canon of Huangdi; it inferred that the origin of moxibustion is related to the living habits and disease characteristics of northern Alpine nation in the part of Su wen, Yi fa fang yi lun. Later doctors after Han dynasty had made considerable progress in theory and practice on moxibustion and promoted moxibustion to be a mature and widely used therapy.

Moxibustion has been applied in treating a great range of diseases. A bibliometric analysis on the papers published from 1954 to 2007 in China showed that up to 364 kinds of diseases can be treated with moxibustion. The most proper indications of moxibustion therapy are malposition, diarrhea, and colitis; the common proper indications are urinary incontinence and dysmenorrhea; the next common proper indications are knee osteoarthritis, temporomandibular joint disturbance syndrome, soft tissue injury, heel pain, asthma, urinary retention, and herpes zoster [1]. Moxibustion can also be used to treat weakness, fatigue, and aging related problems. Moxibustion can be classified as traditional moxibustion, drug moxibustion, and modern moxibustion. Traditional moxibustion therapy is the most commonly used in the ancient and contemporary moxibustion clinics; it is characterized by the use of moxa as burning material and can be divided into direct moxibustion and indirect moxibustion depending on whether moxa is directly in contact with the skin while operating. A moxa cone placed directly on the skin and ignited is called direct moxibustion, while the moxa kept at certain distance from the skin is called indirect moxibustion. The insulating materials of indirect moxibustion can be air, garlic, ginger, aconite, salt, and so forth. Drug moxibustion, also named nature moxibustion, uses irritant drugs (such as cantharis, garlic, and semen sinapis) to coat the surface of acupoints and make local skin flushed and blistered to cure diseases. Modern moxibustions, such as microwave moxibustion, laser moxibustion, and electrothermal moxibustion, are used to simulate traditional moxibustion stimulation factors by physical or chemical methods to achieve therapeutic effects of moxibustion. Usually, narrow sense of moxibustion refers to the traditional moxibustion with moxa.   …”

Read more at https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2013/379291/

“Tui’na (pronounced “twee nah”) is a form of Oriental bodywork that has been used in China for centuries. A combination of massage, acupressure and other forms of body manipulation, tui’na works by applying pressure to acupoints, meridians and groups of muscles or nerves to remove blockages that prevent the free flow of qi. Removing these blockages restores the balance of qi in the body, leading to improved health and vitality.

Tui’na History

The details of tui’na‘s techniques and uses were originally documented in The Yellow Emperor’s Classics of Internal Medicine, which was written about 2,500 years ago. Its popularity and recognition grew steadily to the point that by the sixth century, many traditional Chinese medical schools had incorporated tui’na into their programs as a separate department. In China, tui’na is currently taught as a separate but equal field of study, with practitioners receiving the same level of training (and enjoying the same professional respect) as acupuncturists and herbalists. It is also taught as part of the curriculum at every ACAOM-accredited school in the United States.

What to Expect on Your First Tui’na Visit

In a typical tui’na session, the client remains clothed but wears loose clothing, and sits on a chair or couch. The practitioner will ask the patient a series of questions, then begin treatment based on the answers to those questions.

Tui’na practitioners may employ a variety of methods to achieve their goal. Commonly used techniques include soft tissue massage; acupressure and manipulation. Practitioners may sometimes use herbal compresses, liniments, ointments and heat to enhance these techniques.

Conditions and Contraindications

Tui’na is best suited for rectifying chronic pain, musculoskeletal conditions and stress-related disorders that affect the digestive and/or respiratory systems. Among the ailments tui’na treats best are neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, sciatica and tennis elbow. However, because tui’na is designed to improve and restore the flow of qi, treatment often ends up causing improvements to the whole body, not just a specific area. There is anecdotal evidence that headaches, constipation, premenstrual symptoms and some emotional problems may also be effectively treated through tui’na.

Because it tends to be more specific and intense than other types of bodywork, tui’na may not necessarily be used to sedate or relax a patient. The type of massage delivered by a tui’na practitioner can be quite vigorous; in fact, some people may feel sore after their first session. Some patients may also experience feelings of sleepiness or euphoria.”

Reference:

https://www.acupuncturetoday.com/abc/tuina.php

Cold laser therapy, also known as low-level laser therapy (LLLT), is a non-invasive treatment that uses low-intensity light to help the body heal itself: 

Pain relief: Cold laser therapy can reduce pain and inflammation in the affected area. 

Improved healing: The light from the laser stimulates the body's natural healing process, promoting cell regeneration and repair. 

Increased blood flow: The laser increases blood flow to the treated area, bringing more oxygen and nutrients to help with healing. 

Cold laser therapy can be used to treat a variety of conditions,

including:

•  Knee pain from osteoarthritis

•  Low back pain

•  Carpal tunnel syndrome

•  Rheumatoid arthritis

•  Fibromyalgia

•  Tendinitis

•  Nerve pain

•  Sports injuries

•  Sprains and strains 

Cold laser therapy is painless and does not generate heat.

• Nutritional Testing

• Homeopathy

• Injection Therapy

• Cold Laser Treatment

• Bio Idential Hormone Therapy

• Medical-Grade Supplementation

• Food Sensitivity/Allergy Testing

• Oriental Herbology

• Nutraceuticals