acupuncture

Prepping For Acupuncture
healthy living

4 Things to Know Before Your Acupuncture Appointment

If alternative medicine is up your alley, or if you've been dealing with chronic pain you just can't kick, then acupuncture may be the remedy you've been looking for.
by

If alternative medicine is up your alley, or if you've been dealing with chronic pain you just can't kick, then acupuncture may be the remedy you've been looking for. The traditional Chinese medicine calls for thin needles to be inserted at the acupuncture points in the skin, allowing your body's qi, or vital life force, to flow without obstructions. After taking the plunge to try out acupuncture for myself, I left feeling relaxed and calm but equally alert. Here are four things I'm glad I knew going into my first session.

  1. Don't have a caffeine buzz: Going into an acupuncture session jittery from your morning latte is not going to make the experience pleasant. Keep away from tons of caffeine before you head in. This way you'll have your mind in the ideal spot, ready to relax and reboot.
  2. Be honest: You're going to acupuncture to soothe what ails you. Being embarrassed about your circumstances is only harming your ability to be healed. Being honest sounds pretty straightforward, but it's always a helpful reminder.

Keep reading for two more ways to prep for your first appointment.

An Unlikely Pair: The Army and Acupuncture
healthy

An Unlikely Pair: The Army and Acupuncture

Listening to NPR this morning, I almost choked on my toothbrush: the US military is using acupuncture to treat chronic pain.
by

Listening to NPR this morning, I almost choked on my toothbrush: the US military is using acupuncture to treat chronic pain.

Not known for its liberal leanings, the defense department is deploying alternative medicine as a weapon against chronic pain. Well, not all wings of the military; just the Air Force has an acupuncture clinic, which it opened in 2002. While the army used to rely solely on medication to treat chronic pain, they have found acupuncture to have minimal to no side affects, no complications, and no interactions with pharmaceuticals. One soldier, experiencing phantom leg pain post-amputation, explained that in the short term acupuncture treated the pain more effectively and more quickly than medication, but admitted that needling might not have a long lasting effect on the pain. He said the acupuncture left him euphoric, where pain meds leave him loopy.

The military advises that acupuncture is by no means a replacement for western medicine, but a great complement to existing techniques to ease the pain of injured soldiers. Have you ever been needled? What is your take on acupuncture?

Exercise and Acupuncture Help PCOS
healthy living

Exercise and Acupuncture Help PCOS

One in 10 American women suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and according to a new study it looks like modrerate exercise and acupuncture can really help.
by

One in 10 American women suffer from polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), and according to a new study it looks like modrerate exercise and acupuncture can really help.

PCOS is complicated and affects a woman’s menstrual cycle, fertility, hormones, insulin production, circulatory system, and appearance. In a small study involving 20 women, the groups that participated in moderate exercise three times a week or who received low-frequency electro-acupuncture fare better over a 16-week period than the control group that did neither. In electro-acupuncture, the needles are attached to a device that send gentle electronic pulses through them, stimulating the body points associated with ovaries even more. The two groups receiving treatment, those exercising and those who received acupuncture, had lower levels of muscle sympathetic nerve activity, which common means of monitoring the syndrome. The women who received acupuncture treatments had regular menstrual cycles as well, which is a good sign that hormonal element of the syndrome is improving.

If you're interested, please read the abstract of the study to learn more.

Mandy Moore Goes Deep to Find Balance
Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore Goes Deep to Find Balance

Mandy Moore appears to accept herself gracefully, brushing off Hollywood ideals and expectations and replacing them with her own.
by

Mandy Moore appears to accept herself gracefully, brushing off Hollywood ideals and expectations and replacing them with her own. While dealing with a relatable love-hate relationship with her hips, the singer is working to achieve a deeper sense of balance in her life. She told Women's Health, "I'm into having balance in my life and trying to treat myself well." To find out how Mandy nourishes her body and mind, read more

Mandy Moore Loves Peanut Butter, But Ambivalent About Her Hips
Celebrity

Mandy Moore Loves Peanut Butter, But Ambivalent About Her Hips

Newly married Mandy Moore knows that she is no longer 14 because she has the womanly hips to prove it.
by

Newly married Mandy Moore knows that she is no longer 14 because she has the womanly hips to prove it. Although the maturing pop princess appreciates being a role model for women by representing a different, curvier look often under-represented in the media, Mandy admits she has a "love-hate relationship" with her hips.

Rather than focusing so much on her appearance — she has professionals to help her with all that — Moore works at living a healthy lifestyle. She eats a colorful array of foods, gets acupuncture, and avoids the Hollywood diet obsession.

She recently told People magazine:

"I appreciate when there are other women out there who are beautiful and aren't, you know, a pound. I feel lucky that I don't feel pressure . . . to have my whole life be controlled by whether I fit into a certain size."

To see how she deals with french fries, read more

Acupuncture Relieves Tension Headaches
healthy living

Needle Your Tension Away

Once considered a form of quackery, acupuncture is slowly gaining respect in the world of Western medicine.
by

Once considered a form of quackery, acupuncture is slowly gaining respect in the world of Western medicine. This alternative therapy has been shown to reduce pain associated with menstrual cramps, and a review of 11 studies found acupuncture to be useful for relieving tension headaches. Caused by tense muscles in the neck, head, or scalp, tension headaches chronically affect about 45 million Americans. Tension headaches are commonly treated with over-the-counter pain medication, but researchers believe that acupuncture could be a "valuable option" for folks suffering from chronic tension headaches. Have you ever been needled to relieve pain? If so, do you think it worked?

Source

Acupuncture for Infertility
Pregnancy

Infertility: Acupuncture

For those desperate to have a babe of their own flesh and blood, intercourse alone doesn't always do the trick.
by babysugar

For those desperate to have a babe of their own flesh and blood, intercourse alone doesn't always do the trick.

And when that happens, couples explore other avenues. To learn more about one non–traditional method, read more

Got Cramps? Try Acupuncture
cramps

Got Cramps? Try Acupuncture

Menstrual cramps are no fun, but for some women, the pain can be so unbearable that it prevents them from going to work, or even getting out of bed.
by

Menstrual cramps are no fun, but for some women, the pain can be so unbearable that it prevents them from going to work, or even getting out of bed. Instead of popping pain meds, new research from Germany shows that acupuncture treatments may be beneficial in helping to ease menstrual pain.

The study tested 201 women with dysmenorrhea, a condition that causes achy and throbbing cramps. The women were randomly assigned acupuncture treatments or no treatment. After three months, 63 percent of the women who received treatment (about 10 sessions) had at least a 33 percent improvement in their pain. This sounds like a pretty good treatment option, as long as you aren't freaked out by needles.

Source

Acupuncture Your Way to Pregnancy
fertility

Acupuncture Your Way to Pregnancy

There's some good news for women wishing to be with child according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
by

There's some good news for women wishing to be with child according to a study published in the British Medical Journal. Research showed that acupuncture might increase the chances of infertility treatments working since for every ten IVF cycles done with the healing method, there was an extra pregnancy. To learn more about the study, read more

10 Ways to Never Get Sick Again
Cardio

10 Ways to Never Get Sick Again

Sick of getting sick?
by

Sick of getting sick? Join the club. I will do anything and everything it takes to avoid getting sick this winter, and so I was thrilled to find this list of 10 practices that will help you stay away from hospitals, feel healthier, and live longer.

  1. See a Chiropractor
  2. Laugh hard
  3. Scatter your workouts
  4. Sleep at least seven hours a night
  5. See an acupuncturist
  6. Meditate
  7. Perform cardiovascular exercise at least four times a week
  8. Stretch
  9. Eat organic food
  10. Be wary of medications

I regularly do almost everything on the list aside from meditate and see an acupuncturist. What about you guys — how many things on the list do you do?

Source