There is convenient parking near the clinic but you pay for the convenience. Someone who didn’t mind doing so put me on to the valet parking at the State Buildings. It’s $40 for less than three hours, but you get a coffee along with the benefit of a short walk to the clinic, and not driving around trying to find a spot.
In another post about parking I said I would reimburse parking costs at the next appointment. If you use valet parking we’ll go halves.
Acupuncturists understand how neck and upper back tension can lead to jaw problems: tense muscles, grinding teeth, or TMJ trouble. We can use that understanding to relieve the tension and the problems it causes.
Acupuncturists see sinew channels or 经筋 jingjin which are continuous bands of connected muscles. Many bodyworkers and physical therapists use a similar idea of myofascial chains or anatomy trains. This model explains how neck and upper back tension affects the muscles controlling the jaw and why easing the tension alleviates jaw problems.
It also explains why acupuncture points in the hand and foot can help.
Image “Illustration on Grinding your Teeth” by James Gayle Art.
For autumn health we should eat moistening foods to repair the body after summer’s dry heat, and prepare ourselves for the cold of winter. The Chinese autumn is dry and cool, but on Whadjuk Noongar Boodja we go from Bunuru which is the hottest time of the year, to the cooler days and nights and the first rains of Djeran. And Djeran has been quite lovely this year.
TCM associates the lungs with autumn, and it is because these are easily affected by dryness that it is the time to eat moistening food. And we are withered by the long dry seasons Binak and Bunuru. Seasonal produce that moisten the lungs include figs, pears, sweetcorn, walnuts, molasses, fatty fish, and duck. Looking after the lungs helps with immunity, so it is good time to quit smoking or cut right back. Our medicine sees grief as the emotion that can damage the lungs. Sometimes things get to us, but try not to be sad. Just as the Noongar people repaired their shelters to prepare for winter, it’s a good time to use Chinese herbal medicine that is traditionally used to boost immunity and ward-off colds and flus.
Yes I’ve posted about autumn before, this is a reprise.
Image: AUTUMN LEAVES AT KAIANJI TEMPLE (Utagawa Hiroshige)
Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. No wonder the Magi are known as wise men. Their gifts were valuable but the last two were also useful as healing traditional medicine – they were used to help mothers recover from childbirth. Burning them as incenses covered bad smells, and was thought to purify the air and prevent infectious disease. Pretty handy in a stable.
We use frankincense and myrrh to improve blood circulation, and to help people recover from traumatic injury. We don’t tend to use them for post-partum recovery but instead use other herbs with similar characteristics. Probably because while they smell great they don’t taste too good.
Yes. Xmas – X being an abbreviation of Χριστός, the Greek word used to name Christ.
Acupuncture and herbal medicine improve the fertility of women and couples who are trying to conceive, naturally or through IVF.
In general, happy healthy people are more fertile and the treatments will aim for this. We will also work on specifics such as such as egg quality and the health of the endometrial lining, calming the nervous system, and emotional support.
Continuing treatment during pregnancy addresses morning sickness, low energy or digestive issues in the 1st trimester; lower back pain later on; and preparation for trouble-free labor and delivery.
There’s even an old herbal prescription called Guarantee Trouble Free Labour Drink 保產無憂方
The most recent review of evidence found that acupuncture benefits the outcomes of women with infertility and that the number of treatments is a potential influential factor (1). Interestingly another review found that the evidence was better that herbal medicine had an effect on infertility(2). And a review of the evidence for acupuncture to improve the outcomes of IVF said that it could improve pregnancy rates (3).
(1) Quan K, Yu C, Wen X, Lin Q, Wang N, Ma H. Acupuncture as Treatment for Female Infertility: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2022 Feb 16;2022:3595033. link. PMID: 35222669; PMCID: PMC8865966.
(2) Lee JW, Hyun MK, Kim HJ, Kim DI. Acupuncture and herbal medicine for female infertility: an overview of systematic reviews. Integr Med Res. 2021 Sep;10(3):100694. link. Epub 2020 Nov 18. PMID: 33665092; PMCID: PMC7903059.
(3) Xiu, Wc., Gang, Wj., Jiao, Rm. et al. Effect of Acupuncture on Outcomes of In-Vitro Fertilisation: A Scoping Review. Chin. J. Integr. Med. 28, 472–480 (2022). link
Many people use anti-inflammatory drugs when they have an injury or ongoing musculo-skeletal pain. Often the drugs are recommended and prescribed by their GP. But it is becoming accepted that inflammation is an important part of the healing process and that we should avoid anti-inflammatories.
In fact a recent editorial in The British Journal of Sports Medicine (1) recommended replacing the old R.I.C.E acronym for acute sports injury care with PEACE and LOVE, where A stands for “Avoid Anti-inflammatories”.
I still call my acute injury liniment R.I.C.E. though.
And of course I think that the A should also stand for Acupuncture. Get it.
(1)Soft-tissue injuries simply need PEACE and LOVE;
Acupuncture may help relieve constipation.
Last week a client was a little backed up from taking his pain relief medication after surgery. The night following acupuncture treatment he woke during the night with the urge to go and cleared the lot.
Of course this one treatment doesn’t prove that acupuncture effectively treats constipation, but there has been some research to show that it can. One review of clinical trials found that acupuncture relieved opioid induced constipation on it’s own, and improved the results of medication (1); a recent small clinical trial showed that it can improve the symptoms and quality of life of people with functional constipation (2); and a systematic review found that electro-acupuncture has favourable effects on chronic severe functional constipation (3).
In this case I also used electro-acupuncture.
1. Han C, Liu Y, Fan H, Li D, Guo N. Acupuncture Relieves Opioid-Induced Constipation in Clinical Cancer Therapy – A Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review. Clin Epidemiol. 2021;13:907-919. Published 2021 Oct 2. doi:10.2147/CLEP.S324193
2. Xu, Xh., Zhang, Mm., Wu, X. et al. Efficacy of Electro-acupuncture in Treatment of Functional Constipation: A Randomized Controlled Trial. CURR MED SCI 40, 363–371 (2020).
doi:10.1007/s11596-020-2188-y
3. Na Z, Liangying H, Peijing Y, Xiuxia L, Yongfeng W, Junqiang N, Lufang F, Jingwen L, Kehu Y, Xingrong L.
Electro-acupuncture vs. sham Electro-acupuncture for Chronic Severe Functional Constipation: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2021;54
doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2020.102521.
Acupuncture can help with lower back pain. One recent review of clinical trials found statistically significant reductions in pain compared to sham treatment (1), and another concluded that acupuncture appears to be effective in treating non-specific lower back pain, and may be an important supplement to usual care (2). But often it’s going to take a bit more than the acupuncture, and there’s a bit of a journey involved.
When I posted before about how top athletes get acupuncture I wrote about how professional cyclists use acupuncture to improve recovery and to boost performance, as well as to treat injuries.
Turns out a bunch of NBA players get acupuncture too.
And former players. Even the Shaq.
Ginseng is an adoptogen. What does that mean? That it does what the person taking it needs it to do.
I had to do a bit of research because a doctor asked me it there was ginseng in a client’s medicine that could have made his blood pressure too high. It turns out that ginseng may raise blood pressure in individuals when it is too low, but reduces blood pressure when it is too high and is being investigated as a treatment for hypertension. 
Many of the herbs we use are adaptogens, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that everyone should take them. Young people with lots of exuberant natural energy (Yang) may find that ginseng may make them a bit restless or agitated, or it may effect their sleep. People who drink too much coffee will probably feel a bit edgy if they also take ginseng. And older people whose cooling receptive nourishment (Yin) has declined may find ginseng overheats them a bit.
An Osteopathy student at uni told me that his Chinese mother took so much reishi mushroom and ginseng that she got headaches and nosebleeds. Too much heat in our book. But he couldn’t convince her to take less.