Acupuncture is not the only healing tool that is used in Chinese medicine. In adition to acupuncture, practitioners use a variety of methods to help their patients heal. One of the most interesting modalities is the practice of cupping, which involves placing glass or plastic cups on the body in which a vacuum has been created. The vacuum acts to pull the skin, increasing the flow of blood and energy. For practical reasons, cupping is usually done on the larger areas of the body, such as the back or legs; but it can be done almost anywhere if necessary.

I have found that once I have cupped a patient for the first time, one of two things happens; either they always want to be cupped at every appointment, or they never want to be cupped again. The effects of cupping can be subtle, and those people who choose not to be cupped do so not because the cupping was painful–it’s not–they just don’t see the point.

Those people who want to be cupped at every appointment, however, understand the benefits of cupping. The purpose is to move stagnant energy, facilitate healing, and relieve pain. In addition, many patients want their back cupped because it loosens up tight muscles and it’s incredibly relaxing. Essentially, after being cupped a patient feels energized and loose.

There are a couple of ways to create a vacuum in the cups. One is by using cups with small gaskets through which air can be pulled out with a pump. The other method is called fire cupping. A cotton ball is soaked in alcohol and lit, then held in the cup for a few seconds until the flame has used up all the air. The cup is then quickly placed on the skin. It all sounds very dramatic and dangerous, but it is actually quite safe and works very well. The cups may then be left on the skin for five to ten minutes or they can be moved across the skin (while retaining the vacuum) to treat a larger area.

The downside of cupping is that while it ‘s painless, it can leave a mark on your skin that looks like a perfectly round bruise (think very large hickey). If you’re planning to go to the beach or wear strapless evening wear, you may want to postpone being cupped until your next visit. Or not. Apparently Gwenneth Paltrow believed the benefits of cupping outweighed the possibility of being photographed with marks on her back.

In Chinese medicine, good health is associated with flow, and when that flow is obstructed in some way, it causes illness and pain. The color purple is frequently seen in cases where there is lack of movement or flow; something we acupuncturists call stagnation. In many cases, purple indicates a stagnation of blood.

A few weeks ago, one of my regular patients came to me because her back was really acting up. In her early seventies, I had treated this woman for a number of aches and pains, but had not spent much time treating her lower back. This particular patient is one of strong opinions, and on this particular day she was clear; her back needed attention.

 When I got her onto my treatment table, I took a look at her lower back and saw that there were quite a few purple spots near the surface of the skin. They weren’t bruises, but it looked like varicose veins in the area of her low back and sacrum. The spots were a little bit unusual, but the purple color told me what I needed to know; blood stagnation was causing her discomfort.

You know that your blood moves; it’s pumped by your heart and travels throughout your body in your veins and arteries. So how can it not move?  Actually, there are a number of conditions that are directly associated with stagnant blood, including bruises, varicose veins, menstrual cramps, blood clots, and coronary artery disease (blocked arteries). In addition, masses, lumps, abscesses and ulcers are also considered to be caused by blood stagnation in Chinese medicine.

There are a couple of hallmark signs of stagnant blood. First, it’s usually painful. The pain tends to be fixed in one place and feel deep, sharp, or colicky. Secondly, in many cases, there is some presentation of the color purple. For example, varicose veins are visibly purple. More subtly, someone who is suffering from blood clots or coronary artery disease will usually have a purple looking tongue or a purple hue to their fingernails.

In Western medicine, blood stagnation is usually associated with hematology, such as clotting issues, strokes, and heart disease. As you get older, your doctor may advise you to take an aspirin a day, which helps your blood move by making your platelets (which help clotting) a little less sticky. If you’ve had a history of blood clots, you may be prescribed a stronger blood thinner, such as Coumadin.

In Chinese medicine, there are a number of herbs that are used to move blood. Frequently, they are site specific. For example, Szechuanlovage root (chuan xiong) is used for gynecological problems like menstrual cramps or amenorrhea (no periods). Salvia root, (dan shen) is used for blood stagnation in the lower abdomen or the chest. A more familiar herb, Turmeric (yu jin) is used for a variety of conditions associated with stagnant blood, and is gaining attention as a supplement in treating inflammation and in the prevention of Alzheimer’s and certain kinds of cancers.

My patient with low back pain was taking a number of prescription medications, and was not interested in an herbal formula. However, knowing that her condition was related to stagnant blood, I included a couple of acupuncture points in my treatment known to help move blood and relieve pain. I also did a little Chinese bodywork, called Tui Na to get the blood moving in her lower back. While she wasn’t ready to go out dancing, she was definitely feeling better when she left my office.

Not long ago, this letter to the editor about teen mental health appeared in our local newspaper:

Many parents may relate to the July 5 article “Worried about a moody teen?”  An acquaintance told me recently that the severe anger of her middle son had caused problems in the family.  She decided to try alternative medicine and took him to an acupuncturist.  After one visit, the change in the 11-year-old was amazing.  A local acupuncturist told me that acupuncture in pre-adolescents and adolescents can be extremely effective.  It could be worth a try.  (Minneapolis Star Tribune, Monday, July 12, 2010)

As the letter states, acupuncture can be incredibly effective for adolescents. This is true for a number of reasons.  First, for the most part, they are young and healthy.  Acupuncture tends to be far more effective for someone who is healthy and able to heal quickly, as opposed to someone in their seventies or eighties who has been ill for a long time. 

The second reason that acupuncture works so well for adolescents goes back to Chinese medical theory.  The Chinese say that children are considered to be pure Yang.  Compared to the nourishing, cooling, substance of Yin, Yang is warm, active, and transformative.  And that’s what kids do—they transform.  They are growing and changing almost daily, and it seems that as soon as you have one stage figured out, they have moved onto the next.  This is a good thing on the healing front.  Because kids are growing so quickly, they also heal quickly.  This is both good news and bad news, especially when we’re talking about adolescents.  

The pure Yang thing can also work against kids, especially during the pre-teen and teen years. Good health, or balance, in Chinese medicine is all about smooth flow, and for the most part, our kids grow and flow smoothly.  Unfortunately, as kids go through adolescence, they begin changing even more quickly. On top of the physical growth, kids are faced with increasing stress of school and peer relationships. Then Mother Nature throws in a dark cocktail of hormones to make that transformation even more…uh, interesting.  For some kids, this sudden growth, plus hormones, plus stress creates a perfect storm that can block the smooth flow of energy and emotions, causing a wide variety of mental health symptoms.

Finally, acupuncture works for emotional health issues because it affects brain chemistry.  Researchers studying the effects of acupuncture have determined that acupuncture causes an increase in production of endorphins and other feel-good chemicals in the brain, causing a calming effect.  For this reason, acupuncture can effectively treat emotional conditions including stress, anxiety, depression, and panic attacks.

Many parents don’t know where to turn when their adolescent is struggling with anger or depression.  Understandably, they’re hesitant to medicate their teen, but they also know that their child needs help.

The good news is that in these healthy, ever changing adolescents, acupuncture can be a life saver, which is so aptly expressed in the letter above.  If your teen is struggling, consider giving acupuncture a try.

It’s hard to understand how a weather condition could be causing such misery. But it’s true, in Chinese medicine wind can be the evil force behind tremors, dizziness, numbness, and twitches.  It can also cause seasonal allergies,  colds or even the current flu that’s going around.

Let me explain.

First of all, wind is considered a pathogen, or something that makes you sick.  Many of the concepts of Chinese medicine are based on the natural world, and what makes you sick is no exception.  Pathogens are a little bit like bad weather in your body.  When you have a fever or inflammation, you have heat; when your arthritis flares up during the cold weather, you have a cold pathogen; and when you retain lots of water, you have dampness. (This is a very simplified explanation.)

Wind is considered movement where there should be stillness.  As a pathogen, wind is dry, light and active.  It tends to be Yang in nature—like the sunny side of the hill—it’s slightly warm, and it generally moves upward and outward. 

There are actually two kinds of wind—internal and external.  Internal wind tends to affect your body on a deeper level.  It’s frequently associated with a malfunction of the Liver system to control the smooth flow of energy in your body, and can cause symptoms associated with movement—vertigo, tremors, twitches, and seizures.  Wind is usually the dark cocktail behind illnesses such as Meniere’s and Parkinson’s.

While frequently related to a Liver system malfunction, internal wind can also be caused by systemic dryness or malnourishment.  Much like a dry tree, the brittle leaves at the top rattle in the wind.

Wind can also be external, affecting the outer layers of your body, which is the pathogen behind everyday colds, flu, allergies, and viral infections.  In addition, the cause comes from your inability to fight off outside “influences”, such as viruses, bacteria, and pollen. True to its nature, the wind associated with a cold tends to affect the upper part of your body and move around—first you have a sore throat, then your nose is stuffed up, and then your cold sinks into your chest.  External wind can also cause itching, hives, and rashes.

External wind tends to be associated with your Lungs, which encompasses your respiratory system and skin.  In Chinese medicine, your Lungs are considered the most external of your organs, because with every breath, you come into contact with the outside world.  So, external wind tends to affect the outermost part of your body—your Lungs and skin.

External wind usually teams up with other pathogens, such as heat, cold, or dampness.  For example, if you have the flu with an extremely sore throat and a high temperature, you have external wind plus heat.  If you get a cold that makes you feel achy and chilled, you likely have external wind plus cold.

Treatment for wind conditions depends entirely on the circumstances.  Is it internal or external wind?  Has it paired with other pathogens?  What’s causing the wind in the first place?  Your acupuncturist needs to take all of these factors into consideration before developing a treatment.

Because internal wind conditions tend to be caused by depletion, a treatment plan would entail building up the depleted substance(s), such as Yin, Blood, or Qi (energy), which would ideally relieve the symptoms of wind.  This would likely be done using acupuncture, Chinese herbs, choosing the right foods, and getting adequate rest.

If you’re suffering from external wind, acupuncture combined with herbs would be a likely treatment protocol.  For early stage external wind, when you feel like you’re coming down with something, you can sometimes head it off with herbs you have at home.  Boil grated ginger and chopped scallions in a cup of water.  You can add a little broth or flavoring if you like.  Drink it down, wrap yourself up, and go to bed.  The idea is that these warm herbs open your pores, causing you to sweat, which expels external wind.

Your hair is constantly falling out and regrowing, and most people lose an average of 50 to 100 hairs a day. However, if you’re noticing an increase in shedding or if your hair is noticeably thinning, you’re probably losing more.

Your hair grows in cycles during which it actively grows for about two to three years and then rests for a couple of months. During the growth phase, a hair generally grows about 1/2 inch per month. At the end of the resting phase, the strand of hair falls out and a new strand begins to grow. Noticeable thinning of your hair is due to an above average number of hairs resting at the same time.

In Chinese medicine, the Kidney organ system governs the hair on your head. The Kidney system is also responsible for body functions related to growth, fertility, menopause, and aging. As we get older, your Kidneys become weaker, and one way that weakness is reflected is through the health of your hair. Hair loss, gray hair, and unhealthy hair are all signs that your Kidneys could be a little stronger.

In addition, your Kidney system is one of the Chinese organs most deeply damaged by stress. The adrenal glands sit right on top of your Kidneys, and in Western medicine, adrenal fatigue is the direct result of unrelenting stress. Extreme levels of stress can cause your hair to prematurely go into its resting phase, causing hair loss and thinning.

Beyond stress, there are other reasons that your hair may be falling out. Among them:

Poor diet. Remember the season of Survivor (Australia) when Elizabeth Hasselbeck’s hair fell out by the handful? The contestants didn’t have anything to eat, and Elizabeth’s hair began to fall out as a result of poor nutrition. Extremely low calorie diets or a diet low in protein can cause your hair to fall out.

Hormones. Many women complain that once they went through menopause their hair became much thinner. The decrease in estrogen after menopause can be another culprit in hair loss. In addition, an imbalance in your thyroid hormones can raise the levels of a chemical called DHT, which causes your hair to fall out faster than normal.

Low iron. Iron deficiency is a common cause of hair loss. Low levels of iron decreases the level of red blood cells necessary for healthy hair follicles. Also, it’s possible to have low iron stores (ferritin), but not be anemic.

Medications. Some antidepressants, diuretics, and certainly chemotherapy can cause hair loss.

Health conditions. Scalp infections, frequently fungal in nature, can cause your hair to drop. In addition, diseases such as diabetes and lupus can be associated with hair loss.

Hair treatments. This one may seem like a no-brainer, but how you treat your hair can have a direct impact on the health of your mane. Harsh chemicals, tight braids or pigtails, and brushing too vigorously can damage your hair and scalp and cause your hair to fall out.

So what can you do if your hair is falling out? Make sure your diet is sufficient in protein and iron, to nourish your body and hair. Don’t supplement with iron unless you’re sure your levels are low. Check with your doctor if you think low iron or hormone imbalances might be to blame. Also ask your doctor about adjusting the dosage or changing your prescription if hair loss is a side effect of any medication you’re taking. If stress is the problem, work on coping using Yoga, meditation, visualization, acupuncture, and any other relaxation techniques that work for you.

A practitioner of Chinese medicine would deal with your hair loss by strengthening your Kidney system through acupuncture and the use of herbs. A common herbal formula for hair loss and premature graying is called Seven Treasure Formula for Beautiful Whiskers, which nourishes the Kidney and benefits the hair.

Many people don’t consider acupuncture part of their health care picture for a variety of reasons.  In most cases, however, acupuncture is a cost effective therapy for treating many acute and chronic health conditions.  For example, if you were to throw out your back tomorrow morning from shoveling snow, you might spend a few days on the couch taking over-the-counter pain relievers.  After a couple of days in acute pain, you may decide you’ve had enough, and call your doctor take a look. 

Assuming you didn’t have health insurance or maybe your insurance carried a high deductible, you might end up paying $150-200 for your initial doctor’s visit.  According to carol.com (a website that publishes prices of medical procedures in Minnesota), a full evaluation would cost you in the neighborhood of $500.  If your doctor wanted an X-ray of your back, you could tack on $75-100, but more likely, he or she would want you to have an MRI, which would run you another $1,000.  Your doctor would then likely prescribe a stronger pain killer or muscle relaxant, and send you home to let your back heal. (Even with a disk problem, you will usually need to wait it out until the inflammation in your back calms down.)

On the other hand, if you were to do nothing other than acupuncture for relief from the pain, your cost for six visits (usually enough to get your aching back to calm down) would be less than $450. Unfortunately, in many cases I don’t see people in our clinic when they first injure their back—they usually wait until they’ve tried everything else and their back is still killing them. It’s important to know, however, that the earlier we see someone in the pain/injury cycle, the faster they will respond to acupuncture.

We are all looking for ways to live more economically.  Acupuncture can be a cost effective way to treat a number of conditions from pain to hot flashes to anxiety and depression.  Acupuncture is reimbursable under Health Savings Plans, Flexible Savings Plans, and is tax deductible. Give it a try.