acupuncture Archives - Page 9 of 9 - Acupuncture in the Park

Natural Help for Heartburn

You’ve got what feels like a three-alarm fire under your ribcage or at the top of your chest. Maybe you just overindulged in a gourmet meal or knocked down a chili dog with the works. You belch; maybe drink a little water, but the fire burns on. That after-dinner hell you’re experiencing is most likely heartburn.

What causes heartburn is actually a muscle in your lower esophagus falling down on the job. That muscle, your esophageal sphincter, usually opens to let food you’ve eaten pass to your stomach, then closes to prevent food and stomach acid from flowing back upward. However, in the case of heartburn, or esophageal reflux, the sphincter hasn’t closed properly, allowing the contents of your stomach to irritate your esophagus causing that burning sensation.

There are a number of causes of heartburn, including eating the wrong foods, stress, overeating, and obesity. In addition, the esophageal sphincter tends to get weaker with age, so just being on the wrong side of 40 can make you more prone to episodes of heartburn.

In Chinese medicine, heartburn is frequently caused by damage from emotions (stress and anger!), erratic or unhealthy eating or drinking, and overall depletion due to aging. In most cases, a Chinese diagnosis of a Liver/Spleen disharmony will be evident.

The Liver is the organ system that is responsible for the smooth and uninhibited movement of everything in your body. However, the Liver system is that which is most damaged by anger, stress, and unfulfilled desires. Damage to the Liver causes stagnation, and almost always overflows and affects digestion; in this case causing heartburn.

The good news, however, is that there are a number of things you can do to naturally quench the fires of heartburn. Also good news is that the irritation and damage to our esophagus can heal within a month or two, once the symptoms have subsided.

Some natural suggestions to help cool down heartburn include:

-Determine which foods are likely to cause heartburn and eliminate them from your diet. Some common offenders include onions (especially raw), coffee, spicy meals, alcohol, citrus fruits and strawberries, mint, chocolate, and fried or fatty foods.

-Eat smaller meals so your esophageal sphincter doesn’t have to work overtime.

-Respect the laws of gravity and sit up for a couple of hours after eating.

-If your heartburn symptoms seem to be worse at night, try sleeping with your head elevated. You can do this by placing the head of your bed on blocks that are four to six inches high.

-Try 1/8 of a teaspoon of baking soda mixed in a few tablespoons of water to quickly neutralize stomach acid.

It is also important to know when to check with your M.D. If you have heartburn symptoms daily, suffer from a lot of belching or bloating, or if symptoms seem to be worse when your stomach is empty, get it checked out by your doc. Also, if you have what feels like heartburn accompanied by difficulty or pain swallowing, chest pain or pain radiating to the neck and/or shoulder, vomiting, bloody or black stools, shortness of breath, or lightheadedness, get to your doctor right away. Your symptoms may be more than simple heartburn and need to be evaluated by a doctor.

Allergy 911

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, you are no stranger to the wide range of symptoms: red, swollen, itchy eyes, a chronically runny or stuffed up nose, itchy ears, a scratchy throat, or that feeling of your head being full of cotton. You may have symptoms for a few weeks in the spring or fall, or suffer for the entire summer. Whatever your particular pattern, seasonal allergies have the potential to make you miserable. The following are some tips to help minimize symptoms during your allergy season:

-Use a Neti Pot. It’s looks like a small teapot and is used to cleanse the sinuses. Neti Pots can be found at most drug stores or natural food stores. Instructions should be included with the pot. (Mix ½ tsp of sea salt in warm water pour half water into one nostril and let it run out the other, repeat on the other side.)

-Wash your face freqently and shower in the evening to wash off the pollen on your skin and hair that has accumulated during the day.

-Change your clothes after you’ve been working or playing outdoors.

-Try supplementing with quercetin and/or grape seed extract. Both are found in red wine, but in supplement form may control the release of symptom-causing histamines.

-Eat spicy foods. They thin the mucous and can help clear nasal passages.

-If you suffer from fall allergies, your symptoms may be aggravated by eating melon, bananas, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, chamomile, and supplements containing echinacea. Experiment and avoid those foods that make your symptoms worse.

-Keep your house and car windows closed during the height of your allergy season. Use air conditioning, but don’t let it blow directly on your face.

-Wash your hands after you have played with or pet any animals that have been outside. Keep outdoor pets off the furniture. Their fur acts like a pollen magnet.

-Wear a paper filter mask (found at drug stores) when you are mowing the lawn.

-Try acupuncture. In a study published in the American Journal of Chinese Medicine, acupuncture reduced symptoms in all 26 patients participating the the study—without side effects.

Quit Smoking with Acupuncture

A few years ago, I was walking with a friend around one of the city lakes that has made Minneapolis famous. My friend was from out of town and during our walk, he lit up a cigarette. We kept walking and talking, but very shortly after lighting up, my friend put out his cigarette because he was getting dirty looks and comments about the smoke from some of the people we were passing.

While I was sorry that my friend was uncomfortable, I was also glad in a way. I was glad that I live in a city where smoking is becoming unacceptable. I was also glad because shortly after my friend went home, he quit smoking. This was no easy task; he had been smoking for over thirty years, but he did it, and is still smoke-free today.

As an acupuncturist, I have helped a number of people successfully quit smoking. I have found that those who have been successful have a few things in common, which I believe contributed to their success.

-Every person that I have helped quit smoking was ready and really committed to quitting.

-They realized that there is no magic bullet. While acupuncture helps with the frequency and intensity of cravings, they realized that quitting was up to them.

-They generally cut down from smoking a pack or even two a day, to a few necessary cigarettes each day. Necessary cigarettes are those that are smoked out of habit, such as with your first cup of coffee, or on the drive home from work. Generally, before they quit, they were down to five or six cigarettes a day.

-They had a definite quit date. This gave them a psychological edge in preparing to quit.

-They used acupuncture most frequently in the first week or two after they quit smoking. After the first few weeks, they used acupuncture infrequently, and only as needed.

-Each person I have worked with has commented that getting tobacco out of their life was actually easier than they thought it would be. Few gained weight, and most felt better during the process than they ever thought possible.

If you are a smoker, quitting is the single most important thing you can do to improve your health. Acupuncture can help—make a committment to quit today!

The Economics of Acupuncture

It seems like there’s no escape. Every time you pick up a newspaper or listen to the evening news, what you hear about is the dismal economy, jobs being lost, and trillion dollar deficits. One of the most pressing problems for our nation as a whole is the high cost of medical care. The skyrocketing price tag on everything from insurance coverage, deductibles, various treatments, and doctors’ visit is not lost on any of us. More and more health consumers are looking for creative ways to be able to afford the health care they need. They are shopping for high deductible health plans, setting up Health Savings Accounts and Flex Plans, and shopping for comparative prices on doctors’ visits and procedures. Many people have found that they simply can’t afford health insurance, and as a health care provider, I pay into my state’s fund for those people who are unable to afford standard health insurance.

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.

Acupuncture for Seasonal Affective Disorder

by Lynn Jaffee, L.Ac.

If this cool fall weather has you thinking of palm trees, sunny beaches, and moving south, you’re not alone! Everyone feels the effects of fall in one way or another. However, for some, the move from the bright days of summer to the cool winter weather brings with it a form of depression, called Seasonal Affective Disorder, or SAD.

People who suffer from SAD feel fine during the warmer months, but suffer from symptoms such as depression, fatigue, lack of motivation, difficulty concentrating, and lethargy during the late fall and winter. Over ten million people in the United States suffer from SAD, two-thirds of which are women. The cause of SAD is unknown, but it is thought by western doctors to be related to a drop in melatonin levels in the brain caused by decreased exposure to sunlight during the winter. Currently, SAD is treated through the use of light therapy, and in some cases, antidepressants.

From a Chinese medical framework, SAD is related to an imbalance between Yin and Yang. The theory of Yin and Yang was developed thousands of years ago to describe the relationship between opposing forces in nature. Yang describes that which is bright, active, moving, warm and transforming. In contrast, Yin describes those things which are cool, dark, still, and nourishing. This time of year the seasons are changing from summer, which is a bright and warm Yang time of the year to the colder, darker, and more nourishing Yin winter months.

For some people, the abundance of Yin during the winter becomes overwhelming, giving way to the hallmark symptoms of SAD. Lethargy, fatigue, and lack of motivation all reflect Yin characteristics. Like a frozen river, this lack of movement ultimately creates stagnation which manifests as depression and feelings of sadness.

While there is no magic bullet for SAD, incorporating some Yang activities into your life can help. Remember, Yang is warm, bright, and active. Try to get outside during the middle of the day if possible, especially on sunny days. While you may not feel motivated, taking a walk, going to the gym, or cross country skiing are all good ways to stir up the warmth and activity of Yang. Also, activitiy in the form of change–trying something new–is a way to boost Yang. Choose activities that warm not only your body, but your heart as well. Time with friends or a special family event are both moving and warming activities.

Needless to say, Chinese medicine can offer some relief for SAD, too. Acupuncture, combined with heat therapy and some Yang fortifying foods and/or herbs can be an effective way to get through the winter.

Share and Enjoy !

Share and Enjoy !

Share and Enjoy !

Share and Enjoy !

Share and Enjoy !