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Chinese medicine which includes acupuncture, Chinese herbs, cupping, body work, moxibustion and other modalities of treatment, is the medicine of China and is used all over the world. So it is not a stretch to say that Chinese medicine can be used to treat almost any condition, because it is used to do so in China and much of the world. The only condition that we are not allowed to treat directly in the US is cancer (however the National Cancer Institute does recommend it highly for mitigating the effects of chemotherapy and other western treatment). At the Acupuncture Center of Richmond we are experienced in treating a wide variety of conditions. The following list of conditions are some of the ones we see regularly in our practice. This is an ongoing list, meaning it is not complete, so if your condition is not covered below please give us a call and we can discuss treatment options with you.
Back Pain
Back pain is historically considered a problem that can successfully be treated by acupuncture. The reason for
this is because back pain does respond quite well to acupuncture and Chinese medicine. There are several
reasons for this. First, there are some very effective acupuncture points, called back shu points, that
are located on the back. When these points are activated using acupuncture, back pain is diminished and
healing is promoted. There are also very effective points on the legs and ankles for back pain that have
been used for centuries for this purpose. Secondly, cupping, a method of attaching plastic suction cups
to a painful area and moving them to promote blood flow and vessel growth, is easily done on the back. And
thirdly, there are several very effective herbal formulas that target back pain and healing, which are used
in-between treatments to provide continuous improvement. We treat back pain on a daily bases at the
Acupuncture Center and our patients are often amazed with the results they get and the speed with which
the healing takes place. As with any pain condition, however, the severity and duration of the problem
will also influence the number of treatments necessary. This is a condition that we treat very often at
the Acupuncture Center of Richmond so we have a great deal of experience with it.
Migraine
Acupuncture and Chinese herbal remedies are a very effective way to control and even eliminate migraines.
In my experience, migraines will be diminished in intensity and frequency very soon after starting
acupuncture treatment. There are many causes of migraines and it is important to find a proper diagnosis
for each patient. Though there are usually some commonalities with migraine sufferers, a 'one size fits
all' approach to treating migraine is often not successful. Individual differences must be taken into
consideration. With a proper diagnosis in hand, acupuncture, Chinese herbs, food therapy, and often
stress management, are used in combination to treat migraines.
Arthritis
Arthritis pain usually responds extremely well to acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapy. Arthritis in our
medicine can have several causes and can affect various parts of the body and so the approach we take will
be different for each patient. We find this individualized treatment to be both essential and effective,
since we are all different and everyone responds somewhat differently to therapy. Arthritis patients will
usually find that they feel better after just one or in some cases a couple of treatments. It is important,
however, to treat not only the painful symptoms but at the same time to find and treat the underlying cause
of the arthritis. Sometimes the underlying cause can be a weakness in the body, or perhaps a structural
or postural problem. If the cause of the arthritis is treated than the person can be truly healed of the
ailment. If just the pain is treated than the underlying cause may actually worsen and over time the pain
might spread or worsen. This is a very important distinction between the Eastern and the Western approach
to arthritis and many illnesses. Often in Western medicine, the pain is treated with steroids or other
pain killers, the pain may lessen while the actual disease mechanism marches on, untouched. Chinese herbs
and diet are also effective in reducing pain and treating the root cause of the arthritis and proper exercise
is important. Any postural abnormalities must also be addressed if true healing of the arthritis can occur;
if we have neck pain for instance and we carry our head forward and down, we are fighting gravity itself,
which usually wins. Using Chinese medicine to treat arthritis pain gives us many options. It is important
to stop the pain, but it is equally important to stop the reason it began in the first place.
Sciatica
At the Acupuncture Center of Richmond we see and treat many cases of sciatica. This is an ailment that
like most things can have many causes, from a bulging disk in the L5 area, to overuse of the low back
from excessive driving, sore or tight glutes or in some cases the cause is completely unknown.
Sciatica pain usually starts in the low back or buttocks area and will often travel either down the
back of the leg or the side of the leg and in some cases to the front of the leg. Sometimes there is
no back pain, only leg pain. Acupuncture is used to promote flow of blood in the areas of pain, to
remove blockages and to stimulate the body to heal itself. There are several effective Chinese herbal
formulas that we use in conjunction with the acupuncture to reduce pain and continue the healing between
treatments. Sciatica is a painful condition that we see year-round but more often in the summer. This is
because the environment we live in does affect our bodies (have you ever known someone who can tell you
it is about to storm because there bad knee will be aching?). If this is the case then often a less
invasive treatment, such as acupuncture and herbs can fix a problem that often mimics a disk problem.
PCOS
PCOS in Chinese medicine is considered an imbalance and weakness of digestive, reproductive and hormonal energies. Through Chinese medical diagnostics an individual’s imbalances can be assessed and corrected with acupuncture and herbal therapy as well as various lifestyle and dietary changes to aid in optimizing the body’s metabolism, balancing hormones and improving reproductive health overall. This ScienceDaily article reports on acupuncture’s success in treating this syndrome: pcosandacupuncture
Insomnia
Insomnia is something that we treat at the Acupuncture Center of Richmond quite often, as a stand-alone ailment, or often as a symptom combined with other issues. For example, patients with fibromyalgia, anxiety, pain or menopause may also not sleep well. So because we treat many conditions that also include insomnia as a symptom, we have developed many effect treatment strategies for successfully treating insomnia. The Chinese have always considered sleep to be vital to our well being, so in our medicine much emphasis is placed on solving sleep issues. Every patient we see is questioned as to their sleep patterns, because sleep issues can point to important underlying conditions and imbalances. As with any condition in Chinese medicine we are looking for the root of the problem, as treating just the symptoms is not a real solution, only a band-aide. Because there are many causes of insomnia, the points we use and the herbal formulas we suggest will be different for each patient. It is never as simple with us as one size fits all, which is actually a good thing, because we are all different and the best way to get to the underlying issue is to treat everyone as an individual.
Neuropathy/Neuralgia
Neuropathy is a condition where the nerves that usually send impulses to the brain are damaged or diseased and may or may not include pain. Neuralgia involves pain along a nerve that does not necessarily involve damage. Acupuncture and Chinese medicine has been found to be one of the most effective treatments for these conditions. Acupuncture works with the energetic system of the body, which, like our nerves, travels to every inch of the body. Our medicine is very moving, moving energy (Qi) and blood to all areas of the body. In an Eastern medicine sense, the areas that are tingling or numb or in pain often lack proper Qi and blood flow, become undernourished and damaged or painful. Acupuncture and corresponding Chinese herbal formulas work for these conditions because they circulate Qi and blood to the area improving the health and functioning of the nerves and removing blockages.
Osteoporosis
Chinese medicine treats osteoporosis with herbal formulations and acupuncture that encourage the strengthening of bone, increase bone formation and encourages bone to heal and rebuild. It has been shown to increase levels of Calcitonin a hormone produced by the thyroid gland which inhibits bone degradation. Additionally, it enhances or produces recalcification of osteopenic bone. It also has a beneficial effect of lowering bone pain.
Acne/skin disorders
Skin disorders often respond better to Chinese medicine than to Western treatments. One reason for this is that Eastern medicine realizes that skin disorders are rarely due to problems with the skin. Most if not all of the skin conditions that we see are due to internal conditions manifesting on the skin. So it is essential to fix the internal condition that is causing the skin issue or, even if the condition goes away, it will usually return. Because Chinese medicine focuses on the root of the problem and Western medicine usually focuses on the symptom, we feel that we can more effectively treat most skin conditions. We do this usually with a combination of acupuncture and Chinese herbs. Most skin conditions will respond significantly to treatment fairly quickly, so we should know in a matter of a couple of treatments if this will be effective.
Menopause
A balance of Yin and Yang energies are necessary for optimum health. By nature women are predominately yin energy and men are predominately yang energy. As women age the yin energy begins to wane giving rise to symptoms such as dryness, insomnia, irritability/moodiness, hot flashes, lack of focus and fatigue. Acupuncture and herbal formulations can rebalance hormones, re-energize the entire system, and restore health by encouraging the Yin to return to normal levels.
PMS
PMS is easily treated with acupuncture and herbal formulations. In Chinese medicine PMS arises predominantly from the bodys response to stress. In a stressed state the body tends to constrict resulting in pain in the abdomen, breast or back. This constriction leads to a constriction of the body’s energy flow which can in turn cause moodiness, water retention, bloating and digestive disturbances. By loosening the constriction and encouraging the free flow of energy, pain is alleviated, the mood stabilizes, bloating abates, water more easily moves through the system and digestion improves.
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a medical syndrome often of unknown cause. It can be a complex ailment but it is one
that responds especially well to acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Acupuncture treats the entire body
at once, so things that seem to affect just about every part and system in the body, like fibromyalgia
does, can benefit greatly. Acupuncture works by bringing the body back into balance, to a place where all
the body's systems are working better. Fibromyalgia patients, for whatever reason seem to be especially
out of balance, and our patients will often tell us, unprompted, that they feel this way (its often a
vague feeling that things are just somewhat off). If we don't know the exact cause of something then
just bringing the body back into balance and making the patient healthier overall will often very quickly
make the patient much better. So we see in our practice that fibromyalgia patient's symptoms reduce very
quickly.
Tennis Elbow
A British Journal of Rheumatology double-blind study found that acupuncture reduced the pain of tennis elbow by 55.8% after just one treatment. We find at the Acupuncture Center very similar results with our tennis elbow patients. Our patients are usually pain free after a few to several treatments depending on severity, general health, and whether they are able to stop the task that caused the condition. Tennis elbow is not always caused by tennis playing and many certain repetitive arm motions can lead to the condition known as tennis elbow.
Neck Pain
At the Acupuncture Center of Richmond we see many patients who come to us for neck pain. Neck pain
is very common because the neck, compared to many other parts of the body is quite vulnerable. It
has the task of holding the heavy human head upright for most of the day. We see neck pain due to
trauma, bad posture, due to just a night of sleeping wrong, or chronic neck pain that seems to have
no cause at all. Of course there is always some cause, and finding it will help us effectively treat
neck pain. Another reason neck pain is so common is because the neck is a place where many people hold
their stress (the neck and often the shoulders as well). After many years of holding stress in the neck
and shoulders, the blood circulation actually diminishes and the muscles and tissues become undernourished
and weak, leading to tiredness, strain and pain. Also, many of us develop bad posture for a number of
reasons and this incorrect position of the head will cause the neck muscles to have to work harder just
to keep the head upright. There are many things we can do for neck pain. There are many strong and
effective acupuncture points in the neck area which we use, but we also use many points called distal
points which are not close to the neck that empirical evidence over hundreds of years tells us are
effective for helping neck pain. There are several effective Chinese herbal formulas that are specific
for neck pain as well as ointments that we can prescribe that augment the treatment, allowing the
healing to continue between treatments. I also will usually prescribe some exercises to do two things:
bring the head back into proper alignment, and strengthen the neck muscles.
Anxiety and Stress
One of the most effective applications of acupuncture and Chinese medicine is in the treatment of
anxiety and stress. If you have ever had an acupuncture treatment for anything else than you will
know that acupuncture causes a deep relaxation to happen. And this deep relaxation is something
that you will usually carry with you for the remainder of the day or even multiple days. From a
Western perspective this might be due to the release of endorphins, or perhaps a relaxing of the
sympathetic nervous system (our fight or flight response which is often activated in our modern
world of unrelenting stimulus). From an Eastern perspective, the reason it works so well for
anxiety is that it causes the energy in your body to flow more freely. We believe that there
needs to be a constant and smooth flow of energy (and blood and fluids) around the body, and
anxiety can cause this not to happen. Anxiety causes a tightening of the tissues and a situation
where energy and fluids do not flow smoothly. This flow is responsible for keeping the body healthy and
pain free and over a long time, anxiety can lead to chronic illness or pain. Anxiety is recognized in
Western medicine as well as a cause of chronic illness. So acupuncture is so effective for anxiety and
stress conditions because it is simply the best thing out there that naturally brings better flow and
relaxation to the body. The relaxation that it brings feels very natural, almost like something you lost
that you once had many years ago. So the mechanisms that cause anxiety are lessened with the first
acupuncture treatment and over some time will cause a permanent change to the body's reaction to stress.
Treating the root cause in the body is something quite unique to Chinese medicine, looking not only at the
symptoms, but asking why the body is producing the symptoms at the degree to which it is. There are many
Chinese herbal formulas (as well as some Tibetan ones we use) that are very effective in treating anxiety
and these are used between treatments to reduce anxiety and stress and also to treat any underlying organ
weakness (root cause) that might be contributing to it.
Knee Pain
Knee Pain
An extensive University of Maryland double blind study concluded that acupuncture is effective for knee pain due to osteoarthritis. One Skandinavian study reported that 25 percent of patients in their study canceled their plans for surgery after receiving acupuncture treatments. Because there are many effective acupuncture points around the knees, acupuncture can work well for many knee issues.
Acute Injury and Trauma
This is an area where acupuncture and Chinese medicine shines. When trauma or injury has taken place there
is an immediate response by the body which sends help to the damaged area to swell and immobilize the area
and also begin the healing process. Often there is a traffic jam of sorts in the area and the advantage of
getting acupuncture during this early stage is that acupuncture and herbs administered will allow for a smooth
flow through the area. This reduces swelling and allows the healing process to take place in a sped-up manner.
We see this all the time in the clinic, that acute injuries that often will take several weeks to heal, are
healed in half the time. There are several effective Chinese herbal formulas that continue the healing process
between treatments. Also, we will sometimes use some light cupping or moxibustion in the area to stimulate
healing. It is best to start acupuncture and herbs as soon as possible after an injury, but it is also
effective several days or even weeks after the trauma if the injury does not seem to be healing as fast
as it should or if you just want to accelerate the process. Getting acupuncture and herbs also seems to
help the healing process complete itself, meaning it is more likely that there will be no lasting effects
from the injury.
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