Health Intuitive

Nowadays more and more people are looking for natural, safe and effective alternative treatments for their health problems.  People, particularly in the Western world have become aware of the horrible side effects of prescription medications on the body which oftentimes are many and worse than the condition they are allegedly trying to treat.  One of the conditions which alternative therapies can safely and effectively address is high blood pressure.

There are really good alternative therapies if you do not want to avail of the conventional ones because of the side effects that have on the body.  Western medical science thinks these alternative treatments are all a sham but so far they have not proven how they even work.  People, whether Western medical science listens or not, have been treated with alternative therapies oftentimes on a permanent basis.

One very good alternative treatment for high blood pressure is yoga.  Yoga is about meditation and inner peace that helps relax the body and mind.  For others, yoga is more than that.  It a lifestyle that that uses plenty of physical exercises, and follows dietary prescriptions, ethical teachings and ethical behavior.  Yes, those who have integrated yoga as a normal part of their lives can change their mental and body responses that no ordinary human can ever do.

For over 80 years, health researchers in the Western world and in India have studies how yoga can induce therapeutic effects to the mind and body.  The studies have concluded that yoga most definitely can change at a person’s body temperature, brain waves, skin resistance, respiratory function, heart rate, metabolic rate and blood pressure.

For all its wonderful effects and the ability of a person to change his physiological standing, yoga entails long and many hours of following its teachings and principles every day.  In this modern world we are living in today, no one has the time to allocate for religiously following and practicing the yoga routines.

One other very good alternative treatment for high blood pressure that also came from Asia, particularly China is called acupuncture.  This treatment is thousands of years old but is still very popular all over Asia.  Acupuncture Fort Lauderdale follows the belief that normal energy flow through the body is vital for good health.  When this flow is disrupted, it ushers in illness, disease and pain.   Acupuncture is needed to correct these flow imbalances by inserting hair thin needles at specific areas in the skin.  Acupuncture is oftentimes combined with Chinese herbal medicine to help strengthen the effect of the treatment.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicines are only effective if the person alters his lifestyle and diet that does not cause a rise in blood pressure.  If the person lives a less stressful life and follows a healthy diet plan, high blood pressure can be easily treated and prevented.

Anyone can be scared at the thought of undergoing surgery.  The recovery phase of surgery and the rehabilitation course can also be as stressful and arduous.  It is thus good news to know that many surgeries are becoming rather less invasive than before and the procedures of physical therapy gentler.  To make these procedures even more tolerable acupuncture can be an excellent tool to utilize to greatly lessen a patient’s recovery time along with other benefits. Acupuncture Fort Lauderdale has been around for 5,000 years and is applied today for a slew of conditions, including addiction, fertilization and post-surgical recovery among others. Besides being a great facilitator for healing, acupuncture is also a wonderful modality to strengthen the immune system especially in preparation for surgery.  And on even deeper reflection acupuncture can be a great way to avoid surgery for chronic back and joint issues all together.

As surgical complications can happen during surgery, post-surgical problems can likewise occur.  Some of these complications can include bruising, swelling, scarring, decreased range of motion, injury to surrounding tissue, paralysis, tingling, numbness, delayed healing time and infections.  With acupuncture many of these complications can be prevented; a shorter recovery time can be managed, lower pain levels are experienced, the risk of infection is minimized and the normal range of motion restored even with less time spent on physical therapy.

With the insertion of filiform needles acupuncture energizes the body’s immune response and transports more blood to the target area.  The addition of more blood in the area brings more nutrients and oxygen there, washes out the cellular debris from the effects of surgery and causes the movement of stagnant lymphatic fluid, which is the reason for swelling and infection in the affected area.  Because the immune function is boosted, more white blood cells and endorphins are produced to quickly heal the injured area and relieve pain from the wounds respectively.  The increased blood flow also helps to achieve relative mental and physical balance of the patient.

There is no doubt that acupuncture truly works. Proper documentation of its works for over 2500 years up to today has validated its effects and potency as a health booster.  Pain management clinics utilize acupuncture as much as possible to curtail the use of Cox-2 inhibitors and NSAID’s because the latter two have severe side effects on the body.  NSAIDS have been known to cause gastrointestinal bleeding while Cox-2 inhibitors such as Vioxx have been directly linked to heart attacks.  In contrast, acupuncture has been shown to improve cardiovascular function and boost the strength of the digestive system organs.  Surely with these kinds of benefits, anyone should consider undergoing acupuncture treatment for one’s after surgery recovery.  Acupuncture for this type of treatment can be augmented with Chinese herbal medicine to make the benefits even stronger and more effective.

Migraines next to terrible head pains caused by cancer are one of the most painful ordeals a person can experience.  The pressure and pounding on the head can be so excruciating and can greatly affect a person’s life.  A promise of a very effective remedy from migraine pains lies with acupuncture Fort Lauderdale treatment.

A work involving 31 studies published in the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia demonstrated acupuncture’s superior effects compared to placebo and medication for the relief of headache.  The studies showed that placebo’s effect was less compared to acupuncture’s in reducing headaches. Acupuncture’s effectiveness was even more pronounced when compared to the results of medications in lessening the episodes of headache and its intensity.

Here are some of the reasons why acupuncture is very effective in treating migraines:

1.  Acupuncture treats the root problem – Acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), in general treat imbalances in the body.  When these imbalances are rectified, the body takes over and heals itself.  With TCM, each person’s energy imbalance is unique and therefore, diagnosis must be considered upon a person’s symptoms.  Treatment then is based on these manifested symptoms that in the end reveal the root problem.  For women, migraines often come with their period.  Therefore, symptoms of the period such as stomach pain, breast tenderness and bloating will determine the diagnosis.

2.  Acupuncture helps regulate the areas of the brain that controls pain – Studies verified acupuncture’s ability in controlling the pain centers of the brain.  One particular study regarding carpel tunnel syndrome and acupuncture, MRI scans of the brain showed that acupuncture altered the brain’s perception of pain and controlled areas of the brain charged with controlling pain.

3. Acupuncture releases neurotransmitters that help eliminate pain – Neurotransmitters such as endorphins and enkephalins help comfort and relax the body and thus effectively relieve pain.

4.  The body is relaxed – There is very little opportunity to relax when migraine headaches erupt.  Because of the pain, the head muscles stiffen causing more pain in the head.  This stiffening prevents the normal flow of blood to the head, which is one of the principal causes of migraine.  Acupuncture relaxes the muscles relieving tension in the head which helps improve blood flow to the head and skull.  As a result pain is significantly reduced in the head and migraine is removed.

5. The mind is relaxed – Acupuncture not only helps relax those tense muscles, the mind benefits greatly with acupuncture.  A majority of people who have experienced acupuncture come back just for its soothing and refreshing experience and this effect lasts considerably long, several days to be exact.  People have become calmer and more balanced in their thinking with acupuncture.  Stress is easily quelled and that is why acupuncture is so very effective in physical as well as emotional problems.  When one treats the body the mind is also affected in a very positive way.

The medical benefits of acupuncture Fort Lauderdale have been thoroughly chronicled throughout history and only a hard core skeptic would deny its proven ability to treat many kinds of health conditions. Acupuncture is now widely accepted into mainstream medicine in the Western world. It is so popular that not a few health experts, dentists, health care providers and physicians publicly practice this ancient healing art in their offices. There are many instances where an acupuncturist would use acupuncture as an anesthetic/analgesic on a patient undergoing surgery that is required to stay conscious during surgery. Also, acupuncturists now use acupuncture in hospitals on cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to relieve them of side effects of this highly toxic “therapy.”

During acupuncture treatment, the acupuncturist stimulates certain points in the skin called acupuncture points or just acupoints to treat or prevent an illness. The basis for this treatment is for the unhindered and normal flow of life energy in the body the Chinese refer to as chi. This energy runs on energy vessels called meridians of which 12 are known to exist. To enable the body to correct itself, acupuncture stimulates the brain and the central nervous system to release beneficial chemicals that aid the body in its quest to heal itself. Acupuncturists may use certain techniques such as cups or press, heat, electrical pulses or needles to treat an individual.

The World Health Organization (WHO) validated the benefits of acupuncture when it listed dozens of health conditions acupuncture can be used for treatment. In the United States, there are literally tens of thousands of licensed and certified acupuncturists practicing in various states of the union.

Acupuncture is a very safe treatment that has a one in a million chance of getting negative side effects. Some of the illnesses that acupuncture can effectively treat as listed by the WHO are diarrhea, constipation, colds, asthma, sciatica, rheumatoid arthritis, tennis elbow, low back pain, sinusitis and rhinitis.

Acupuncture treatment is mostly done with needles inserted in the patient’s skin. The procedure should not elicit any pain at all, especially under the hands of an experienced and licensed acupuncturist. The most sensitive part of the procedure is when needles are inserted in the skin. This mostly elicits a slight sensation. After that, patients mostly fall asleep due to the relaxing nature of the treatment. Rarely does it take a single session to treat a condition. One whole treatment may require 4 or more sessions at least depending on the patient’s condition and the magnitude of his/her problem.

The most important part of acupuncture treatment for one is finding a highly experienced and licensed acupuncturist for one’s illness. One way of finding a good acupuncturist is asking referrals from one’s own physician or health care provider. Another way is through one’s local chapters of national acupuncture groups or associations.

Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).  It is a natural treatment that cures a wide range of psychological and physical problems.  Acupuncture has been practiced by the Chinese for at least 2000 years and its popularity in the West is due to its effectiveness in treating problems, physical and emotional and its relative safety.

What acupuncture Fort Lauderdale does is to make the individual live a balanced harmonious healthy life.  It emphases a balanced lifestyle even in terms of the emotions – too much happiness or too little happiness can cause imbalances in the health of the individual.  Acupuncture lies in the basic belief of a life force in the body called chi or qi.  Chi flows throughout the body through networks called meridians similar to blood and neural impulses traveling through the circulatory and nervous system respectively.  The free flow of chi energizes the body and causes it to be healthy and grow.  Organs and tissues are energized and strengthened by chi making them function efficiently.

Many infertility problems for both male and female can be addressed by acupuncture.  Hormonal problems that make pregnancy difficult can be treated by acupuncture since the organs that secrete these hormones are positively affected by chi energizing and repairing these organs to make them function normally.  The same goes with the other organs such as the endometrium.  Endometriosis is one cause of infertility.  Symptoms of endometriosis are (dysmenorrhea), cramps and dyspareunia among others.

With the presence of endometrial cells outside of the uterus, it is very difficult for sperm cells and the eggs to survive when the endometrial cells attract the white blood cells mistaking them, the sperm cells and the eggs foreign agents making conception considerably difficult.

Acupuncture, oftentimes with the aid of herbal medicines cures menstrual cramps and at the same time normalizes menstrual cycles for women.  Another way acupuncture treats endometriosis is to enable maximum uterine blood flow, suppress the hyperactive immune response creating an “environment” conducive to achieving pregnancy and preventing miscarriages.  Western medicine’s approach to treating endometriosis is through birth control pills and laparoscopy.  Birth control pills such as Lupron create a state of temporary menopause to “starve” the endometrial cells but are not 100% effective and such is not a viable treatment for infertility.  Laparoscopy is an invasive form of surgery that does not guarantee all endometrial cells will be located or if they are, are located with the ovaries making them extremely difficult to burn off with laser.

In the hands of a capable experienced professional, acupuncture can cure infertility caused by endometriosis.  There are many successful pregnancies by acupuncturists who have treated patients with endometriosis.  Many couples or females turn to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which is a painful and difficult process for their infertility problems.  Again, acupuncture can be applied with this treatment to help the patient relax from this strenuous form of infertility treatment.

Acupuncture is widely used to treat muscular pain, such as sciatica, back and neck pain, frozen shoulder, tendonitis and fibromyalgia. Muscular pain often has complex pathology, and may be caused by ongoing stimulation of nerve fibers, inflammation and functional disturbances in the nervous system. Significantly, additional pain may be caused by muscle tension or shortening. Acupuncture is very effective in resolving these problems.

Massage is useful to loosen the muscular tension over the painful area. As well as feeling good, massage releases tight muscle fibers, increases blood flow and improve circulation to the area. As the more superficial layers relax, any chronic tightness in the deeper tissues can be identified. Releasing these tight points is crucial to successfully treating muscular pain, and they are particularly responsive to Fort Lauderdale acupuncture.

In Chinese medical theory, these points are known as ‘ashi’ which means ‘ouch’ or ‘that’s it’. They are often exquisitely painful, and patients will frequently recognize them as the root of the problem.

In western biomedicine, these points are known as trigger points. Travel and Simons in 1983, define a trigger point as a focus of hyper-irritability in a tissue that, when compressed, is locally tender. If sufficiently sensitive, the trigger point may generate referred pain and tenderness, and can also affect autonomic processes (unconscious functions such as heartbeat, sweating etc.)

Ashi points are usually too tender and painful to massage, and this is where acupuncture comes into its own. Needling the point is quick and almost painless, sometimes the area releases almost immediately, otherwise it happens more gradually as the patient relaxes. Stimulating other acupuncture points away from the painful area also has a positive effect, opening up the circulation and supporting the body’s own healing systems.