Health Intuitive

Western medical doctors are now acknowledging acupuncture’s potency as a treatment for many types of disease and some have actually studied this very old therapy to become practitioners of acupuncture themselves.  Acupuncture St Helens is actually a part of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), a type of medicine entirely different in perspective to Western type of medicine especially when it comes to seeing what illness is in a person.

Traditional Chinese medicine bases its system on Taoism which espouses the belief that the human body is a small version of the universe, complete and with systems associated with each other.  These systems interact to create harmony and balance which preserves and sustains health in the body.  Two opposite principles of energy that exist in the body is called yin and yang by the Chinese. This duality like the positive and negative forces in electricity is always in motion and just like the positive and negative electrical forces their interaction with each other create energy and balance in the body.  When either yin or yang is excessive or deficient in relation with each other, illness in the body arises. TCM practitioners see the spirit, mind and body as one whole system and they address the disease holistically.  The yin and yang balance is seen in relation to the spirit (shen) and soul, emotions, the five elements, other bodily fluids, jing (essence), blood and qi or chi (breath or life force).

Treatments offered by TCM include Qi Gong exercises, herbal medicine and acupuncture.  Acupuncture therapy energizes specific areas of the external body through the body’s meridians.  Herbal medicine targets zang-fu organs internally while Qi Gong rectifies the flow in the energy vessels or meridians by controlling chi.

When you decide to go for TCM treatment, the practitioner will query you regarding your mental and emotional life and also about your physical symptoms.  The practitioner performs some sort of physical examination on you by checking your pulse frequently and bases this on the state of your internal organs.  He also checks the texture and color of your tongue.  After doing this, he then has all the information he needs to develop a treatment plan that is created with your overall health in mind and not only for addressing the illness that you have presently.

Oftentimes, the practitioner opts for acupuncture therapy to energize certain areas of the body where affected meridians are located to help restore normal chi flow and balance.  He can also opt for moxibustion therapy which is the burning of moxa plant over your body, cupping or deep tissue massage.  Herbs are also frequently introduced to complement acupuncture or other therapies that would help restore energy balance to the body.  Overall, TCM is a safe and very effective treatment to use especially when performed by a licensed and well-trained practitioner.

In the United States 1 in 3 people suffer from high blood pressure.  High blood pressure is referred to as a silent killer since there are few symptoms associated with high blood pressure and the disease may go unnoticed for many years.  When this silent killer does manifest itself it can cause kidney failure, heart attack or stroke.

Many treatments are available for high blood pressure to help manage the problem.  Medication intake is the most popular form of treatment, and is quite effective for many high blood sufferers.  The medicines can greatly lower blood pressure effectively and quickly but as in all types of medication patients are likely to experience varying degrees of negative side effects from high blood pressure drugs.  The more sensible ones will avoid prescription drugs altogether and look for more natural and safer forms of treatment.  One of the best alternative natural treatments for this disease is acupuncture.

Acupuncture St Helens has been used in treating high blood pressure for many thousands of years.  It originated in China and uses in its procedures filiform needles inserted at selected points on the body to treat many kinds of illnesses and relieve pain.  Western science still has not figured out how acupuncture truly works although global health organizations such as the World Health Organization and the National Institutes for Health have acknowledged acupuncture’s effectiveness in treating certain conditions such as infertility, stress, anxiety and depression among others.

Studies done regarding acupuncture workings against high blood pressure show that acupuncture has the ability to manipulate the brain’s control over the respiratory system.  Acupuncture manipulates the brain to lessen oxygen need and this reduces the work load of the heart, which then causes blood pressure to drop.  Studies also show that electroacupuncture is by far a better technique than traditional acupuncture for lowering blood pressure.

Acupuncture can be combined with Chinese herbal medicine to better fight high blood pressure.  There are literally hundreds of Chinese herbal formulas that help address this problem.  It is important that the herbalist is licensed to prevent using formulas that may counter the effect of medications the patient is presently taking.  A good acupuncturist should be one who is licensed and should provide dietary and lifestyle advice to the patient besides being a good herbalist and skilled acupuncturist.  Good advices such as eating more vegetables and fruits, lessening of salt intake, indulging in gentle physical activities and minimizing stress are necessary for battling high blood pressure.  Acupuncture for high blood pressure is a great weapon but is not the only weapon one should use in fighting this silent killer.  Lifestyle and dietary changes are also very important weapons that should be used to battle high blood pressure.

Seeking safer and more natural ways of increasing their chances of getting pregnant, many couples with fertility problems turn to alternative treatments such as acupuncture St Helens to achieve conception.  Furthermore for fertility problems that acupuncture is unable to treat, assisted reproductive techniques (ART) such as in vitro fertilization, egg donor transplant or artificial insemination work much better when combined with acupuncture therapy.  A growing number of couples are using this combination to greatly improve their chances of pregnancy.

In spite of all the clinically controlled success of acupuncture in proving its effectiveness in treating infertility, incredibly many skeptics in the Western scientific community still abound regarding acupuncture’s proclaimed benefits.  Studies consistently show how acupuncture dramatically boosts the rate of successful conception of ART procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy.  Many published works show how acupuncture increases the health of embryos during IVF and thereby increase the chances of the embryo’s survival and lessening the cost of these very expensive procedures.

The main reason why acupuncture skeptics abound is because the Western scientific community does not know how it works.  Acupuncture is firmly grounded in Eastern philosophy which includes the metaphysical concepts of vital force or chi; the life energy that gives life to all living things including human beings.  Chi travels to energy pathways called meridians; another concept which Western science cannot prove exists because meridians are invisible energy vessels.  The obviously flawed framework of Western medical science will never be able to explain why the use of acupuncture by ART modalities increases the rate of success of these treatments.  Medical acupuncture, a western version of traditional Chinese acupuncture explains acupuncture by means of its effects on the nervous system, an explanation that seem more plausible to Western medical science.  An example of this is how medical acupuncturists see how acupuncture helps control/regulate hormonal function leading to fertility or that because of its ability to relieve stress from the body and to relax the nervous system, the fetus tends to grow healthy quickly.

For first time patients, it will be a bit strange seeing their doctor practicing medical acupuncture in his/her office.  The fact is that physicians are practicing acupuncturists because they know acupuncture is a very effective treatment for numerous types of disorders, including infertility.  The World Health Organization validated this truth by officially listing more than 30 health conditions that acupuncture can treat.  As long as the acupuncturist is licensed and well-trained practitioner, acupuncture is a very safe, effective and painless procedure.

Most IVF clinics now require their patients to undergo months of acupuncture therapy before they go through IVF treatment itself.  This is to greatly increase the chances of success of the IVF treatment and not make it a haphazard, inefficient and costly procedure.

Acupuncture St Helens is probably the oldest and most popular medical treatment in the world. It is a vital member of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).  Acupuncture practitioners believe in meridians, energy vessels that transport life giving energy called chi all over the body.  Each meridian is associated to a specific organ or organs that control certain physiological functions. Acupuncture theory states that health is sustained or restored by the removal of factors that cause blockages and energy imbalances in the body. Needles as thin as human head hair are used to achieve this end.  Acupuncture has been practiced for over 4000 years and is practiced all over the world.  Acupuncture has several techniques and all these techniques are mainly designed in the stimulation of nerve points on or in the skin. TCM has an entirely different angle of approach at looking at the human body and in treating its disorders than the conventional Western disciplines of anatomy, nutrition, biochemistry, modern physiology, etc.  Its efficacy so far is not yet clearly understood by Western medical science. However, people around the world have been using it for so many centuries because of its amazing ability to promote general health, relieve common ailments and pain relief.  Numerous researches have been done on its ability to treat nausea (especially postoperative), its usefulness in treating dental problems and its effectiveness in treating low back pain. Research has shown that acupuncture induces neural activity in the cerebral cortical, midbrain and brainstem to cause physiological effects meant to treat a disorder.
Acupuncturists know that the needles control the flow of chi, the Chinese word for vital energy, which is the energy that enables the body to live, grow, thrive and reproduce.  The needles used for acupuncture are made of stainless steel, non-hollow, sterile and are as thin as human hair.  People react to acupuncture in unique ways.  Under a qualified and highly experienced acupuncturist, none or minimal pain at all should be felt whenever needles are inserted.  During treatment some people are literally revitalized while others feel so relaxed and tranquil they fall asleep during the course of the treatment.  Some possible issues such as pain and soreness during treatment, patient movements and improper placement of the needle can occur.  That is why it is important to select a qualified and experienced acupuncturist to prevent such occurrences. One theory explaining acupuncture’s effectiveness in removing pain is its ability to stimulate the production and release of endorphins, which are pain-blocking chemicals.  The needles stimulate nerves that cause the central nervous system to produce and secrete endorphins.  These chemicals have the ability to block pain messages to the brain. The result is the relief of pain brought about by the analgesic effect that acupuncture brings to the body.

With help from phytotherapy, the all-natural treatment of acupuncture St Helens allows women to enjoy a healthy pregnancy with benefits not only for the expectant mother but for the fetus as well.  Phytotherapy, better known as herbal medicine, combined with acupuncture, revitalizes the mother’s health and boost her immune system.  They effectively address many conditions related to pregnancy such as anemia (lack of iron), UTI, respiratory infections, preecclampsia, toxemia of pregnancy, gestational diabetes and miscarriage risks among others. Acupuncture and herbal therapy have no side effects and as long the right acupoints are treated, there are no contraindications in their use.

The benefits that stand out the most are the ability of these two therapies to cleanse and detoxify the body.  Throughout one’s life, the body accumulates used and dead cells together with the toxins they cause.  These can cause dysfunctions in the body systems particularly the body’s major organs causing fatigue, metabolic dosroders, immune weaknesses and others.  Both phytotherapy and acupuncture efficiently remove these materials allowing both mother and child to live in a healthy and clean body.

Hormonal adjustment and changes that the body undergoes during pregnancy can cause fatigue. It is not uncommon to see pregnant women having difficulty performing their daily activities, much more their professional career, if they have one.  These states of weakness can be remedied by regular acupuncture that is aimed at reinvigorating the body and a mixture of specialized herbal tonic that enhance the function of the muscular system and of the central nervous system.  The immune functions improve as well shielding both baby and mother from infections, pollution and diseases.

In general, acupuncture is often utilized for the alleviation of distress and pain. Needles inserted at specific acupoints enable endorphin secretion that acts as a natural but strong analgesic to remove pain. The feeling of sickness is mitigated by the proper energy balance and improved blood flow that goes with acupuncture and phytotherapy.

The multi tasking of re-energizing the body, balancing the person’s mental and emotional state and normalizing hormonal activity enables phytotherapy and acupuncture to take away anxiety and depression.  As an extension of its benefits in fighting negative extreme emotions, post-partum depression is also neutralized by both therapies.

Acupuncture and herbology is able to address the hormonal changes, which can cause high blood pressure.  Besides hypertension, pregnant women suffering from hormonal fluctuations can suffer preecclampsia, irregular heartbeat, palpitations and periods of breathlessness.

Other conditions the pregnant woman may suffer due to hormonal changes are migraines and edema.  The added stress caused by physiological and hormonal changes during pregnancy can cause migraine attacks and inefficient metabolic activity of the body.  Because of its effectiveness in treating pains and headaches, migraines can also be treated with herbal remedies and acupuncture.  These modalities also treat edema by improving the digestive and metabolic function of the body.

One interesting medical tidbit is that people suffering from osteoporosis are more liable to develop vertigo.  Vertigo is the result of an inner ear problem that results in dizziness. People suffering from osteoporosis suffer from weak bones and oftentimes, loose bone materials end up inside the ear disrupting the balance of the ear causing dizziness.

Osteoporosis happens when the bones become weak because of poor bone density. People suffering from this disease, an inordinate number of them women, are at high risk of wait, hip or spine injury.  Acupuncture St Helens is a proven effective modality for osteoporosis. Traditional Chinese medicine of which acupuncture is a part believes that osteoporosis is associated with the kidney.  Hence, when being treated with acupuncture for osteoporosis, oriental herbals are likewise utilized to strengthen the patient’s renal system.

The lower back is where the kidney’s energy is located.  Acupuncture with help from Chinese herbal medicine alleviates the pain and increases bone density.  Both modalities revitalize and nourish the kidneys and whatever is fine for the kidneys is fine likewise for the hair, nails, bones and teeth.  Hence, a person suffering from back pain, chances are high also suffers from brittle nails, thin hair and bad teeth as well.

Acupuncture aims to stymie the onset of osteoporosis.  One more good advise for osteoporosis prevention is eating a highly nutritious diet everyday especially foods that strengthen the bones.  If the person is not lactose intolerant, regular milk intake is a very good way of providing the body with vitamin and mineral essentials the body, in particular, the bone needs to avoid osteoporosis

More than half of people over 50 years of age all over the world are at high risk for osteoporosis.  This disorder is more common among Asian females.  Herbals are usually recommended by acupuncturists.

Acupuncture activates certain acupuncture points to improve the bone mass and replenish lost tissues to avoid the bones getting weak and brittle.  Acupuncture improves muscle tone and strength, which is very good in supporting the whole body structure and weight.  This considerably lessens the pressure and stress to the bones.  Apart from good nutrition and acupuncture treatment, regular exercise is also a very good way to increase muscle strength and flexibility.  Men and women who suffer from osteoporosis usually have a thin body frame.  Without exercises, even stretching exercises, the muscles are not developed and the stress of bearing the body falls disproportionately higher to the bones.  Exercises are essential to avoid muscle and bone weakness.

Acupuncture does not only prevent osteoporosis and vertigo, it benefits the mental, physical and emotional aspects of the individual as well.   It also works in balancing the energy of the body harmonizing and normalizing all body functions leading to a healthy individual physically, emotionally and mentally.

High blood pressure affects more than 30% of the population of the United States.  Last year, high blood pressure cost the United States $76.6 billion in health care expenses, including medications and lost productivity.  High blood pressure or hypertension is usually caused by a poor and stressful lifestyle; however, some individuals do acquire it genetically.  It can also be caused by alcoholism, smoking, predilection for high-caloric fast foods and sweets and aging.  The symptoms of hypertension are headache, nausea and restlessness among others.  Without proper maintenance, hypertension can lead to stroke, myocardial infarction, diabetes and obesity.  The usual Western medical remedy for high blood pressure is by medications.  Long-term use of these medications builds up toxins in the body resulting in kidney and liver failure and other disorders.  Acupuncture is one of the most safest and potent methods for treating hypertension.

Acupuncture St Helens was already being used in China for thousands of years.  It is part of traditional Chinese medicine.  The Chinese believe that there over a thousand acupuncture sites or points in the body and these points are connected to energy networks called meridians, which in turn connect to the various organs, tissues and body parts in the body.  Fine needles are inserted on the skin at prescribed depths at certain strategic points to heal a particular health problem.  Acupuncture is proven an effective treatment for disorders such as sleeplessness, headaches, body, muscle and joint pain, migraine, diabetes and hypertension among others.  It has many ways to treat hypertension. One of these is known as electro-acupuncture, which is about inserting a couple of fine needles at specific sites in the body.  Then, low-frequency electrical pulses are pumped from one needle to the other to stimulate the brain to help calm the excited state of the cardiovascular system.  This reduces heart activity and lessens the need for oxygen.  This process helps greatly in the lowering of high blood pressure.  This procedure lasts 30 minutes per session and should be handled by a qualified professional acupuncturist.

For treatment of hypertension, acupuncture is oftentimes accompanied by herbal medicine therapy.  The use of certain herbs combined with acupuncture always speeds up the treatment process.  Some of these herbs can assist in controlling hypertensive symptoms such as headaches or vertigo.  Some herbs such as the chrysanthemum flower can help with the hypertension itself since the flower is known to be a vasodilator.  Most of these herbs are taken as tea or in powder form.

Acupuncture regulates the body systems and aids in normalizing bodily functions – blood pressure is one of them.  Acupuncture helps the body to relax and be in a state of calm and elation.  This reduces stress greatly.  Acupuncture is the best remedy there is for this oftentimes-lethal disease.