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A New Trend for Cosmetic Surgery: Facial Acupuncture

It is now a new trend to use traditional medicine for cosmetic enhancement like  the facial acupuncture in Fort Lauderdale. A lot of cosmetic procedures were developed to improve scars, disorders that resulted from birth defects, injury or disease and other skin conditions. Most surgical procedures are invasive techniques that require adequate post surgical recovery time. This is usually the reason why many are anxious to go under the knife. But thanks to eastern medicine, the pursuit of cosmetic surgery has a more pleasant alternative.

Facial acupuncture or acupuncture face-lift uses traditional Chinese medicine to treat skin from the inside out. Acupuncture’s fundamental concept is based on the notion of balance and a lot of acupuncturists simply follow this principle. In acupuncture treatment, practitioners are treating medical problems by balancing the body and restoring the normal flow of energy or Qi.

For facial acupuncture , it uses the concept of traditional Chinese medicine to reach aesthetic goals. The basics of acupuncture treatment involve the insertion of small needles to stimulate circulation, plump fine facial wrinkles and boost collagen production. The resulting face lift makes this procedure and alternative to the traditional face-lift and not simply replacement for spa facials.

A lot of enthusiasts of the procedure have seen visible improvements in their appearance. A lot of first-timers in facial acupuncture treatment are a bit frightened at the prospect of having multiple needles inserted in the face but because of the reported benefits, a lot of patients are intrigued with facial acupuncture treatment. Facial acupuncture is truly the latest and safest tool in the never ending battle to stop aging.

A patient undergoing facial acupuncture won’t feel the slightest discomfort and can immediately return to work after the treatment. It doesn’t take out a lot of time like the recovery patients usually experience after traditional forms of surgery. Of course, even though recovery time of the traditional face-lift maybe absent, patients will still experience the usual redness, blotchiness and irritation associated with spa-facials.

When it comes to choosing a practitioner for facial acupuncture, remember that only licensed acupuncturists should administer the procedure. It is suggested that an acupuncturists should include in their list of specialty acupuncture facial.

A prescribed course of facial acupuncture requires eight to 12 treatments in order to achieve optimal and lasting results. Individual sessions would usually range from 100-250 USD per visit, usually less if patients would commit to a full series. Maintenance appointments are recommended once or twice a year once a series is completed.

Sometimes, the benefits of facial acupuncture are usually apparent even before the completion of the series. According to long time client of facial acupuncture Fiamma, he explained, “Even after one treatment there should be a noticeable difference. A lift in the jowls, eyelids and brow, more noticeable definition of the cheekbones, and less visible fine lines and wrinkles, are all common benefits of the first appointment.”

A Study on Acupuncture for Back Pain

It has been proven that acupuncture back pain is possible. This ancient technique helps relieve not only acute back pain but chronic back pain as well. It is better than the usual standard care such as medication or physical therapy.

According to study researcher Dan Cherkin, a PhD and a senior investigator at Group Health Center for Health studies in Seattle, he said, “Acupuncture-like treatments had a positive effect overall on people’s chronic back pain. It didn’t matter if you inserted the needle or superficially poked the skin.”

The study that Cherkin conducted was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In his study he assigned 638 men and women with chronic low back pain who never had acupuncture before to one of four groups.

  • Individualized acupuncture group consisted of patients who received acupuncture treatment on a customized prescription for acupuncture points.
  • Standardized acupuncture group were patients receiving treatment that was considered effective by experts for chronic low back pain.
  • Stimulated acupuncture group were patients receiving treatment that mimics the acupuncture treatment. Instead of using needles, toothpicks were inserted in a needle guide tube without penetrating the skin.
  • Usual care group consisted of patients that continued to take their usual treatment such as pain medicine or continuing their physical therapy.

The study is basically comparing acupuncture and the usual care. According to Cherkin, all three groups apart from the usual care group showed positive results. In fact they resulted with the same effects which were even better that the usual care group.

Researchers found that those getting acupuncture treatment were getting more meaningful improvements in their activities of daily living basically improving their dysfunction scale. In fact only 39% of the usual care group compared to 60% of the acupuncture treated patients has found improvement in their dysfunction scale.

The study conducted had shed some light that acupuncture can help on back pain treatment. For the most part acupuncture is very safe and Arya Nick Shamie MD, an associate professor of spine surgery at the University Of California David Geffen School Of Medicine, has been recommending it to his patients with chronic back pain. As a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, he added that the above-mentioned study shouldn’t confuse readers on how acupuncture works but it should at least show that acupuncture can truly help patients.

Although the group treated with toothpick for acupuncture back pain was a result of a placebo effect, Shamie says that, “Even going and talking to your doctor could have a strong, positive effect on your health. When people have chronic illness, they want to feel that someone cares for them, and that basically unloads the mind of the burden of disease.”

As a rule, before engaging in any forms of alternative medicine for chronic back pain, the condition should be duly evaluated by a specialist or a physician. It is after the rule that has to be followed for any underlying medical problems.