Zak Acupuncture Case Studies In London 07967525168

According to ScienceDaily (Apr. 29, 2012) — Newborns whose mothers are under stress during the first trimester of pregnancy may be at risk for low iron status, which could lead to physical and mental delays down the road, according to a study presented April 29, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston.

Can acupuncture help?

Acupuncture enables and restores energy to flow smoothly and improves circulation of blood throughout the body, whilst stimulating the nerves located in muscles and other tissues. It also has a positive effect on brain chemistry regulating stress hormone levels. Studies have also found that acupuncture can decrease the levels of cortisol after just one session (Arranz, Siboni, De la Fuente, 2006).The calming nature of acupuncture also helps decrease heart rate, lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles.

Through acupuncture, these energy blockages can be addressed. Acupuncture can help energy flow smoothly, and alleviate not only the symptoms of stress and anxiety, but the stress and anxiety itself. In addition, acupuncture improves circulation of blood throughout the body. The calming nature of acupuncture also helps decrease heart rate, lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles.

Acupuncture creates a feeling of deep relaxation in people, and the symptoms of pain or stress become less and less. It helps activate different systems in the body, which helps balance everything,We treat the cause of the stress, we don’t' seek to mask it. Patients need to physiologically balance the body, becauss stress can unbalance the body and then it needs to be realigned.Acupuncture can further balance hormones and can enhance and induce relaxation because it helps patients learn how to remain in a relaxed state by training the body with calming techniques.

So,Pregnant women should be aware that their health, nutrition, stress level and state of mind will affect their baby's health and well-being, try acupuncture!

According to Medicinenet

Best-Paid Doctors

Even so, the top-earning doctors aren't going broke. The top 10 highest paid doctors are:

Radiologists: $315,000
Orthopedic surgeons: $315,000
Cardiologists: $314,000
Anesthesiologists: $309,000
Urologists: $309,000
Gastroenterologists: $303,000
Oncologists: $295,000
Dermatologists: $283,000
Plastic surgeons: $270,000
Ophthalmologists: $270,000
Worst-Paid Doctors

The 10 least paid doctors are:

Pediatricians: $156,000
Family medicine doctors: $158,000
Internal medicine doctors: $165,000
Diabeticians/Endocrinologists: $168,000
Psychiatrists: $170,000
HIV/infectious disease specialists: $170,000
Rheumatologists: $180,000
Neurologists: $184,000
Nephrologists: $209,000
Ob-gyns: $220,000
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Acupuncturist earnings are related to the success of the practice and may be low during the first three to four years, as it can take time to get established.

On average, an acupuncturist treats between one and four clients a day in the early stages, at about £40 a session (£45 - £90 per session in London). More will be charged for the initial consultation session. Once established, an acupuncturist may treat 30 - 40 clients a week.

So,Best paid acupuncturist ( Based in London) £70X40X 50(weeks)= £140000 ( Before tax)
Worst paid acupuncturist ( outside London) £40X5X50(weeks)=£10000 (Before tax)

What do you think? Is it possible?

The study, published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, found 9.7 per cent of fathers suffer postnatal depression in the first year of their child's life compared with 9.4 per cent for mothers,according to Telegraph.

Postnatal depression (PND) is a type of depression some women experience after they have had a baby. It usually develops in the first four to six weeks after childbirth, although in some cases it may not develop for several months. There is often no reason for the depression.Although postnatal depression is more common in women, men can be affected too. Male version of postpartum depression. Researchers now believe that some 10% of new fathers develop this.The symptoms in men can be different from those for women. Men may get irritable, even aggressive, when they're depressed. They can also engage in destructive behaviors, like drinking more alcohol or having extramarital affairs. But the root of the problem tends to be the same. While men don't have the same dramatic hormone shifts that women experience after birth, other stressors, including financial worries, marital changes, and sleep deprivation can all trigger depression in men.

Can acupuncture help?

A recent study in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry suggests that acupuncture, as a stand-alone therapy, may be quite effective for mild to moderate depression. This particular study was a compilation of several different studies looking at the effectiveness of acupuncture at relieving the symptoms of mild to moderate depression. These studies looked at many different kinds of acupuncture including traditional acupuncture with needles, electro-acupuncture as well as laser acupuncture.

Many clinical studies have shown that acupuncture is significantly effective in treating postpartum depression,Postpartum depression treatment would use acupuncture points to help restore your yin and blood as well as help balance the flow of your Qi. This can help balance your mood, improve your sleep, and increase your appetite. Additionally, there are Chinese herbal formulas as well as nutritional suggestions that can help improve your condition as well.Expect to have several sessions before feeling your symptoms of postpartum depression lift. Some women feel a drastic change in their moods after just one acupuncture session, but this is rare. The majority of people feel better after a series of appointments, while others find that this treatment method does not affect them at all.

The Womenshealth.gov website lists these suggestions to help new moms rest up:
Limit the number of visitors you have.
Focus on just caring for your baby.
Eat well and try to get sleep.
Don't push yourself too hard.
Try not to worry about household chores or cleaning.
Ask for and accept help from friends and family.
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Reference:Manber R, Schnyer RN, Allen JJ, Rush AJ, Blasey CM.Acupuncture: a promising treatment for depression during pregnancy,J Affect Disord. 2004 Nov 15;83(1):89-95.

According to DailyMail,"Anti-depressants can cause problems for digestion and sexual function
Follows research last year that found people on medication for depression are more likely to relapse"

The researchers, whose study was published in the online journal Frontiers in Psychology, found that anti-depressants had negative health effects on all processes normally regulated by serotonin.
This included a higher risk of developmental problems in infants, problems with sexual function, digestive problems and abnormal bleeding and stroke in the elderly.

Major depression or chronic stress can cause the loss of brain volume, a condition that contributes to both emotional and cognitive impairment. Now a team of researchers led by Yale scientists has discovered one reason why this occurs -- a single genetic switch that triggers loss of brain connections in humans and depression in animal models.
Drugs prescribed to treat anxiety, depression and insomnia may increase patients’ risk of being involved in motor vehicle accidents, according to a recent study. Based on the findings, the researchers suggested doctors should consider advising patients not to drive while taking these drugs. Psychotropic drugs affect the way the brain functions and can impair a driver’s ability to control their vehicle.

Can acupuncture help?

Acupuncture has a long history of use in China and Japan. Traditional Chinese medicine theory describes a state of health maintained by a balance of energy in the body. Acupuncture involves the insertion of fine needles into different parts of the body to correct the imbalance of energy in the body. There are a range of styles of acupuncture from traditional/classical acupuncture, auricular acupuncture, trigger point acupuncture, and single point acupuncture. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and Classical Acupuncture are based on theoretical concepts of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements and explain disease and physiological function. A westernised medical application of acupuncture involves the use of acupuncture using trigger points, segmental points and commonly used formula points. Medical acupuncture may involve the application of acupuncture based on the principles of neurophysiology and anatomy, rather than TCM principles and philosophy. Auricular therapy involves the use of the ear to make a diagnosis and subsequent needling to points on the ear.

The Australian-first research, conducted at the University of NSW found that acupuncture could prompt changes in the "mood regulation" area of the brain, pointing to a possible and potent treatment for depression.

One of the major stumbling blocks to conducting a gold-standard randomised, double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial was that it was very difficult to administer a "sham" version of acupuncture,according to smh.com.au

Dørmænen A. and colleagues from University of Tromsø in Norway conducted a study suggesting that acupuncture may help menopause-induced depression in postmenopausal women with hot flashes.

Another research has shown that acupuncture treatment can help ameliorate the symptoms of depression. In general, acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules. The resulting biochemical changes influence the body's homeostatic mechanisms, thus promoting physical and emotional wellbeing.Studies indicate that acupuncture can have a specific positive effect on depression by altering the brain's mood chemistry, increasing production of serotonin (Sprott et al, 1998) and endorphins (Han, 1986). Acupuncture may also benefit depression by acting through other neurochemical pathways, including those involving dopamine (Scott et al, 1997), noradrenaline (Han, 1986), cortisol (Han et al, 2004) and neuropeptide Y (Pohl & Nordin, 2002). Source:BAC

A latest study concludes that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder. The Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts demonstrated that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of clinical depression for patients who are non-responsive to conventional pharmaceutical antidepressant therapies.

Lumbar spinal stenosis is caused by narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramina producing root ischaemia and neurogenic claudication. Stenosis of the spinal canal is most often caused by a combination of loss of disc space, osteophytes and a hypertrophic ligamentum flavum.For lumbar and lower limb symptoms, conventional acupuncture and general conservative treatment had been ineffective.

To study the effectiveness of electroacupuncture of the spinal nerve root using a selective spinal nerve block technique for the treatment of lumbar and lower limb symptoms in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis,Japanese Meiji University of Integrative Medicine has done a research about this.

They collect 17 patients with spinal canal stenosis who did not respond to 2 months of general conservative treatment and conventional acupuncture. Under x-ray fluoroscopy, two acupuncture needles were inserted as close as possible to the relevant nerve root, as determined by subjective symptoms and x-ray and MRI findings, and low-frequency electroacupuncture stimulation was performed (10 Hz, 10 min). Patients received 3-5 once-weekly treatments, and were evaluated immediately before and after each treatment and 3 months after completion of treatment.

Their conclusion:Lumbar and lower limb symptoms, for which conventional acupuncture and general conservative treatment had been ineffective, improved significantly during a course of electroacupuncture to the spinal nerve root, showing sustained improvement even 3 months after completion of treatment. The mechanisms of these effects may involve activation of the pain inhibition system and improvement of nerve blood flow.
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Reference:Inoue M, Nakajima M, Hojo T, Kitakoji H, Itoi M.Acupunct Med. 2012 Apr 25

In the new study, researchers found that patients who got steroid injections did see some pain relief over four years. But they did not fare as well as patients who went with other conservative treatments or with surgery right away.

And if steroid patients eventually opted for surgery, they did not improve as much as surgery patients who’d skipped the steroids.

Read today's dailymail, you can find "Don't break the bank to banish your back pain... instead try our affordable pick of products that really do help"

A high-tech TENS machineouble mattresses;The McKenzie Lumbar Roll;A Swiss ball;Ergonomic chairs;The BOSU balance trainer......etc,etc....

Do they really work for you? It is a big question. Correct diagnosis is the key I think.

What happens if the doctor isn’t sure? In many cases, there is no way to be 100% sure of a diagnosis. However, doctors always have a “most likely” diagnosis in mind, or a provisional–or what we call, working diagnosis. Patients should know what this diagnosis is. You have to make sure that you are involved in the thought process for narrowing down the list of all the possible diseases that could cause your symptoms to the one or two working diagnoses. Make sure you understand why certain diseases were “ruled out”, but also what it is that you most likely have. Before you leave your doctor’s office, always make sure that you know your diagnosis.

During their first visit, patients should be categorized into one of three groups after a thorough medical history and physical examination: non-specific low back pain; low back pain potentially associated with compression of a nerve in the spine (radiculopathy) or abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal (spinal stenosis); or low back pain potentially associated with a specific cause.

Diagnosis of back pain is complex and challenging. Studies done so far show that in many cases, there isn't just one single pain generator. The discs, ligaments, muscles, bone, nerve roots, and even the coverings and linings of these structures can all turn on a pain signal. When more than one area is affected, the pain messages can overlap, creating back pain that may not respond to one single treatment technique.

Most of the time, back pain is muscle or posture related, which means, it's likely that it is not serious enough to warrant .the attention of a medical doctor. But what about those times when at-home therapies, holistic therapies or a visit to the chiropractor doesn't address the pain?
"A successful treatment is based on a sound diagnosis," says Dr. Jack Stern, neurosurgeon and pain management specialist in White Plains, New York. "You need to know what's wrong before you can determine the best way to fix it."

Test A

1. Patient stands up, places each arm, straight and relaxed, at the corresponding side of the body. Straighten both legs and close heels together. Without worsening the back pain, ask the patient to incline the trunk of the body backwards which allows the lumbar spine to produce a slight forward curvature or be on the point of curving as such.
2. The examiner should position itself behind the patient, facing the back of the patient. Place one hand on top of the outside normal side shoulder, place the other hand on top of problem side hip
3. The examiner presses the pelvis, using the hand on top of problem side hip，to prevent any movement, then uses the other hand to push the normal side to the problem side。This causes the whole spine ,alongside with the skull, to be bended towards the problem side。Note that when doing this, the bending should be made completely by the examiner, not by the patient. This is to prevent some affected deep muscle to contract, when the soft tissue outside the spinal cord is damaged, which can cause stretching pain on skeletal muscle attachment area，hence causing false positive pain. Furthermore, patients should keep their knees straightened, their heels should not leave the floor. Rising of the heels may cause the pelvis on the corresponding side to rise also, which can affect the accuracy of the test.
4. When the spinal cord is bended to the patient’s limit, ask the patient if there is painful or conductible pain to leg, as well as any sign of numbness。Also, ask the patient to point out the precise position of the correct location of lower back pain using the tip of index finger, in order to decide which Vertebral space is affected.
5. The examiner switches sides and help patients bend the spinal cord towards the non-affected side then asks if there is any sign on the affected side.

Above test can produce the following clinical results.
1. when the spinal cord has been bended to limit to the affected side, patients complains that there is deep pain or conductible pain to bottom or leg and in some cases there is also numbness in leg。These are positive results, hence the diagnosis may be that there is soft tissue damage within the spinal cord. If the test result is negative, such damage would be unlikely, but it is still necessary to use Test B and Test C to be absolutely certain on the diagnosis.
2. when the spinal cord has been bended to the limit to the non-affected side, the deep pain on problem side and leg trouble can disappear. During which, patients who have pain on the affected side, because of back muscle at the affected side over stretching, can be diagnosed as having lower back soft tissue damage outside the spinal cord on the affected side. Then it is required to do further test on Test B in order to make a clear and precise diagnosis. The reason being is that tender points is a very important piece of diagnostic evidence for any soft tissue damage outside the spinal cord. If doing this test(bending spinal cord to the non-affected side) doesn’t produce any pain on the affected side, the above possibility would be quite unlikely or that the damage is so slight that it has not yet produced any symptoms, although it is still necessary to test tenderness point to be absolutely certain.
3. In some clinical cases, when the bending towards the affected side has reached its limit, there is only conductible pain in the hip and lower limbs(on the affected side) but no deep pain of lower back on the affected side. These pain may be caused solely by primary soft tissue damage of the hips, but it is unsafe to exclude the possibility of conductible caused by soft tissue damage inside the spinal cord. Therefore, it is necessary to use Test B and Test C for an accurate diagnosis. If the two tests both produce positive results, this conductible pain of the hips and lower limbs should be diagnosed as the conductible pain caused by soft tissue damage inside the spinal cord. If the two tests both produce negative results, the pain should be diagnosed as conductible pain caused by primary soft tissue damage of the hips.

Test B

The patient lies prone on a hard bed, with upper limbs straight, relaxed and placed at either side of the body. Let the patient relax all the muscles in the body, the examiner find the deep tender points by thumb press at the lower back of complaint, i.e. L3-S1 (Problem side) and deep muscle 。First do the following test:
1. Pain test of spinal extension posture:---The examiner straightens the thumb vertically and uses the tip of the thumb press at tender point with reasonable force. Ask the patient: is there any pain, conductible pain or lower limb numbness present? Then the examiner stops pressing, but let the thumb remain on the skin at the tender point without losing contact with the skin in any way, which is to ensure any further thumb press is at the precise location, hen do the following tests.
2. Pain test of spinal over-extension posture:--Prepare a cylindrical pillow which has a diameter of at least 30cm after pressing it hard. Cushion the pillow directly under the patients chest, allowing the spine to extend further more. The examiner uses the thumb in (1), which has not yet been moved from the original position on the skin, to deeply press at the original tender point with the same degree of pressure or force, then ask the patient: is there pain, conductible pain or numbness in the lower limbs present? Comparing to the previous test, is there any changes to the degree of pain, more, less or no change? Stop deeply press，but with the thumb still remaining on the skin at that precise point, and do the following tests.
3. Pain test of spinal over-bending posture :---Slide the pillow downwards to the belly, so that it is directly underneath the point which is slightly beneath the belly button.. This way the spine is over- bending forward. The examiner deeply the original tender point using the same thumb at exactly the same point, ask the patient: is there pain, conductible pain or numbness of the lower limbs? Comparing to the previous two tests, is there any changes to the degree of pain, more, less or no change? This test should be repeated twice.

Clinical meaning

From the above three tests, there can be the following clinical results.
1. in the spinal extension posture , pressing a certain point at deep muscle L3-S1 causes obvious painful. However, this pain can be caused by soft tissue damage either inside or outside the spinal cord, hence it confers no significant meaning on the diagnosis.
2. Comparing to pain of spinal extension posture, no matter there is soft tissue damage outside or inside the spinal cord, the pain of spinal over-extension posture produces more severe pain more easily, hence it has no actual diagnostic significance either. Doing pain test of spinal extension posture is to decide the precise location of tender point，based on which the pain test of spinal over-extension posture and pain test of spinal over-bending posture can be done. If there is no pain of spinal extension posture , then the other two tests would be unnecessary.
3. comparison between pain test of spinal over-extension posture and pain test of spinal over-bending posture.
(1) If pain test of spinal over-bending posture causes the deep pain，conductible pain or numbness of the lower limbs, which have been developed from spinal over-extension posture, to disappear completely or nearly completely, then in the former case, it may be diagnosed as soft tissue damage inside the spinal cord. In the latter case, even though there is residual tender point , with consideration of the fact that long period for which the soft tissue inside spinal cord has been damage, may progress onto slight damage to deep muscle outside the spinal cord, it is still appropriate to view it as mix lower back pain caused by soft tissue damage inside the spinal cord.
(2) If the initial pain is only lessened by a small degree, there is the possibility of mix lower back pain caused by soft tissue damage inside and outside the spinal cord.. Here Test A and Test C in combination with examination of tender points，to make a clear diagnosis.
(3) If the initial pain has not changed at all, then the possibility of damage inside the spinal cord can be eliminated. Damage outside the spinal cord can be considered, but the examiner still needs to use the other tests to produce the final diagnosis.

Test C

1. The patient is asked to lie in a prone position on a hard bed, relax all muscles.
2. The examiner uses one hand to lift up the ankle on the affected side, making a 110°angle at the knee joint.popliteal soft tissue should be relaxed in this position. The examiner uses the index finger tip of the other hand to find the tibial nerves at centre of popliteal area， then strum lightly in a horizontal motion. Ask the patient: is there any discomfort at some parts, pain or conductible numbness at the back of the calf? Do the same procedures at the |popliteal on the non-affected side, because strumming non-affected nerves would not produce any symptoms.

clinical significance
When strumming nerve, if there is any partly discomfort, pain or other stimulation, even if the extent is slight, it would be the positive result of this test. Strumming should be light and skilful, DO NOT press nerve hard! DO NOT press joint cavity at the back of popliteal ，which is to prevent the production of any false positives.

So how to know acupuncture works for this patient or not?
Test A Positive ,Test B Positive,Test C Positive --------Acupuncture doesn’t work

Test C Positive Test A Positive Test B Negative ----------Acupuncture doesn’t work
Test C Positive Test B Positive Test A Negative ------------Acupuncture doesn’t work

Test C Negative Test A Positive Test B Positive--------Acupuncture works

If only one Test Positive ,others Negative --------Acupuncture may works

All of Test are Negative -----------Acupuncture works

Muscle atrophy, or disuse atrophy, is defined as a decrease in the mass of the muscle; it can be a partial or complete wasting away of muscle. Muscle atrophy can be opposed by the signaling pathways which induce muscle hypertrophy, or an increase in muscle size. Therefore one way in which exercise induces an increase in muscle mass is to downregulate the pathways which have the opposite effect.Loss of skeletal muscle mass has a profound effect on the ability of the elderly and the sick to engage in physical activity. Because skeletal muscle has high plasticity, interventions such as exercise training, improved nutrition and mechanical stimulation are often recommended to prevent atrophy. Unfortunately, these can be challenging goals for those who are already frail or who have severe medical conditions.

Can acupuncture help?

Akiko Onda, an acupuncturist and graduate student at the Waseda University School of Sport Sciences, who has been conducting a series of studies on skeletal muscle atrophy for the past four years.Her team of Japanese researchers revealed study results at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting that show how acupuncture therapy mitigates skeletal muscle loss and holds promise for those seeking improved mobility through muscle rejuvenation.

Onda said. "We hope to introduce acupuncture as a new strategy for preventing skeletal muscle atrophy in the future.
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Reference:Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASE,

Once again, Professor Ernst has provided a new article about major problems with chiropractic. The new study gives further support about treatment risk......

In his article, He has quote some important part from American new research.

The conclusions of the American neurosurgeons in their recent paper speak for themselves:

Chiropractic manipulation of the cervical spine can produce dissections of the cranial and cervical segments of the vertebral and carotid arteries. Given the popularity of chiropractic treatment, the incidence of this phenomenon is most likely underreported. These arterial injuries can be severe, producing adverse neurological sequelae and even death (including 31% of patients in this series). Consequently, aggressive endovascular and surgical techniques may be required to restore vessel patency and to preserve neurological function."

Most chiropractors adamantly deny that their treatment is to blame,Professor mentioned.

Read Professor article? Visit http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2012/apr/27/chiropractic-manipulation-spine-strokes
Read US research? Visit http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/%2021923248

Ten-man Chelsea withstood another onslaught from Barcelona to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday after hanging on for a 2-2 draw against the defending champion.

FT Barcelona 2 – 2 Chelsea
90min +1min 2 – 2 Fernando Torres
45min +1min 2 – 1 Ramires scored for Chelsea
42min Andrés Iniesta scored the second goal
34min Sergio Busquets drilled in the first goal for Barcelona

Chelsea continue their incredible renaissance under Di Matteo, and will await either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the final at the Allianz Arena on May 19.

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Zak also work as professional acupuncturist and Chinese Tuina therapist in Chelsea Club (located within the Stamford Bridge CHELSEA FOOTBALL stadium complex,Fulham Road.SW6 1HS).

We are looking for an experienced TCM practitioner to fulfil the
expansion of the UK's leading and most reputable TCM practices in Harley
Street, London.

The successful candidate must have graduate level in TCM with countable
experience. This is a challenging but enjoyable role and you will be
working as part of a successful team who work with enthusiasm and
versatility. You must speak English fluently, be flexible, can work
efficiently under pressure, responsible and discreet with good customer
care skill to provide all aspects of support to the practice.

Salary will be negotiable depending on experience. Please email your CV
with a covering letter to Practice Manager Mrs Marlene Stanboulian at
The Zhai Clinic, 128 Harley Street, London W1G 7JT. Email address:
marlene.stanboulian@zhaiclinic.com

The woman had collapsed near to the end of the 2012 marathon, with the finishing line only one bend away.

Birdcage Walk borders St James's Park and is the last road that runners have to travel before reaching Buckingham Palace where they turn onto The Mall on which the finish line is located.

Competitors do not reach Birdcage Walk until after completing 25 miles of the marathon.

I'm so sorry to know this.

linked research:

"The added stress on the body that comes with running a marathon can cause urinary stress incontinence problems during the race or down the road," said Melinda Abernethy, MD, fellow, Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine. "People who already suffer from incontinence also are at risk for bladder-control issues while running."

Drummer Harry Judd from the British boy band McFly has been diagnosed with a minor heart condition which he said he developed through training for this month's London Marathon.

How many acupuncture treatments do you need for your pain relief? It's very common question from my patients.The most important thing we have discovered is that everybody is different and needs to be treated as such.For instance...you may have two 38 year old women present with infertility one of them gets pregnancy after a few acupuncture treatment, the other takes 6 months. We make treatment recommendations based on a patients age, exam findings, and cases we have treated that are similar, but still, as we get into the treatment each case responds differently.

What conditions acupuncture could help?

Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Depression
Dysmenorrhoea
Headache
Knee pain
Low back pain
Migraine
Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain
Frozen shoulder
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Stroke
Tennis elbow
Acne
Alcohol dependence
Bell’s palsy
Blocked fallopian tubes
Asthma
Diabetes
Dry mouth
Endometriosis
Female infertility
Fibromyalgia
Insomnia
IBS
IVF support
Male sexual dysfunction
Ménière disease
Neuralgia
Obesity
Osteoarthritis
Polycystic ovary syndrome
Premenstrual syndrome
Prostatitis
Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
Skin condition
Stiff neck
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ)
Stop smoking
Ulcerative colitis
Urinary incontinence
Whooping cough

How many acupuncture treatment do you need? Sorry, I have to see you first.

After London marathon, it would seem that complete rest would be the best way to encourage recovery. However, research is beginning to find some advantages in active recovery. Active recovery refers to engaging in low-intensity exercise after workouts.

Recovery after exercise is essential to muscle and tissue repair and strength building. This is even more critical after a heavy weight training session. A muscle needs anywhere from 24 to 48 hours to repair and rebuild, and working it again too soon simply leads to tissue breakdown instead of building. For weight training routines, never work the same muscles groups two days in a row.

There are two forms of active recovery. One is during the cool-down phase immediately after a hard effort or workout. The second form of active recovery includes the days following a competition or other intense workout. Research is growing on the benefits of both types of active recovery. But,Many of these aches go unnoticed until a real problem occurs. Theses "silent injuries" that runners suffer are the result of a wide variety of factors that lead to chronic problems over months and years of neglect.

Runners use acupuncture because it is believed that the needles stimulate the brain to release endorphins, boosting mood and relieving tiredness. We know that acupuncture aids the immune system to fight off injuries, and that it effectively reduces soreness and joint pain.
The marathon superwoman, Paula Radcliffe, admits to being a fan. Athletes in other sports, including the tennis player Maria Sharapova, also use it.In conclusion:Acupuncture is a great way to treat common running injuries. Many runners have suffered the wrath of sore muscles, the ever-common “runners knee” (also known as patellofemoral syndrome or chondromalacia), and hip or ankle injuries. These annoying and painful injuries put a screeching halt to training, and it’s not what you want when the goal is a marathon in a month. Instead of taking handfuls of Ibuprofen,

So,take care, keep going .London runner!

The American Academy of Family Physicians suggests how to help prevent an overuse injury in runners:

Don't increase your distance by greater than 10% in any week.
Don't run more than 45 miles in a single week.
Stick to soft, flat surfaces. Avoid uneven ones.
Don't run when you are in pain. Apply ice to the painful area, and see a doctor if necessary.
Give your body a break with a few easy days of exercise after very strenuous exercise.
Get new running shoes every 500 miles.

Here is a brief overview of three common injuries experienced by runners, along with selected treatment considerations.

Achilles Tendinitis

The Achilles tendon insertion on the calcaneus is medial to the axis of the subtalar joint, making the calf muscles the most powerful supinators of the subtalar joint.Therefore, when excessive pronation occurs, the tendon eventually undergoes overuse degeneration and inflammation.

Patellofemoral Pain

Many factors can contribute to improper tracking of the patella during running, such as genu valgus, tibial torsion, tight hamstrings, weakness of the vastus medialis and training errors (e.g., excessive hill running).

Plantar Fascitis

This condition causes heel pain in the area of the medial calcaneal tubercle, which is the insertion point for the plantar fascia. This aponeurosis is made of strong yet flexible connective tissue that functions as a bowstring to hold up the medial longitudinal arch. Since the plantar fascia is the major structure that supports and maintains the arched alignment of the foot, it is placed under considerable stress during running

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Strengthening the hips may help reduce many common lower-leg pain and knee injuries, especially in runners. Researchers have found that weakness in the muscles that support the hips may contribute to many overuse injuries in runners. The study authors reviewed previous research findings back to 1980 and found that weakness in the hip muscles may result into a higher risk of many lower-leg injuries. source about.com blog

Research at Winnipeg's St. Boniface Hospital and the University of Manitoba shows that long-distance runs can cause short-term injury to the heart, but there doesn't appear to be lasting damage.

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons suggests how to reduce the risk of runner's knee:

Get regular exercise to stay physically fit and avoid weight gain.
Gently stretch your muscles before any exercise.
Increase the intensity or duration of your workouts gradually -- not all at once.
When you run, wear appropriate running shoes with a sturdy, supportive construction.
Practice good form when running. Bend your knees and lean forward slightly

Free consultation: 07967525168 Dr Zak Han

Cervicogenic headache--Cervicogenic headaches originate from disorders of the neck, including the anatomical structures innervated by the cervical roots C1–C3. Cervical headache is often precipitated by neck movement and/or sustained awkward head positioning. It is often accompanied by restricted cervical range of motion, ipsilateral neck, shoulder, or arm pain of a rather vague non-radicular nature or, occasionally, arm pain of a radicular nature.

To observe the effects of acupotomy on cervicogenic headache and explore the function of cutaneous nerve entrapment in the mechanism of cervicogenic headache, Chinese China-Japan Friendship Hospital has done a research about this. The location of treatment was occipitalia, both of left and right side: altogether were 8 points, including tenderness point of postmastoid; the mid-point between mastoid and C2 spinous process; the internal 1/3 attachment between occipital protuberance and mastoid process; the posterior midline of C2 spinous process open to 1.5-2 cm.

They found that 17.07% patients with cervicogenic headache recovered by acupotomy, so it shows cutaneous nerve entrapment plays an important role in the mechanism of cervicogenic headache. For the patients whose headache recurred at 3 months after treatment, increasing the treatment time and therapeutic range is suggested.

Doctors routinely ignore patients complaining of headaches and must treat the problem more seriously as it can cause significant absence from work and school, new guidance from Nice has warned.
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Reference:Li SL, Han F, Wang QG.Zhongguo Gu Shang. 2012 Jan;25(1):22-4

Hashimoto's thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid gland is attacked by a variety of cell- and antibody-mediated immune processes. It was the first disease to be recognized as an autoimmune disease.Some people have had success treating Hashimoto's disease with a combination of acupuncture and herbal remedies. Consult your doctor before trying any supplemental therapy.

To explore the effects on thyroid function in patients of Hashimoto's thyroiditis treated with aconite cake-separated moxibustion and option the better therapeutic program, Chinese Shanghai University of TCM has done a new research about this.Their eighty-five cases were randomly divided into a moxibustion group (42 cases) and a western medication group (43 cases). The moxibustion group was treated by aconite cake-separated moxibustion therapy with acupoints of two groups [(1) Danzhong (CV 17), Zhongwan (CV 12), Guanyuan (CV 4); (2) Dazhui (GV 14), Shenshu (BL 23), Mingmen (GV 4)] alternatively and oral administration of 25 microg Euthyrox everyday. The western medication group was oral administration of 25 microg Euthyrox everyday. Indices of thyroid function before and after treatment and clinical effect were compared between two groups.

They found that Aconite cake-separated moxibustion at Guanyuan (CV 4) and Mingmen (GV 4) combined with oral administration of Euthyrox can improve clinical symptoms and thyroid function in patients of Hashimoto's thyroiditis, which is better than simple oral administration of Euthyrox.
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Reference:Xia Y, Xia MZ, Li Y, Liu SM, Ju ZY, He JS.Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2012 Feb;32(2):123-6

Children who had experienced any type of trauma before the age of 16 were approximately three times more likely to become psychotic in adulthood compared to those selected randomly from the population. Researchers found a relationship between the level of trauma and the likelihood of developing illness in later life,according to SciencedailyAnother research has shown physical changes to exist in specific brain areas implicated in schizophrenia following the use of cannabis during adolescence. The research has shown how cannabis use during adolescence can interact with a gene, called the COMT gene, to cause physical changes in the brain.

Can acupuncture help?

New research concludes, “that patients diagnosed with schizophrenia would benefit from acupuncture treatment alongside conventional treatment.” Acupuncture was effective in alleviating schizophrenia and the side effects of psychiatric medication. Acupuncture also improved energy levels, sleep, physical disorders, and motivation.

Acupuncture has been used to treat mental health disorders, including schizophrenia, for more than 2000 years. However, in an analysis by the Cochrane Review (the leading medical review publisher) in early 2006 it was determined that there is:

"insufficient evidence to recommend the use of acupuncture for people with schizophrenia. The numbers of participants and the blinding of acupuncture were both inadequate, and more comprehensive and better designed studies are needed to determine the effects of acupuncture for schizophrenia."

Treatment Principle:

For depressive psychosis:Regulate Qi, alleviate mental depression, resolve phlegm, and calm Shen.For Manic Psychosis: Purge fire, remove phlegm tranquilizing the mind and calming the Shen.

What's your experience?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
Reference:
Ronan P, Robinson N, Harbinson D, Macinnes D. A case study exploration of the value of acupuncture as an adjunct treatment for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia: results and future study design.. Zhong Xi Yi Jie He Xue Bao. 2011 May;9(5):503-14. Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, Kent, UK.

New ‘100% accurate’ test diagnoses schizophrenics simply by checking their gaze,” the Daily Mail reports. The newspaper goes on to say that the “tests are simple, cheap, and take only minutes to conduct” and (rather contrarily) “demonstrated 98 per cent accuracy” in distinguishing between those with and without schizophrenia.

According to NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Prescription pills used to treat severe acne were linked to a two-fold risk of developing eye problems, such as pink eye, styes and dryness, in a large new study from Israel.

Isotretinoin--are quite popular, however, for treating severe cases of acne in both teens and adults.doctor urged people to seriously consider the side effects before starting isotretinoin treatment.

Can acupuncture help with acne?

Acupuncture for acne is not without question, however. As there are few studies that have been performed regarding it's success with acne, many physicians find it difficult to evaluate whether or not the treatments will actually work. From the studies that have been performed, indications are that acupuncture for acne has shown to reduce the signs of acne. Traditional Chinese Medicine focuses on balancing specific issues in the body that could be causing oily skin and poor digestion to result in acne, while Western medicine focuses only on the surface of the problem by trying to minimize oil and infection in the skin through medication.

To evaluate the efficacy of ah shi point and general acupuncture point treatment of acne vulgaris,Korean Kyung Hee University has done a research about this,They found that Acupuncture treatment of moderate acne vulgaris was associated with reduction of inflammatory lesions and improvement of the quality of life.[1]

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal therapy can be very, very helpful in clearing skin. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has several pattern differentiations that are used to explain and treat different skin conditions based upon their appearance and corresponding symptoms. For instance; red, weeping skin lesions in TCM indicates that “damp-heat” is present. Specific acupuncture points and herbs can help to balance the underlying condition that is creating this damp heat, thus treating the skin condition at the same time.

Chinese Traditional Therapy Center of Ersha Branch of Guangdong TCM Hospital have done research about clinical efficacy of warming moxibustion on cystic acne, their Ninety-four cases were randomized into an observation group, control group 1 and control group 2. The basic treatment of body acupuncture combined with fire needling was applied in all of three groups. In observation group, cone moxibustion was added on Guanyuan (CV 4), Qihai (CV 6) and Pishu (BL 20). In control group 1, Isotritinoin soft capsule was taken orally, and in control group 2, no any other therapy was administered.

Their conclusion is Warming moxibustion can improve the efficacy of body acupuncture and fire needling on cystic acne, which is equal to the efficacy of Isotritinoin soft capsule, but no any adverse reaction is induced.[2]
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Reference:[1]Son BK, Yun Y, Choi IH Acupunct Med. 2010 Sep;28(3):126-9
[2]Mi JP, Yu ZS. Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2010 May;30(5):383-6.

News--about treatment
Brown seaweed may not look like the answer to a spotty teenager’s problems, but scientists say it can banish the bugs that trigger acne.An active ingredient from brown seaweed found only off the coast of Brittany, France, can cut spots by nearly two thirds.

The approval of Di'ao Xin Xue Kang as a therapeutic medicine by Medicines Evaluation Board of the Netherlands, paves way for the Chinese traditional medicine to enter the mainstream European market, say Chinese experts of the industry.

"This is an important step for TCM to enter mainstream markets of developed countries," Health Minister Chen Zhu said at a news conference organized by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing on Wednesday.

DAXXK Capsules, Di ao xin xue kang jiao nang (地奥心血康胶囊)
Ingredients
steroidal saponins
Description
This product is a hard capsule, the contents of pale yellow or light brown yellow powder; taste, slightly bitter flavor. blood circulation of qi and pain relief, expansion of coronary arteries and improve myocardial ischemia. For the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease, angina, and bleeding resistance of the Chest, dizziness, shortness of breath, palpitations, chest tightness or pain. each and steroidal saponins containing 100mg (equivalent to the total steroidal sapogenin 35mg).
Side-Effects
occasional dizziness, headache, which resolved spontaneously. A very small number of cases there is an empty stomach gastrointestinal discomfort.

Prof Chaudhuri said that, while individually problems like loss of smell or sleep disturbance were highly unlikely to be signs of Parkinson's, if they occurred together as a "constellation of symptoms" they could be indicative.He said that even in those already diagnosed with Parkinson's, non-motor symptoms were not identified in about 60 per cent of neurology consultations,according to Telegraph

Generally speaking most GPs will only see one or two people with Parkinson's in many years of work.

Parkinson's disease patients experience declines in physical abilities and quality of life several years before the degenerative disease is diagnosed, new research finds.In women, the declines started about 7.5 years before diagnosis, while in men, declines were noted at three years prior to diagnosis, according to the study in the June 2 issue of the Journal of Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease could be spotted years earlier by studying a simple voice recording

Except of medical treatment,Complementary therapies are treatments that may be used in addition to or alongside conventional medicine.Many people with Parkinson's find complementary therapy to be a very positive experience. Some people find relief from Parkinson's symptoms and find that treatments can be relaxing.Complementary therapies do not replace orthodox medicine. They should always be used in addition to, not instead of, usual treatments.Some complementary therapies do have side effects, can clash with prescribed medicines or can be harmful if provided by untrained practitioners.

Talking about the findings Doctor said: “It is well known that inflammation following a stroke can be very damaging to the brain. But what we didn’t fully appreciate was the impact on areas of the brain away from the location of the stroke. Our work identifying that a silent stroke can lead to Parkinson’s disease shows it is more important than ever to ensure stroke patients have swift access to anti-inflammatory medication. These drugs could potentially either delay or stop the on-set of Parkinson’s disease.”

Can acupuncture help?

Dr. Benzi Kluger, assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Colorado Hospital has been leading the study, which began in November 2010. The study is being conducted as a double-blind study to find whether acupuncture has a significant effect on Parkinson's patients living with fatigue in their daily lives.

Kluger's acupuncture study has a total of 22 patients participating right now. The goal is to have 90-100 patients by the study's end date in 2013.

Kluger said in the spring, his team is going to try to shell out a paper on the sham acupuncture after spending a lot of time learning how to remove the sham needles to create a really good placebo procedure.For detail, Please visit Acupuncturetoday.com

Traditional Chinese Medicine views disease as caused by internal imbalances. It has historically been used to treat Parkinson's with acupuncture and individually prepared herbal remedies. One study showed that acupuncture improved symptoms significantly in a small group of people with Parkinson's. In particular, scalp acupuncture and acupuncture with electrical stimulation have shown positive results in some cases. People with Parkinson's may also get sleep and rest benefits from acupuncture. If you consult a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, make sure your doctor is aware of any suggested treatment.

For Parkinson's disease patients,Both Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) and dopamine transporter (DAT)play very important role in treatment.We have known recent study in the journal Movement Disorders demonstrates that acupuncture does indeed activate areas in the brain that are normally responsible for movement and that are typically not functioning normally in PD.

Do you know something new?

Chinese Southern Medical University has published a new research about cerebral effects of acupuncture for pakinson's disease.

They found that Patients who received levodopa and complementary acupuncture had increased rCBF in the frontal lobe, the occipital lobe, the basal ganglion, and the cerebellum in the most affected hemisphere as compared to baseline, but there were no changes in basal ganglia DAT levels. Thus, complementary acupuncture treatment in Parkinson's disease may affect rCBF but not basal ganglion

Acupuncture can improve the cognitive ability of AD patients and its possible mechanism may be relative to the decrease in lipid peroxidation in AD patients' brain,Baihui (GV 20), Shenshu (BL 23), Xuehai (SP 10) and Geshu (BL 17)be selected (2)
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Reference:Huang Y, Jiang X, Zhuo Y, Wik G.Int J Neurosci. 2010 Feb;120(2):150-4.
(2) Zhu H, Dong KL, Wu Y, Zhang T, Li RM, Dai SS, Wang HL Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2010 Jan;30(1):18-21.

Let's share interesting thing with you.

Do you know David Bolton? David Bolton, a consultant physiotherapist in medical orthopaedics,has over 37 years of clinical experience in the field of neuromusculoskeletal conditions. His specialty is the diagnosis and treatment of therapy-resistant acute and chronic disorders, particularly where pain is the dominant factor.

Here is story from Dailymail

.......15 years ago, former Radio 2 presenter Emma Forbes has suffered back ache, although those two words barely do justice to the agony that has often left her bedbound, shedding tears of frustration, unable to walk or to rest, sleep or eat.

......Emma says: ‘I struggled on, trying cranial massage, a chiropractor, acupuncture and massage, but nothing worked.

......Emma had a microdiscectomy, where the surgeon cuts away the bulging part of the disc via an inch-long incision in the back. This relieves the pressure on the nerves, alleviating pain.

......‘I carried on happily for a year – and then the pain came back with a vengeance.

......Emma struggled on until 2009, when a physiotherapist, David Bolton, was recommended to her by a friend.

......Emma has now been without back pain for two years, and David’s treatment has allowed her to begin exercising gently.

......Emma sees David every two weeks for maintenance sessions – not cheap at £90 but, she says, well worth the price.

Want to contact David?

Limbus Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation
1-4 Harbour Yard
Chelsea Harbour
London SW10 0XD

Tel: 020 7349 9996

e-mail: limbus@btconnect.com

Acupuncture may help some women conceive through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a new analysis of past research concludes. But the true benefit in the real world, if any, remains unclear.In many trials, IVF patients either received acupuncture or nothing. In others, researchers used a form of "placebo" acupuncture such as applying blunt needles to the skin surface. Some researchers used real needles, but stimulated points not related to fertility, according to traditional medicine.

To determine if acupuncture improves symptoms of anxiety in infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF) treatment,Brazilian scientists from Faculdade de Medicina do ABC have done this research.Their trial was performed in 43 patients undergoing IVF. The patients were randomised into two groups: test group (n=22) and control group. The anxiety level of each patient was analysed before and after treatment using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAS). Treatment sessions consisted of four weekly sessions. In the test group, needles were inserted at points HT7, PC6, CV17, GV20 and Yintang. In the control group, needles were inserted in areas near but not corresponding to acupuncture points.

Their conclusion: Acupuncture can reduce anxiety symptoms observed by the reduction of psychological parameters of women undergoing IVF. Further evidence should be sought as to whether acupuncture might be a complementary option for patients undergoing IVF.
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Reference:Isoyama D, Cordts EB, de Souza van Niewegen AM, de Almeida Pereira de Carvalho W, Matsumura ST, Barbosa CP.

Diabetes UK said the most recent figures, from a national audit of more than 2 million people with the condition, showed just 50.7% were meeting their blood pressure target.Having high blood pressure is one of several risk factors that can increase your chance of developing heart disease, a stroke and some other complications. Treatment includes a change in lifestyle risk factors where these can be improved. Many people with diabetes need to take medication to lower their blood pressure.

Work stress doubles the risk of developing diabetes for women who have little or no control over what they do on the job, according to a new Canadian study.The same is not true for men.

Can acupuncture help?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), hypertension or prehypertension is usually seen as a pattern of excess Heat or Stagnation affecting the Liver, Gallbladder, or Heart channels. In some cases, there can be additional Phlegm patterns, which block the Heart channels or a Deficiency of Yin.Acupuncture points are selected that have been clinically found to create a hypotensive effect (e.g., relax the heart valves and lower their pressure at contraction and relaxation). Using points to calm the mind, rid the body of excess fire, tonify the yin, and regulate the Qi flow through the channels will help build lasting health long-term. Acupuncture is also effective at relieving subjective symptoms and has no side effects.

To compare the therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture and western medication on blood pressure variability in young patients with hypertension.Chinese Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of TCM has done a new research about this.Their sixty cases of hypertension in young patients were randomized into an electroacupuncture group and a western medication group, 30 cases in each one. In electroacupuncture group, electroacupuncture was applied on Quchi (LI 11) and Taichong (LR 3). In western medication group, Captopril was taken orally.

They found electroacupuncture on Quchi (LI 11) and Taichong (LR 3) has long-term antihypertensive effect and improves effectively day-night rhythm variation in young patients with hypertension. Quchi (LI 11) and Taichong (LR 3) are the effective pair points for hypertension treated with acupuncture.
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Reference: Yang DH.Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2010 Jul;30(7):547-50.

Linked research:

A detailed study of heart muscle function in mice has uncovered evidence to explain why exercise is beneficial for heart function in type 2 diabetes. The research team found that greater amounts of fatty acids used by the heart during stressful conditions like exercise can counteract the detrimental effects of excess glucose and improve the diabetic heart's pumping ability in several ways. The findings also shed light on the complex chain of events that lead to diabetic cardiomyopathy, a form of heart failure that is a life-threatening complication of type 2 diabetes

Another research:Fish oil supplements contain omega-3 fatty acids. The American Heart Association says omega-3s have been shown to benefit the hearts of people at high risk for heart disease.
But in the new study, people with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes who took omega-3 fatty acid supplements were no less likely to die or suffer a heart attack or stroke than patients who did not take the supplements

There have been 665 confirmed cases of whooping cough, which gets its name from the distinctive sound of the cough, so far this year, compared with 1,040 in the whole of last year, according to data from the Health Protection Agency.

Whooping cough can affect anyone of any age. The main symptom is bouts of intense coughing. In between bouts of coughing you can be perfectly well. Sometimes hours go by between bouts of coughing. Whooping cough can be a distressing illness which usually lasts several weeks.

Can acupuncture help?

Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are effective and safe treatment to provide full recovery for your little one.Chinese Herbs- Very effective herbal remedies may be used at each Whooping Cough stage to expel pathogenic factors, restore balance, and promote healing. Chinese herbal formulas for Pertussis are custom-made for the individual child’s constitution, symptoms, and stage of illness, so parents should seek out professional care with an experienced practitioner.Acupuncture-In 2003, the World Health Organization recognized the potential therapeutic effects of acupuncture on Whooping Cough symptoms.Although acupuncture has not been studied for whooping cough, some people may use acupuncture to help strengthen the immune system. The treatment principle is to clear heat from the lung and resolve phlegm. In addition, I focus on promoting the smooth flow of qi.No studies have looked at whether herbs can help specifically with whooping cough, but these herbs have been used traditionally to treat coughs and strengthen the immune system.

When practitioner receiving phone calls from patients who were asking if he/she treated "some conditions". their answer almost: “Sure, I do".Buy the truth is that they haven't enough professional training and experiences in that treatment.what is lacking is controlled clinical trials, reliable data and government approval.

If you google "acupuncture treatment". you can find advertisements for acupuncture for every kind of disease or injury. It is as clear as it is wrong. Scientists has tried to crack down on unapproved treatments , But in acupuncture industry the problem is more widespread. Some acupuncturists confess that they can't guarantee that the acupuncture will work, but they do guarantee that the procedures are safe.In the past two decades, acupuncture has grown in popularity in the UK. Acupuncture is being "widely" practiced--by thousands of physicians, dentists, acupuncturists, and other practitioners--for relief or prevention of pain and for various other health conditions. The widespread acceptance made it difficult for people to realize that some "acupuncture treatment" were actually doing harm.If some acupuncturists really want to help their patients, they should seek to prove that the treatments work, rather than just assuming that they do.Is Chinese acupuncture research really poor quality? What's real picture about Chinese acupuncture research?

Modern and scientific TCM evaluation system is still imperfect. In the current quality control assurance system established with medicinal materials as the core, the lack of TCM resources, limit of raw material prices and other factors lead to the mismatches between the TCM clinical needs and industrial products.Meanwhile, the lack of information sharing platforms among the central and municipal scientific research institutes has restricted the conversion of scientific and technological achievements. These factors have directly influenced the output value, revenue and profit growth of the TCM industry in Beijing.

Recently, the volume of applied research in Chinese medicine is growing rapidly and the quality is improving.There is good evidence supporting the use of some Chinese patent medicine treatments.Researchers are starting to emphasize the importance of clinical trials. Many experts including clinicians, pharmacologists, statisticians and epidemiologists are discussing and formulating clinical trial protocols for TCM. And quality control is being emphasized for the process of trials more than before.

Chinese medicine is indeed different from western medicine, while TCM is an individual therapeutic method for diseases or conditions. There should be a balance between what is ideal and what is feasible.

Case report:
Pericardial abscess is an extremely rare complication of Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia. We report a case of a 72-year-old woman with multiple acupuncture scars on both knees who presented with shortness of breath and general weakness. Transthoracic echocardiography and pericardiocentesis confirmed the presence of pericardial fluid collection. Staphylococcus aureus grew in both pericardial fluid and blood. Although an aggressive medical treatment including intravenous antibiotics and percutaneous drainage, the patient died 2 days after admission.(Korean Circ J. 2012 Jul;42(7):501-3)

Another case report:Source
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Haeundae Paik Hospital, University of Inje College of Medicine, , Busan, Korea.
Abstract
We report a rare case of haemorrhage from the inferior epigastric artery, which was injured after acupuncture. The haemorrhage was successfully controlled by transcatheter arterial embolisation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the use of transcatheter arterial embolisation for inferior epigastric artery haemorrhage following acupuncture.

Case report:
We report on a patient with a rare case of bilateral tension pneumothorax that occurred after acupuncture. A 69-year-old large-bodied man, who otherwise had no risk factors for spontaneous pneumothorax, presented with chest pressure, cold sweats and shortness of breath. Immediately after bilateral pneumothorax had been identified on a chest radiograph in the emergency room, his blood pressure and percutaneous oxygen saturation suddenly decreased to 78 mm Hg and 86%, respectively. We confirmed deterioration in his cardiopulmonary status and diagnosed bilateral tension pneumothorax. We punctured his chest bilaterally and inserted chest tubes for drainage. His vital signs promptly recovered. After the bilateral puncture and drainage, we learnt that he had been treated with acupuncture on his upper back. We finally diagnosed a bilateral tension pneumothorax based on the symptoms that appeared 8 h after the acupuncture. Because the patient had no risk factors for spontaneous pneumothorax, no alternative diagnosis was proposed. We recommend that patients receiving acupuncture around the chest wall must be adequately informed of the possibility of complications and expected symptoms, as a definitive diagnosis can be difficult without complete information. source:Acupunct Med. 2013 Feb 28

A report from Greenpeace outlined the pesticides — including carcinogenic and banned chemicals — found in 18 Chinese teas, including some of the country’s best-known brands.

According to the report, 14 out of the 18 teas tested contain pesticides that may affect fertility, harm an unborn child or cause genetic damage,according to FT

There are Chinese tea list....

15 款内地茶叶被验出含农药

茉莉云峰 （福建宁德）

狮峰龙井 （浙江／散装）

茉莉针螺 （福建）

西湖龙井 （浙江）

特级龙井 （福建寿宁县）

六安瓜片 （福建寿宁县）

猴王牌茉莉花茶 （湖南长沙）

竹叶青礼品装（乐山峨眉山）

极品竹叶青散装 （乐山峨眉山）

白沙绿茶 （海南省白沙黎族）

龙井 （浙江新昌）

碧螺春 （四川乐山）

铁观音 ／ 抢新天涵 （福建泉州）

茉莉花茶 （广西南宁）

802 铁观音 （安溪南山峰）

（資料來源:綜合業界、學者及環保團體意見）

There is no one "right" NSAID for back pain.All OTC pain medications for back or neck pain have both risks and benefits. Deciding on which to take depends, in part, on your individual health picture.

A landscape gardener died after he took an overdose of pain-killers to try to ease a pain in his neck, an inquest heard, according to London media

An inquest into his death held at Croydon Coroner’s Court on Tuesday heard Mr King had been prescribed the painkiller Tramadol for a long-standing neck pain, which had previously prevented him from working.

Really sorry to read this news.

In the November issue of the journal Arthritis Care & Research, researchers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina analyzed responses from 135 adults over 21 who had chronic neck pain

More than 56 per cent of those in the study used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 29 per cent reported taking strong narcotics like oxycodone and 23 per cent used weak narcotics such as codeine for their neck pain

Certain methods that actually provide demonstrated benefits are often not recommended by doctors, while others that studies have shown to be effective are ignored.[1]

In another resaerch--The ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture works better than anything modern medicine has devised for the treatment of back pain, scientists have concluded.In trials among 1,100 patients with chronic lower back pain which had lasted for an average of eight years, almost half (47 per cent) of those who received acupuncture showed significant improvement – compared with barely a quarter (27 per cent) of those given conventional treatment. The effects lasted for at least six months, long after the treatment was completed.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Reference:[1] http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/w-nad102710.php

Another sad thing:A five-year-old girl died of a drug overdose after being given just twice the recommended amount of cough medicine while staying at her grandmother's house, a coroner has ruled.

The study was carried out by researchers from Murdoch University in Australia; the university also funded the study along with the Australian Research Council. The study was published in the peer-reviewed open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

The study found that some of the traditional Chinese medicines contained plant materials that are banned in some countries, or that are potentially dangerous. Other samples contained material from endangered animal species, or animal material that was not disclosed on the labelling.

The MHRA states that: “The public should be aware that there are some traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products on the UK market that may be manufactured to low quality standards and may be deliberately adulterated or accidentally contaminated with toxic or illegal ingredients. These products do pose a direct risk to public health and it is not currently possible to distinguish between these products and TCMs that are made to acceptable safety and quality standards.”

"These two studies show very clearly how dangerous the products of TCM can be," says Fritz Sörgel, the head of the Institute for Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research in Nuremberg, Germany, who was not involved in the work. "The public needs to be better informed about these dangers."

What's your opinion?

A leading traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) expert said Tuesday that there is no need to worry about the toxicity of TCM, as the time-honored therapy is backed by developed theories and drug-making techniques.

Zhou Chaofan, a researcher with the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, made the remarks in an interview with Xinhua amid Australian researchers' recent accusations that they found toxins, allergens and elements of endangered animals in some TCM products.

Some misleading idea you have to know about Chinese medicin

They don't work?. Herbs prescribed under the care of a professional can be highly effective at treating issues ranging from digestion and insomnia to acne and eczema. Chinese herbs have been proven to aid in reducing the side effects from chemotherapy as well and help in various ailments that one may have.

They're just placebo? Despite the fact that the use of Chinese herbs has proven results, even if it is the placebo effect kicking in, who cares? The body's most powerful healing organ is the brain, and it is estimated that the placebo effect works 30 percent of the time.

You don't know what you're getting? If you pick up a random bottle at the grocery store, this may be true. However, under a trained clinician's control, they can ensure that you are not only receiving the proper herbs, but they will.

They have no side effects? Almost everything you ingest can have side effects. Just as you wouldn't take a pill without knowing what it was, the same is true for herbs.

Western medical science is viewed as the only correct science, while all others are considered alien and wrong.That's unfair. Unlike Western medical science that relies on medical experiments and modern technology, traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes tradition, but that does not make it invalid. Developed in China and having supported people for thousands of years, traditional Chinese medical science has its own logic and reasons to exist.Western medical science might have proved more popular in the world, but it also has numerous blanks. Our medical sciences are all ignorant before the vast unknown mysteries of our body.So just like traditional Chinese medicine has always been doing, Western medical science should learn from its partners and evolve together. It should give up the old "either black or white" logic, and admit that medical sciences exist in the plural.

What's your opinion?

Scleroderma is a skin surface area limitations or damage to stiffen a connective tissue disease. After the incidence of lupus erythematosus, also restricted sub-system type and type two. Former macular bit like skin or damage, was the beginning of pink or purple round or irregular in shape substantive edema, or after the ivory to pale yellow batter and finally into white or hazel atrophic scars. Systemic scleroderma include skin, muscle and bone damage, even to be involved digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary and nervous systems. The disease of unknown etiology, modern Western medicine without ideal therapy.

Doctors believe scleroderma is caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues. The immune system attack causes inflammation and an overproduction of collagen. Too much collagen causes the skin, and sometimes the internal organs, to become hard and tight. Researchers aren't sure what triggers this autoimmune response. Both genetics and environment may play a role.

A new study finds that black patients with scleroderma have more severe disease complications than whites.For the study, published in the May 10 online edition of Arthritis & Rheumatism.

Can acupuncture really help?

A few studies suggest that acupuncture may improve circulation in the hands and fingers, help heal fingertip ulcers, and maybe reduce the formation of fibrous tissue in people with scleroderma. Acupuncture may also relieve pain.

Acupuncture of the disease, regardless of limitations or system type, have effect. Some acupuncture workers, clinical scleroderma also realize that many people is the deficiency, it moxibustion more effective .

Acupuncture treatment of scleroderma mechanism, from A Wrinkle microcirculation changes observed that about 36.9% of the control loop is the top bleeding, moxibustion, reduced to 21.78%, before and after contrast, a significant difference. Meanwhile, the breakup of the former below normal lymphocyte transformation has improved significantly

Acupuncture is shown through Huoxue Huayu and improve immune function to play a role in the treatment.
Body acupuncture
Points
Main Points : divided into three groups. 1, Yangyangguan, Zhibian, Futu 2, Huantiao, Zhibian, Xuehai 3, Chengshan, Sanyinjiao, Zhibian.
Points allocation : Xuehai, Futu, Sanyinjiao
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Reference ;Chinese medicine research from china.

Sufferers will no longer receive physical treatment, but instead are being offered advice and guidance – and instructions to look up exercises online, according to Metro

How can a physiotherapist be expected to treat a patient’s condition without touching them?They are pushing people into paying privately and some people cannot afford it.

Physiotherapy for people who suffer from mild to moderate lower back pain is a waste of time and a poor use of NHS money, according to a major study

Study published in the British Medical Journal could change all that. Researchers from Warwick and Oxford investigated the effectiveness of routine physiotherapy against a single session of advice on exercise in two separate groups of patients and found that there was no difference in the outcome after a year.

Back pain is a difficult problem. Referral to physiotherapy is an easy option. It gives the doctor some time, and the patient is having treatment. But NHS physiotherapy adds little to an advice sheet,according to BMJ

What's your experience?

According to US study about Chinese herbal medicine.

A toxic ingredient in a popular Chinese herbal remedy is linked to more than half of all cases of urinary tract cancer in Taiwan where use of traditional chinese medicine is widespread.

The latest research found Aristolochic acid (AA) can interact with a person's DNA and form unique biomarkers of exposure, as well as creating signals within tumor suppressing genes that indicate the carcinogen has been ingested.

The Chinese herb is known in Europe by the name birthwort because it was often given to women during childbirth. Derived from the Greek, "aristolochia" means noble birth.

Natural is not necessarily safe.....Doctor says.Once again, as is often the case, the herbs used in Taiwan come from China. We've read time and time again about herbal remedies from China containing mercury and all sorts of toxic metals. You should take care of this....

Refrence:Yahoo health news 10th,April,2012

A new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers shows that adults who regularly take ibuprofen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), reduce their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by about one-third compared with nonusers.

These findings raise hope that a readily available, inexpensive drug could help to treat Parkinson’s disease,although the researchers haven’t found the exact connection, they believe that ibuprofen acts as a neuroprotectant.

Now a recent study in the journal Movement Disorders demonstrates that acupuncture does indeed activate areas in the brain that are normally responsible for movement and that are typically not functioning normally in PD.

Iris Chen, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston who researches the effects of acupuncture on the dopamine system, agrees that acupuncture might even out a skewed balance of chemicals in the brain. The treatment can increase or decrease the levels of brain chemicals, she says, and seems to be able to restore the correct balance if things go awry. "That's probably why acupuncture doesn't have much effect if you're healthy," says her colleague Kenneth Kwong.

Dr. Benzi Kluger, assistant professor of neurology and psychiatry at the University of Colorado Hospital has been leading the study, which began in November 2010. The study is being conducted as a double-blind study to find whether acupuncture has a significant effect on Parkinson's patients living with fatigue in their daily lives.

Kluger's acupuncture study has a total of 22 patients participating right now. The goal is to have 90-100 patients by the study's end date in 2013.

Kluger said in the spring, his team is going to try to shell out a paper on the sham acupuncture after spending a lot of time learning how to remove the sham needles to create a really good placebo procedure.

Chinese medicine may be effective in battling certain symptoms of Parkinson's disease, and lessening side effects from the drugs used to treat the condition, according to a new study from Hong Kong Baptist University.Gouteng is the key to a prescription involving a combination of six major herbs to treat Parkinson's disease.

The Baptist University study found that patients who took Gouteng together with levodopa experienced fewer side effects from the drug while showing a marked improvement in their communication skills.Side effects caused by conventional levodopa treatment, such as nausea, hallucinations, and delusions, can also be eased.

There is no cure for Parkinson's right now, but the study showed Chinese medicine can help treat the disease.

For detail, Please visit Acupuncturetoday.com

Xerophthalmia is a medical condition in which the eye fails to produce tears. It may be caused by a deficiency in vitamin A and is sometimes used to describe that lack, although there may be other causes.Xerophthalmia caused by a severe vitamin A deficiency is described by pathologic dryness of the conjunctiva and cornea. The conjunctiva becomes dry, thick and wrinkled. If untreated, it can lead to corneal ulceration and ultimately to blindness as a result of corneal damage.

To observe the differences in the efficacy on xerophthalmia treated with the needling technique for warming-promotion at Fengchi (GB 20) as the main acupoint in comparison with the conventional needling technique,Chinese Gansu College of TCM has done this research.Their thirty cases were randomly divided into a warming-promotion needling group and a routine needling group . In warming-promotion needling group, the needling technique for warming-promotion was applied to Fengchi (GB 20). Additionally, the local and distal acupoints [such as the point beneath Cuanzu (BL 2), Neiguan (PC 6), Guangming (GB 37), Taichong (LR 3), Fulio (KI 7) and Sanyinjiao (SP 6)], as well as the scalp acupuncture (bilateral supraoccipital lateral line and supraoccipital midline) were selected and stimulated with even-needling technique by rotating the needle.

They found that therapeutic effect of warming-promotion needling technique is apparently superior to that of conventional one.
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Reference:Xu XH, Fang XL.
21.
Zhongguo Zhen Jiu. 2012 Mar;32(3):233-6.

Do you have patient who have had symptoms like common cold, high fever, anhidrosis in heat pattern/syndrome, migraine, redness, swelling and pain of the eye, tinnitus, ear pain, swelling and pain of the teeth, ulcers in the mouth and tongue, sore throat, neck rigidity.... What's your treatment?

The penetrating technique of acupuncture from Yemen (TE 2) to Zhongzhu (TE 3) acts on the extraordinary effect of promoting Shaoyang meridian qi. The technique is specially good for heat pattern/syndrome of the triple energizer.

In the manipulation, the needle is inserted from Yemen (TE 2), going obliquely upward along the metacarpal interspace to Zhongzhu (TE 3). With this technique, the Ying-spring and Shu-stream acupoints can be stimulated simultaneously with one needle. This method is characterized as less acupoints, exquisite needling, strong sensation, easy and safe manipulation, remarkable immediate effect and high curative rate of single treatment.

This acupuncture technique is from Henan University of TCM,

Women skiers are more likely than men to injure a knee while skiing, and a new study shows they are about twice as likely to have that injury occur to their non-dominant leg, often the left one,according to new research.

"Our results showed that most skiers injured their ACL during a right turn where the left leg (= mostly the non-dominant leg) is the outside leg."

For some reason, women tend to have knee motions that make them more susceptible to injury. Among other things, when landing from a jump their knees tend to collapse inward more than that of most men. They suffer significantly more ACL injuries during physical activity.

Men have a greater number of knee ligament injuries than women, despite research suggesting that women's knees are more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and surgeries to fix them, according to a Swedish study. The report, published in the American Journal of Sports medicine.Menstrual cycle-related changes in nerves that control muscle activity could explain why female athletes are more likely than males to suffer knee injuries, especially anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears and chronic pain, according to a new study.

How about acupuncture for knee injuries?

THE EVIDENCE: Dutch researchers compared acupuncture to a sham treatment where needles were placed in areas not associated with healing, and found neither helped pain or knee function in osteoarthritis. But scientists at the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth have found that acupuncture is better than placebo: 'Acupuncture is significantly superior to sham acupuncture in improving pain and function in patients with chronic knee pain.'

ARTHRITIS RESEARCH CAMPAIGN SAYS: 'Our recent trial of acupuncture and knee pain at Keele University showed it was no more effective than a course of exercise-based physiotherapy. Results from trials again demonstrate mixed efficacy results.'

BEST FOR: Can't be recommended unless further research can demonstrate which types of knee pain might benefit (source: Dailymail)

The two different positions are referred to as the position of safety and the position of no return. Teaching women how to stay in the safety position (and having them practice this position daily) has proven to be successful in preventing ACL injuries.This type of neuromuscular and proprioceptive training under the guidance of a physical therapist significantly decreases the incidence of ACL injuries in soccer and basketball players. Studies show up to an 88 per cent reduction of ACL injuries in the first year the prevention program was started.Additionally, it has been determined that for the best results, the prevention program must be done three times a week for 10 minutes over a period of at least two months. The neuromuscular and proprioceptive program of exercises should be accompanied by other exercises as well (e.g., agility drills, core training, plyometrics). And a maintenance program is advised to avoid the effects of deconditioning.

What's your experience?

Trigeminal neuralgia is a nerve disorder that causes a stabbing or electric-shock-like pain in parts of the face.The pain of trigeminal neuralgia comes from the trigeminal nerve. This nerve carries pain, feeling, and other sensations from the brain to the skin of the face. It can affect part or all of the face, and the surface of the eye.TN pain typically remits and relapses, even when patients are on conventionally used treatments, resulting in a major source of disability and poor quality of life.

Researchers from The Third Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University have done a research about differences of therapeutic effect in primary trigeminal neuralgia(PTN) of hyperactive of liver yang type treated by deep and shallow puncturing at Xiaguan(ST 7).The study focuses specifically on Liver Yang excess type trigeminal neuralgia and compares deep needling with shallow needling acupuncture techniques. The acupuncture points used in the study are St7 (Xiaguan), LI4 (Hegu), LV3 (Taichong), UB2 (Zanzhu), St2 (Sibai) and Jiachengjiang (M-HN-18). In both the shallow needle and deep needle groups, electroacupuncture was applied for 30 minutes bilaterally to the acupoints every other day. In the deep acupuncture needle group, the needle depth reached the spheno-palatine ganglion (SPG) at St7 and the supraorbital foramen, infraorbital foramen and mental foramen for other points used in the research. In the deep needling group, the total effective rate was 93.8 percent. In the shallow needling group, the total effective rate was 87.1 percent. The researchers concluded that electroacupuncture is effective for relieving pain due to trigeminal neuralgia and that deep needling is more effective than shallow needling.
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Reference:Research by HE Lan1,ZHOU Wan-yu2,ZHANG Xiu-mei1(1.TCM Department,The Third Hospital Affiliated to Beijing University,Beijing 100191,China;2.Department of Ophthalmology,Xiyuan Hospital,China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences)

A compound found in red wine, grapes and other fruits, and similar in structure to resveratrol, is able to block cellular processes that allow fat cells to develop, opening a door to a potential method to control obesity, according to a Purdue University study.

Red wine contains a compound piceatannol that has a structure as of resveratrol a compound that helps fight cancer, heart diseases and neurodegenearive diseases. This chemical is very effective in cancer cases and helps fight the disease effectively and quickly.

Can acupuncture help?

To investigate the anti-obesity mechanisms of EA, Chinese Peiking university has done a research about this treatment by using a rat model of diet-induced obesity.

They concluded that EA treatment at ST36/SP6 acted through ARH (arcuate nuclear of hypothalamus) to significantly inhibit food intake and body weight gain when fed a high-fat diet and that the stimulation of α-MSH expression and release might be involved in the mechanism.

Patients receiving EA experienced a 4.8% reduction in weight compared with a 2.7% weight reduction for placebo EA and 2.5% reduction for diet restriction. Significant decreases in phobia, anger, anxiety, obsession, paranoid symptoms and depression were also seen in the EA group, compared with the other groups. (Electroacupuncture treatment of obesity with psychological symptoms. Int J Neurosci. 2007 May;117(5):579-90).

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Reference:Fei Wang, Tian DR, Tso P, Han JS.Peptides. 2011 Oct 25.

According to new research,Researchers suspect that it's more likely diabetes and Parkinson's share some common underlying causes.

Researchers have speculated on the potential reasons for the diabetes-Parkinson's link, and they suspect there might be certain biological mechanisms that contribute to both conditions.One possibility is chronic, low-level inflammation throughout the body, which is suspected of contributing to a number of chronic diseases by damaging cells. There might also be a common genetic susceptibility to both diabetes and Parkinson's.

Can acupuncture help?

There have been some claims that through the use of acupuncture, diabetics may need to use less insulin. Acupuncture of the ears may also be beneficial for type 2 diabetics to stimulate the nervous system.TCM and acupuncture, although they have helped diabetics in the past, must be used carefully and after consultation. They should be used to complement existing conventional medical aid, and not on their own.

The effect of acupuncture is dramatically illustrated by the modify in the patient's colouration pattern. The foodstuff of the codes are same this: White is the temperature that burns the highest, Red follows correct behindhand White; Orange ;Yellow;Green; Blue; and finally Negroid is last. This is because the modify in qi energy crapper termination in impalpable changes the mentality chemistry that curb addictive behavior.

The First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin TCM University in China release research about this.Mainly it's about observing effects of acupuncture on depression and anxiety, and glucose metabolism in the patient of type 2 diabetes.their conclusion is Acupuncture can improve negative mental state, glucose metabolism and blood glucose in type 2 diabetes patients.

Why acupuncture help diabetes? According to acupuncturetoday:Acupuncture can help--
lower blood glucose content;
lower the release of pancreatic glucagons;
attenuate symptoms of polyphagia (the urge to eat too much), polydipsia (excessive thirst) and polyuria (excessive passage of urine);
prevent slowing of motor nerve conduction;
improve microcirculation and myocardial contractility;
enhance blood outflow and regulate vascular peripheral resistance;
exert antiatherogenic, antioxidant and immunomodulating effects;
obliterate antheroscelerosis of the legs;
induce secretion of endogenous beta-endorphin;
elevate a lowered pain threshold; and
increase cell proliferation and neuropeptide Y levels.

What's your experience?

It is in Australia.

From July 1, it will be mandatory for practitioners and students to be registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia, which will also manage complaints and disciplinary processes as well as assessing practitioners trained overseas who wish to practice in Australia.

What's their entrance standards?

Registered individuals must commit to maintaining and developing their skills and spending at least 20 hours a year in training, according to standards agreed in January. They must also meet a minimum English language requirement and have professional indemnity cover to the value of at least $5 million in liability.

But, Doctor says --it risked misleading patients, who were likely to believe that practitioners' registration was comparable to that of doctors.AMA president Steve Hambleton says the association wants the same standards held for Chinese medicine practitioners as doctors."We believe the registration standards are quite low and too low," he said.

In Australia, five universities and 10 colleges, including Sydney University and Sydney University of Technology, have launched TCM programmes, many of which have been certified by Australian education regulators.

Nevertheless, development of TCM still faces challenges. Earlier this year, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency announced as of July 1, acupuncturists and Chinese herbal medicine practitioners must be registered under the national registration and accreditation scheme with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia.

Under the regulation, many practitioners would suspend their businesses until they pass the registration.

It is in Australia.

From July 1, it will be mandatory for practitioners and students to be registered with the Chinese Medicine Board of Australia, which will also manage complaints and disciplinary processes as well as assessing practitioners trained overseas who wish to practice in Australia.

What's their entrance standards?

Registered individuals must commit to maintaining and developing their skills and spending at least 20 hours a year in training, according to standards agreed in January. They must also meet a minimum English language requirement and have professional indemnity cover to the value of at least $5 million in liability.

But, Doctor says --it risked misleading patients, who were likely to believe that practitioners' registration was comparable to that of doctors.

According to New research form American Journal of Chinese Medicine.Researchers found that acupuncture at acupoint SP9 (Yinlingquan, Yin Mound Spring) increases blood flow/perfusion to the spleen and acupuncture at acupoint Liv8 (Ququan, Spring at the Crook) increases blood flow/perfusion to the liver. In addition, sham acupuncture did not increase blood flow to the liver or spleen.

According to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, channels and collaterals within the body provide pathways through which qi and blood travel, and each channel or collateral is linked with a specific organ. The Yinlingquan (spleen 9, SP9) and Ququan (liver 8, LR8) acupoints represent the sea points of the spleen and liver meridians, respectively, from which qi and blood flow into their specific visceral organs.

The results provide evidence of acupuncture channel and acupuncture point specificity. SP9 (Spleen9) and Liv8 (Liver8) specifically were shown to enhance blood flow/perfusion to the spleen and liver respectively. Both acupuncture points are located on the legs on acupuncture channels related to the spleen and liver respectively and both points stimulated blood flow/perfusion to their related internal organs.
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Reference:American Journal of Chinese Medicine, V40, 1, 1-10. 2012

Due to numerous work injuries - Patient had a total knee replacement . he did fine for the first 6 months postop but in the fall started feeling alot of pain and increased instability. he is now about a year post op on the 2nd replacement and his knee is becoming severely unstable. doctor told him, he didn't know what was wrong as the xrays look normal and he don't seem to have an infection.

Anything wrong?

Patients who started acupuncture and Chinese massage right away,they got their balance and normal walking pattern back faster compared with the patients who started acupuncture later.There are some patients who are very slow to move the leg and get out of bed much less make themselves contract muscles and flex and bend the knee. Sometimes the pain (or perception of pain) is just too great in their minds to move smoothly or often.Getting started and progressing quickly through the acupuncture and Chinese massage can be a major challenge for some people after a knee replacement.

Getting patients up and moving after total knee replacement is the best medicine.

Acupuncture for the Knee
Acupuncture was applied to patients with total knee arthroplasty starting at day 7 following knee replacement surgery. Acupuncture was administered three times per week until day 21 when the treatment regime was discontinued. Range of motion improved, swelling measurably decreased and pain levels were significantly lower in the acupuncture study group than in the group that did not receive acupuncture therapy. As a result of these findings, the researchers conclude that acupuncture is effective in the post-acute phase of knee rehabilitation following total knee replacement surgery.

Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which a person has repeated seizures (convulsions) over time. Seizures are episodes of disturbed brain activity that cause changes in attention or behavior.
Studies in China have shown acupuncture to be a safe, reliable way to reduce or lower seizure activity.One study indicated that treatment of epilepsy with herbs, acupuncture and massage had the best results.One German study involved 98 people with epilepsy, ranging in age from 2-52. All drugs were discontinued during the first weeks of therapy. Acupuncture treatments lasted from 1 - 18 months, and 65 people showed marked improvements with an absence of seizures during a one-year period without drugs.

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder consisting of recurrent seizures resulting from excessive, uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain. Autonomic imbalance demonstrating an increased sympathetic activity and a reduced parasympathetic activation is involved in the development and progress of epileptic seizures. Researchers form China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences point out that activation of the parasympathetic nervous system such as vagus nerve stimulation has been used for the treatment of intractable epilepsy, as increasing number of studies have demonstrated that auricular acupuncture has a significant effect on inducing parasympathetic tone. That may be why auricular acupuncture may suppress epileptic seizures.
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Reference:He W, Rong PJ, Li L, Ben H, Zhu B, Litscher G.Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:615476

Routine screening for psychiatric, cognitive and social problems could enhance the quality of care and quality of life for children and adults with epilepsy, according to a study by UC Irvine neurologist Dr. Jack Lin and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Amedeo Avogadro University in Italy.

A drug approved to prevent seizures may also help obese people lose a few pounds when it's added to therapy and nutritional guidance, a new small trial suggests.But people who took zonisamide also reported more side effects, from nausea and vomiting to anxiety and depression. And two researchers not involved in the study questioned how much the drug would actually help people in the real world.

A new “patch” for epilepsy worn on the forehead while you sleep is now available in the UK on prescription. The device, containing electrodes that send tiny pulses to the brain, has been found by US doctors to cut the number of seizures and heighten a patient’s mood. Is this patch idea same as electro- acupuncture tens?

A Loyola University Medical Center neurologist is reporting surprising results of a study of patients who experience both epileptic and non-epileptic seizures.Non-epileptic seizures resemble epileptic seizures, but are not accompanied by abnormal electrical discharges. Rather, these seizures are believed to be brought on by psychological stresses.Non-epileptic seizures often are mistaken for epileptic seizures. While some patients who have both types can distinguish between the two, others find it difficult to distinguish when they are having non-epileptic seizures.

There has been a dramatic fall in the number of children diagnosed with epilepsy over the last decade, according to a new study reported on by BBC News.

The report is based on an impressive piece of research looking at GP records to see whether the rates of children being diagnosed or treated with epilepsy have changed over time.

According to Reuters Health - Men who have been diagnosed with erectile dysfunction are 63 percent more likely to also have had a diagnosis of migraine headaches than men without the sexual disorder, according to a new study from Taiwan.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is the inability to get and maintain an erection that is sufficient for satisfactory sexual intercourse. ED is also known as impotence.From acupuncture to arginine, from ginseng to pomegranate juice, men have tried all sorts of natural remedies for erectile dysfunction (ED)But are these alternative remedies safe? Do they really work?

Acupuncture. Though acupuncture has been used to treat male sexual problems for centuries, the scientific evidence to support its use for erectile dysfunction is equivocal at best. In 2009 South Korean scientists conducted a systematic review of studies on acupuncture for ED. They found major design flaws in all of the studies, concluding that "the evidence is insufficient to suggest that acupuncture is an effective intervention for treating ED.

For migraine.To asses the efficacy of acupuncture at migraine-specific acupuncture points compared with other acupuncture points and sham acupuncture,Ying Li,et al has done a new research about this.

They performed a multicentre, single-blind randomized controlled trial. In total, 480 patients with migraine were randomly assigned to one of four groups (Shaoyang-specific acupuncture, Shaoyang-nonspecific acupuncture, Yangming-specific acupuncture or sham acupuncture [control]). All groups received 20 treatments.

They found that acupuncture tested appeared to have a clinically minor effect on migraine prophylaxis compared with sham acupuncture.

It has been suggested that the positive results reported for acupuncture can be explained by placebo effects and publication bias and researchers have pointed out the difficulty in designing an adequate scientific control for any placebo effect acupuncture might have due to its invasiveness. The development and inclusion of retracting needles as a form of placebo control has resulted in a much larger number of studies concluding acupuncture's effects are due to placebo.The problem is that sham acupuncture is not a true placebo -- and may have real physiological effects.

Results of the study may be difficult to generalize to Western populations. UK patients may not be keen on receiving 20 acupuncture treatments within a 4-week period
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Reference:Ying Li,et al.CMAJ January 9, 2012 First published January 9, 2012

From a Chinese medicine perspective, migraines can be caused by a combination of inherited constitution and lifestyle factors such as diet and stress, including emotional stress and overwork. Over time these factors can contribute to a pattern of imbalance that leads to migraines. Because there are different causes for migraines, the symptoms that are experienced will differ from person to person, and so will the treatment. An acupuncturist can create a very targeted and effective treatment by catering it to a person’s specific causes.

For migraine sufferers, acupuncture is an option well worth considering, offering both immediate and long-term relief.

Initially, acupuncture can help to relieve both the severity and frequency of migraine symptoms. In fact, it is common for people to see relief after a few acupuncture treatments, although more treatments are typically needed to resolve the problem.

As treatments progress and begin to rebalance the body, the frequency of migraine episodes begins to decrease. And long-term relief is possible- many patients reduce or eliminate their need for migraine medication through acupuncture, demonstrating just how effective an option acupuncture can be.

(HealthDay News) -- Tracking your migraines can better prepare you to prevent or treat these often-debilitating headaches.
The Womenshealth.gov website suggests what to log in a headache diary:
The date, time and duration of your migraine.
What you were doing and where you were when the migraine began.
Anything you drank or ate within 24 hours of the migraine.
If you are a woman, the duration of your menstrual period.

Linked research: Women who suffered from the severe headaches were no more likely to have trouble learning or remembering things than those unaffected by the condition, found scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

This seven-year study of more than 10,000 people - of whom about half had sleep apnoea - resulted in 40 cases of DVT. DVT is a serious but rare condition in which a blood clot forms in a vein - usually in the leg. The clot can break off and cause a life-threatening blockage in the lung, known as a pulmonary embolism.

OSA is a respiratory condition in which the throat repeatedly narrows or closes during sleep. Air is blocked from getting into the lungs, and low oxygen levels cause the brain to wake the person up.

Untreated severe obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular mortality in the elderly, and adequate treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) may significantly reduce this risk, according to a new study from researchers in Spain.

Some evidence suggests that a type of acupuncture called auriculotherapy acupoint pressure may help treat sleep apnea. It was shown in a pilot study that acupuncture was more effective than placebo treatment (sham acupuncture) in producing significant changes in the respiratory events assessed by polysomnography.A common sleep disorder may affect the blood vessels responsible for supplying blood to the heart, raising the risk of heart disease in otherwise healthy people.A new study is the first to show blood vessel abnormalities in otherwise healthy people with obstructive sleep apnea, a condition that causes periodic interruptions in breathing during sleep. Previous studies have linked sleep apnea to high blood pressure (hypertension) and other risk factors for heart disease.

Brazilian researchers have done research about this condition, they found A single session of either MA or EA( electro acupuncture) 10 Hz had an acute effect in reducing the AHI as well as the number of nocturnal respiratory events of patients presenting with moderate OSA.
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Reference:Freire AO, Sugai GC, Togeiro SM, Mello LE, Tufik S.Acupunct Med. 2010 Jun 15.

According to a recent study headed by scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the University of Granada, eating commercial baked goods (fairy cakes, croissants, doughnuts, etc.) and fast food (hamburgers, hotdogs and pizza) is linked to depression.

Published in the Public Health Nutrition journal, the results reveal that consumers of fast food, compared to those who eat little or none, are 51% more likely to develop depression.

Depression affects 121 million people worldwide. This figure makes it one of the main global causes of disability-adjusted life year. Further still, in countries with low and medium income it is the leading cause.

Can acupuncture help?

At moment, there is just not enough evidence in favor of acupuncture's effectiveness for them to make a recommendation for its use.The Australian-first research, conducted at the University of NSW found that acupuncture could prompt changes in the "mood regulation" area of the brain, pointing to a possible and potent treatment for depression.

One of the major stumbling blocks to conducting a gold-standard randomised, double-blinded and placebo-controlled trial was that it was very difficult to administer a "sham" version of acupuncture,according to smh.com.au.A latest study concludes that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of major depressive disorder. The Depression Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts demonstrated that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of clinical depression for patients who are non-responsive to conventional pharmaceutical antidepressant therapies.

Acupuncture is a generally safe treatment with few to no side effects. If you choose to try acupuncture to help with your depression, it's important to remember that it's still important to work with your doctor to ensure that you are getting the standard treatment that you will need.

Mothod :treated by acupuncture of Xingjian (LR 2), Taichong (LR 3), Zhongfeng (LR 4) and Ququan (LR 5) first, followed by pricking Dadun (LR 1) to let a little bit of blood out. The treatment was given once every other day, two months altogether.

ScienceDaily (May 14, 2012) — A walk in the park may have psychological benefits for people suffering from depression. In one of the first studies to examine the effect of nature walks on cognition and mood in people with major depression, researchers in Canada and the U.S. have found promising evidence that a walk in the park may provide some cognitive benefits.

Korean scientists confirmed that acupuncture stimulation significantly reduced depression-like behavior and that it lowered the kynurenine/tryptophan ratio and raised the serum kynurenic acid/3-hydroxykynurenine ratio. Acupuncture also relieved the hippocampal dopamine level that was lowered by BCG inoculation. Taken together, these findings may indicate that acupuncture has antidepressant-like effects on murine chronic inflammation-associated depression-like behavior due to its modulatory effects on tryptophan-kynurenine metabolism and dopaminergic neuroactivity in the brain.(source:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22796291#)