Acupuncture

 

 

As a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, I am trained in many different types of traditional therapies. I specialize in integrative treatments and am the only practitioner in Asheville to offer such a wide variety of complementary therapies at no extra charge. Acupuncture is the fundamental therapy upon which all of my treatments are built but my toolbox also includes herbal medicine, tui na (Chinese medical massage), zhi ya (acupressure), chi nei tsang (abdominal massage), ba guan (cupping), gua sha (massage with jade and horn tools), topical herbal formulas for pain, and 5 element nutrition, and I mix-and-match them according to your condition. Please click here for more information about my combination treatments.

 

My mission is to put the care back in healthcare. One way I do this is by offering private sessions vs. treating multiple patients in the same room. This approach allows full access to all of the acupuncture points on both sides of the body and provides privacy for disrobing and complementary therapies like cupping. It also gives you space for deeper rest and relaxation, something I believe is essential for healing, and allows me to dedicate plenty of focused time to each individual for case history, examination, and treatment. Please click here to learn more about my mission.

 

In my practice, over 85% of my patients see significant relief of their symptoms, typically without side effects. The key to the success of this system is in its holistic approach which looks at your health overall as one interconnected and unified system. The goal is to create targeted, individualized treatments that address multiple systems simultaneously instead of focusing on single, isolated symptoms. This gives symptomatic relief while at the same time addressing deeper underlying imbalances, improving your overall level of health so that symptoms are less likely to re-occur. Whether you are seeking something more natural, have exhausted mainstream medical options, or are interested in treatments that complement other types of therapies, acupuncture and Chinese medicine may be just what you are looking for. Please click here to learn more about the holistic approach to healing.

 

Along with herbal medicine, 5 element nutrition, and topical therapies like cupping and gua sha, acupuncture is one of the foundational treatments of Chinese Medicine. This is a complete medical system that has existed for thousands of years, developing theories for just about every common human condition along the way. Like a family physician, I consider myself to be a general practitioner so I work on all sorts of things including auto-immune disorders, complex and chronic conditions, digestive disorders, emotional imbalances, exhaustion and fatigue, nternal organ conditions, nervous system conditions, pain of all types, reproductive conditions, and respiratory conditions. Another important part of my practice is wellness, focusing on the unique ability of Chinese medicine to prevent illness and promote longevity. Please click here for more information about what I treat.

 

Acupuncture has both general and specific actions. In general, acupuncture stimulates your body's natural healing response system-wide. For example, acupuncture activates the parasympathetic nervous system, the complement to the sympathetic fight-or-flight nervous system that is triggered by stress and anxiety. In the parasympathetic state we become deeply relaxed, heart rate and respiration slow way down, the mind quiets, and the body focuses on healing, repair, and replenishing energy reserves. During this state, we reach a deep level of stillness, a pause in time from which we can reset imbalanced patterns and reemerge rejuvenated. The specific actions of acupuncture include localized effects on pain and, by tapping points on the channels that pass through them, the regulation and normalization of internal organ function. Acupuncture points have dozens and dozens of other specialized actions as well so they can be used to treat a wide variety of diverse conditions. Please click here for more information about how acupuncture works.

 

Preparing for an acupuncture appointment is simple. My main recommendations are to wear loose clothing, make sure you are neither hungry nor thirsty, and generally plan to take it easy on the day of your treatment. The appointment itself is about an hour long and begins with a case history, aiming to understand your chief complaint within the framework of your overall health. The acupuncture treatment takes place on a standard massage table in a private room. I usually choose about fifteen points and the needles stay in for approximately 30 minutes. Please click here for more information about a typical session.

 

Acupuncture needles are quite unlike the medical syringes that most of us are familiar with. They are as short and flexible as whiskers, more like a small wire or pointer, and are never used to inject or withdraw anything. They are so thin that it is difficult to simply put them in without bending. Because of this, they come with what is called a "guide tube," a small plastic sleeve that stabilizes them. The acupuncture needles I use are made of surgical-grade stainless steel, come prepackaged in sterile packets, and are used only once and then disposed of in a medical sharps container. In general, they don't feel like much, though occasionally some people will have a reflexive twitch or feel a tiny, split-second pinch. Please click here for more information about the needles.

 

In recent years physicians, physical therapists, and chiropractors in North Carolina have all written acupuncture into their scope of practice, giving themselves legal permission to offer this therapy to their patients. Unfortunately, some of them require no additional training to do so while others only require very little. As it stands, though there are certification classes available for them, physicians are not required to have any additional training at all to practice acupuncture (www.ncmedboard.org). Physical therapists must be certified in acupuncture to practice it, though they are only required to take 54 hours of class (www.ncptboard.org). Chiropractors are required to have more education than that, but they still only need 200 hours of class to be certified, and that's only if they were licensed after 07/01/2008. If they were licensed before then it's 100 just hours (www.ncchiroboard.com). In contrast, licensed acupuncturists must attain a post-graduate master's degree from an accredited college with a minimum of 1,800 class hours, 650 of which must be supervised clinical training, take the Clean Needle Technique course, pass three national board exams, maintain a state license, and complete forty continuing education credits every two years (www.ncalb.com). As a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, I have fulfilled all of the above requirements for licensure plus I have an additional 1,100 class hours. Please click here to learn more about the difference between licensure and certification.

 

I believe that there is a place for every type of medicine and that each has its strengths and weaknesses. I am also a huge proponent of combining different types of therapies, not just in my practice, but in general. In my experience, all healing therapies positively complement and enhance the effects of each other, and the more people you have on your health care team the better. Still, there are some important fundamental differences among the various schools of medicine. When it comes to what I practice, eastern medicine, and the predominant medical system of our culture, western medicine, I find that they differ in four key ways: theory, diagnosis, treatment, and the way in which they are practiced. These observations come out of my experience as both a patient of western medicine and a practitioner of eastern medicine. I go to see a medical doctor myself, as do the vast majority of my patients.Please click here to learn more about the differences between eastern and western medicine.

 

In Chinese medicine, you are both a unique individual and a representative version of one of five main archetypes. All of us have a predominant archetype that determines our body type and temperament, as well as our physical and emotional strengths and weaknesses. When it comes to health, knowing your archetype is beneficial because it can help you understand your inner nature as well as how to customize things like diet and lifestyle in a way that will keep you, in particular, more in balance. In short, your archetype is your unchangeable genetic constitution and represents who you truly are on the most fundamental level. Please click here for more information about the five archetypes.

 

Some of the most basic concepts in Chinese medicine include chi, yin and yang, and the five elements. Chi is the primary force in the universe that flows through everything, including us. In our bodies it travels along regular pathways called channels or meridians, nourishing all of our tissues and passing through all of our internal organs. In medicine, the most important thing is to make sure to keep your chi flowing. Yin and yang are ancient Daoist philosophical concepts that describe the universe and everything in it as being divisible into two principle categories that balance and complement each other. Within us, they are reflected in things like the balance of cold and heat, dryness and moisture, activity and rest, and in the interdependent relationship between our physical body and our emotional self. As for the five elements, these are the internal organ systems of Chinese medicine. Emphasis is put on the relationships between them and how they coordinate and support each other. Please click here for more information about the theory behind acupuncture.

 

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine recognize multiple causes of disease. Some arise before we are born, including hereditary genetic conditions, and conditions that may develop while we are in utero if our mothers experience major shock, illness, or trauma. Some have tangible sources, like injury, poor diet, or environmental toxin exposure. Others arise from emotional imbalances, especially if they are long-standing. Please click here for more information about the causes of disease.

 

The main goal of diagnosis in Chinese medicine is to identify what we call patterns, or clusters of symptoms. This is done by framing your chief complaint within the context of your overall health, looking at the different ways in which various systems may be affected. This not only points to any deeper imbalances that may be the common root of multiple symptoms, it also indicates what version you have of the pattern, helping me to craft a more targeted and individualized treatment for you. The main tools of diagnosis that we use in Chinese medicine include the case history interview, observation, palpation, and tongue and pulse diagnosis. Please click here for more information about making a diagnosis.

 

The main goals of Chinese medicine are energy flow (as seen in the theory of chi), balance (yin and yang), and the optimal functioning and coordination of all internal organ systems (the 5 elements). In practice, this means keeping the channels open so the chi can flow freely, eliminating excesses of things like toxins and inflammation, replenishing deficiencies of things like energy, and ensuring that all of the internal organ systems are functioning optimally, supporting each other and working together in harmony. Please click here for more information about the treatment principles.

 

Besides the nature of your chief complaint and how long you have had it, many other factors can influence how you will respond to your treatment including age, overall health, genetics, and compliance with taking herbs and making dietary and lifestyle changes. In general, however, the sooner you seek treatment, the milder your condition, the better your overall health, and the more compliant you are with the treatment plan, the faster you will recover. Just as most conditions usually advance in phases or steps, most people improve in phases or steps as well, with the most recent symptoms usually resolving first. Please click here for more information about patterns of healing.

 

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have many unexpected benefits. Since it requires you to do nothing, it is an excellent way to get some rest, pause for a moment, and empty your head. For those of us who care for others, either in our work or in our family life, it is a lovely way to balance this out by receiving care ourselves. As a holistic medicine, with goals like replenishing depletion and restoring function, it can help us learn to trust the transformational nature of the healing process. Please click here for more information about the benefits of acupuncture.

 

I strive to follow the example of Sun Simiao, an ancient Chinese physician who lived from 581 to 682 AD. His code of ethics is found in the thirty-volume encyclopedia he authored entitled "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold." This was the first comprehensive record of the practice of Chinese medicine ever written and is still studied in modern times. Sun Simiao was so highly regarded that two different emperors offered him a position as the imperial physician. He declined these posts, however, to devote his life as a physician who served the common people. Sun Simiao is remembered as the "King of Medicine" and is honored in his hometown with a school of Chinese medicine that bears his name and yearly celebrations that commemorate his life. Please click here for more information about Sun Simiao.