The Huffington Post published an article highlighting some of the benefits and positive side-effects of acupuncture. They include feeling less stressed, having more energy, getting better sleep, and being more patient. Please give it a read.
The Huffington Post published an article highlighting some of the benefits and positive side-effects of acupuncture. They include feeling less stressed, having more energy, getting better sleep, and being more patient. Please give it a read.
Harvard-trained doctor Leana Wen, M.D. shares 6 lessons western medicine can learn from traditional Chinese medicine. Her article sheds interesting light on some of the fundamental differences between the two practices. Link
New research reveals how acupuncture protects the brain in areas damaged by Parkinson’s disease. Scientists at the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Traditional Medicine have discovered two acupuncture points that prevent the breakdown of an important brain protecting enzyme, tyrosine hydroxylase. This enzyme helps the body to create L-DOPA, an important dopamine precursor and drug used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. It is now known that acupuncture prevents decreases of the L-DOPA creating enzyme in the thalamic portions of the brain thereby improving the motor function that is destroyed by Parkinson’s disease. Link to full article
Acupuncture will be considered an “essential health benefit” in California and will be covered by individual and small group health plans starting in 2014. Gov. Jerry Brown signed measures SB 951 and AB 1453, which included acupuncture to be covered under the federal health reform also known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) that was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The health care law will require all insurance plans to cover a specific set of benefits. The health law includes 10 broad categories that must be included, leaving the specifics to every state. The legislation establishes the minimum health benefits that must be offered to consumers. The two measures included acupuncture as an essential health benefit that the state can begin to offer through federally subsidized plans for individuals and families as well as unsubsidized plans. Link to full article
NPR reports on the use of acupuncture in the military as an alternative to painkillers for chronic pain. Link to story
Acupuncture, endorsed by many Western medicine practitioners as a treatment for physical pain, along with other eastern medicine practices such as tai chi, is slowly making inroads in Western medicine as a treatment for mental emotional disorders like post traumatic stress disorder. Link
Spring is now in full swing and we’re starting a new series of Medical Qigong classes for the public. Join us in Venice or in Pasadena for weekly classes that will improve your mind, body and spirit. Venice classes are on Saturday mornings starting April 9th. Pasadena classes are on Thursday evenings starting April 14th. Both beginner and advanced classes are offered. Learn more about my classes or sign up through my Meetup group.
Acupuncture has been used in East-Asian medicine for thousands of years to treat pain by activating the body’s natural painkillers. But how it works at the cellular level is largely unknown. Researchers at the University of Michigan Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center are first to provide evidence of acupuncture’s effect on opoid receptors. In the study, researchers at the U-M Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center showed acupuncture increased the binding availability of mu-opoid receptors (MOR) in regions of the brain that process and dampen pain signals. Link to article.