Treatments

It is important to recognize acupuncture is only one part of the whole spectrum of traditional Chinese medicine. This also includes treatment with herbs, diet, massage and exercise and at times other methods of treatment may be used in conjunction with acupuncture or even instead of it. Acupuncture is not, therefore, a system of medicine in isolation. It should be seen as one major method of treatment within a complete system that has a different perspective on health from that of orthodox Western medicine. As the holistic approach gains more and more ground in the West, acupuncture is becoming more wide spread.

There are also a number of misconceptions about the uses of acupuncture. On of these, commonly held by members of the public, is that it is only useful as a specialized form of anesthesia in operations or as a source of pain relief in conditions such as arthritis. While it I true that acupuncture can be effective in all these circumstances, the reduction of it to no more than a limited ‘technique’ shows an ignorance of its potential that anyone with direct experience would find laughable. An equivalent misconception might be that modern Western medicine is limited to surgery on one hand and the prescription of antibiotics on the other.

In summary, acupuncture is used every day in many countries around the world to treat people with both acute and chronic disorders, ranging from conditions of mild discomfort, such as a headache, to serious organic problems, such as gallstones. It may be used not only to treat back pain, coughs and cold or pre-menstrual tension, but also to influence the patient’s ‘Spirit’. To the Chinese the mind and the body are all part of one continuous whole, and both aspects may be affected with treatment. In all cases, treatment works by activating acupuncture points, which stimulates the body’s own restorative and recuperative powers so that the natural state of balance and harmony that is commonly called good health can be restored. An acupuncturist might say that treatment is analogous to removing a blockage to the natural flow of water, so that a stream can clear itself and run freely again.

Historically, acupuncture is a major part of traditional Chinese medicine. As such, it is intimately bound up with a unique theoretical system based on acupuncture points and meridians, combined with a theoretical and diagnostic framework that is completely different from anything encountered in orthodox Western medicine.

Modern acupuncture is neither more nor less than traditional acupuncture practiced in modern time. It is a comprehensive and detailed system. Patients are advised to check that their practitioners have been fully trained

Other methods of treatment connected to Acupuncture:

Acupuncture and Chiropractice

Acupuncturists frequently work in conjunction with chiropractors and osteopaths, and find that their approach to physical manipulations can be extremely beneficial where acupuncture alone is insufficient. Because of its ability to evaluate the energy or vitality of the whole person, acupuncture can also assess and resolve the background to a problem and so ensure that the improvement gained through manipulation is permanent. For example, a patient who tends to suffer recurrent lower back problems, which osteopathy could relieve only temporarily, could find that concurrent acupuncture treatment reduced the need to return for manipulation. Massage is traditionally taught in China as an adjust to acupuncture, and makes an excellent complement as such.

Acupuncture is a centuries old health care system invented and developed n ancient China. For centuries Chinese healers have been developing and improving an effective system of treatments based on complex recipes of herbal formulae and stimulation of vital body parts. Having all the pharmaceutical wonders of modern western medicine available, most Chinese still prefer ancient and proven acupuncture and herbs treatments to mixtures of chemical ingredients. Herbal supplements and acupuncture may improve the results of cosmetic surgery. Since acupuncture and herbs are natural remedies, they carry practically no risks. They also significantly lessen the recovery period and reduce risk of complications. This is especially true for face rejuvenation procedures. The success of the acupuncture treatment, in greater part, is dependent on the experience and skills of your acupuncturist, who has hopefully mastered the academics and practical application of rejuvenation techniques that are not found in textbooks or commercial publication but are passed from one generation of practitioners to the next through personal training, as Larisa Turina has.

Only such personal apprenticeship at an experienced practitioner’s office gives an acupuncturist the skills necessary to make dreams come true in the application of acupuncture techniques in cosmetic treatments ad rejuvenation. At the same time, a background in Western medicine provides an essential element for success because it provides insight into the interaction of modern drugs that patients are taking at the prescription of their physician, and applications of traditional Chinese techniques.

Traditional Chinese medicine will rejuvenate your face

Acupuncture and massage stimulate vital points on your face and body. This stimulation drastically improves blood circulation by widening the blood vessels that nourish the skin on your face. As a result of a course of treatments your skin will regain its original color and texture and smoothness. It will also look and feel radiant and warm. Traditional Chinese Medicine helps eliminate “crow’s feet” and wrinkles around your eyes and on your face and will prevent and reduce visible signs of aging on your skin.

Course of treatment

A treatment consists of relaxation followed by stimulation of certain critical points and facial muscles using disposable needles. This may be combined with additional electrostimulation. It shall be noted, that electrostimulation should be directed only to a few critical points to avoid the undesirable effects produced when a large portion of the face is subjected to electro stimulation in hopes that critical points will be stimulated as well, as some less-skilled practitioners are apt to do.

How will it feel during treatment?

You will feel very relaxed and comfortable. An experienced acupuncturist uses techniques that usually completely eliminate any undesirable sensations during a treatment.

An important point is that a cosmetic acupuncturist uses only disposable, sterile acupuncture needles that are specifically manufactured for cosmetic acupuncture.

Beware of acupuncture practitioners without proper credentials and experience, because a human face is an area extremely rich with blood vessels and nerves. Thus, your acupuncturist should master not only ancient recipes of treatment but also anatomy and physiology that are taught in medical schools to be a safe and effective practitioner of cosmetic acupuncture.

How can you benefit from cosmetic acupuncture?

Cosmetic acupuncture provides good results at all stages of skin aging. However, the best results are achieved with early and preventive treatment, when your skin just starts to age, when you first start noticing wrinkles and bags under your eyes.

Success is achieved by combining cosmetic acupuncture with herbal supplements and a complex of rejuvenating measures.

TCM treats both the cause and the effect. The purpose of these combined approaches is to stimulate both the skin on your face and your body that provides the foundation for it. Although no one can stop aging, it is possible to slow down these processes considerably, resulting in your face keeping its youthful appearance longer.

TCM can increase blood supply to the skin of your face You will feel and notice considerable improvements in appearance after 2-3 treatments. A full course of treatment – 10 -12 sessions, combined with herbal supplements ensures a positive and lasting effect. Small wrinkles will disappear, deep wrinkles will become smoother. Your eyes will “open” because your upper eyelids will regain elasticity and tonus. This success can be maintained by repeating treatments every 12-15 months depending on individual repose to stimulation.

When you should start treatments?

The earlier the better. The earlier you start taking care of your face – the longer you will enjoy the youthful look.

Even famous celebrities like Maddona uses acupuncture for a natural face lift.

We also offer Contouring Massage Treatments, as mentioned in the Parade Section of the 10/20/02 Chicago Tribune. Many celebrities such as Madonna, Angelica Huston, Diane Lane and Linda Gray use this treatment to look their best, and you can, too.

This combination of acupressure or facial acupuncture, deep muscle massage, and lymphatic drainage (a technique to draw fluids from tissues) is designed to reshape the face naturally. It’s an alternative to plastic surgery.

Visceral manipulation is the practice of an experienced therapist using his or her hands to move and release fascial restrictions in your abdomen and pelvis to encourage the normal movement and function of your internal organs.The gist: It’s a very gentle abdominal massage that can be performed by massage therapists, osteopaths, allopathic physicians, and other practitioners to treat things such as constipation, post-surgical adhesions, back pain, and even stress, mood, and sleep issues. It’s a very gentle abdominal massage to treat things such as constipation,C-section, post-surgical adhesions,infertility, Liver/GB issues, back pain, and even stress, mood, and sleep.

The repertoire of healing ingredients used in Chinese medicine includes more than 5000 substances.

Each of these medicinals has a specific action on the body. For example, there are medicinals that dispel wind, and scatter cold. Others move the qi and quicken the blood. While yet others may supplement the kidneys and nourish the liver or enrich yin and clear heat. Typically, these medicinals are combined into multi-ingredient formulas meant to rebalance the pattern of imbalance the patient presents. These formulas may contain anywhere from 4 to 24 ingredients, and a number of Chinese herbal formulas have been successfully used for centuries to treat many conditions.

Such formulas are most commonly administered in the form of water-based, oral decoctions. A decoction is the technical name for a liquid extract by boiling medicinals in water, removing the dregs and administering the remaining medicinal liquid. However, Chinese medicinals are also administered in the form of pills, powders, alcohol-based tincture and “wines”, and as teas and porridges internally. Externally, they may be used in the form of poultices, plasters, compresses, liniments, washes, and soaks.

Acupuncture is usually more effective when combined with Chinese herbal medicine.

Chinese Herbs are very safe and cooperate well with Western medicines, but under one condition: they must be prescribed by a specialist in herbs, and only if they are prescribed individually.

You should also be careful about the quality of herbs that your herbs specialist uses. We only use herbs from the Best American Herbs companies: Mayway Corporation, Golden Flower Chinese Herbs, K’an Herbs and Lotus Herbs.

Herbalism

In China, acupuncture and herbalism go hand in hand. Hospitals of traditional Chinese medicine provide not only acupuncture and moxibustion, but also the prescription of Chinese herbs, general and specific dietary device, and massage.

Visiting a herbalist is similar in many ways to visiting an acupuncturist. All Chinese herbalists have a thorough knowledge of acupuncture, and the basis of diagnosis is exactly the same. The pulse is taken. The tongue is observed. Questions are asked about the history of the complaint, the patient’s likes and dislikes, and so on. The practitioner will observe the patient carefully in exactly the same way as an acupuncturist would do prior to treatment. Indeed, it is probable that the doctor will not have decided at this stage whether herbalism or acupuncture or treatment with both is required.

How herbs work

While acupuncture works by affecting and moving the body’s energy, herbs work more materially. In cases of severe constitutional depletion, for example, a practitioner would tend to use herbs to build up the patient’s constitution before using acupuncture.

Although the prescription of herbs is based on exactly the same methods of diagnosis as acupuncture, the herbalist places even more emphasis on the Eight Principle Patterns of Yin and Yang. The action of herbs I often described in active terms – for example, ‘warming and invigorating’, ‘cooling and calming’, or more specifically, ‘removing Damp from the Spleen’, or ‘cooling Heat in the Stomach’.

In general, herbs tend to have a slower and more gentle effect than refined chemicals used as drugs. Although sometimes the precision and rapid action of a refined drug is necessary to treat specific conditions, the more gradual action of herbs seems to be preferable for long-term treatment of chronic conditions.

Another curious property of some herbal treatments is that their action seems to redress and imbalance, or regulate the organism, rather than to have a specific, ‘stimulus-response’ type of effect. In this they seem to act in a similar way to acupuncture points. In Western terms, we think of a drug being prescribed to produce a single specific reaction. If the opposite reaction is required, a different drug is needed. This does not necessarily seem to be the case with herbal remedies, however. For example, the root of angelica (Angelica archangelica) can have a dual action on the womb (uterus), relaxing it when it is tight and contracting it when it is slack.

Two-way actions of this kind are quite common among herbal remedies, and such regulatory effects are central to the concepts of balance and harmony that lie at the heart of Chinese medical theory.

Moxa, the dried leaves of the common mugwort Artemesia vulgaris, is used in various forms to activate specific points.

The use of moxa is always pleasant and relaxing. It may be used in small balls placed on the ends of acupuncture needles, to gently heat and increase the toning effect of the treatment, or made into small cones and burnt directly over the skin – in which case the cone is removed before any discomfort is felt. Larger cones may be used indirectly, by placing a thin slice of ginger between the moxa and the skin. This enables the cone to be burned right down without touching the skin, and the heating qualities of ginger enhance the effect of the moxa.

Moxibustion may be applied to the navel (umbilicus) by filling it with salt and placing a large cone on top of the salt. This is often used as tonification in cases of severe depletion.

The most gentle way of using moxa is in the form of a large cigar-shaped roll, which is lighted and over slowly backwards and forwards over the skin, or rotated slowly over an acupuncture point. This ensures gentle heating and tonification which gives a very pleasant feeling of warmth and relaxation. The moxa stick may also be used over areas of local pain, especially if the symptoms are alleviated by the warmth.

The patient may be asked to use a moxa stick at home between treatments, often on the lower back or lower abdomen, to strengthen the basic energy.

Ear candles are a natural therapy for problems of ear wax blockage and other ear or sinus congestion. Ear candles are believed to have been first used by the Hopi Indians of North America and the practice has since spread across the world.

Ear Candles – How they work?

Ear candling provides a relaxing and warming treatment for the ear, sinus and lymphatic circulation system. It is a non-invasive technique and generally more effective than the syringe system favored by Allopathic medicine. As the candles burn they create an updraft and this gently helps to draw out built up secretions and blockages. The warmth and herbs from the candles stimulate lymphatic circulation and aid the immune system in the ear region. the process also assists in balancing the fluids and pressure in the ear and this can greatly reduce pain, headaches and nausea stemming from imbalances.