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Acupuncture for Tension Headaches

Many research studies are proving acupuncture can help ease symptoms associated with chronic tension headaches. One of these studies published by the Cochrane Library concluded a course of six acupuncture treatments can be a viable option in the treatment of “tension-type headaches”. According to the study, participants treated with acupuncture and pain-killers reported their headache frequency was less. This study was actually a compilation of several acupuncture trials. A total of 12 trials met the criteria to be included in this conclusive study. Acupuncture was also compared to several other modalities such as massage and physiotherapy, but the findings were inconclusive.

Tension headaches are not as debilitating as migraines but often occur more frequently. Tension headaches are reported to be the most common type of headache experienced. Stress tends to be the biggest factor regarding these types of headaches. Those who suffer from tension headaches frequently report a feeling of their head being squeezed, with pressure around the forehead, temples, and back of the head or neck. Tension headaches can last for as short as 30 minutes or they could linger for days.

While the exact cause of tension headaches is still not clear, they are most commonly attributed to muscle tension or spasms of the head, face, scalp, or jaw. Tension headaches are considered chronic if a person experiences them 15 or more days per month for several months. The most common treatment for tension headaches is over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen or aspirin. Severe cases are sometimes treated with prescription drugs, but they tend to fail because they do not address the root cause of the headaches.

Traditional Chinese Medicine is known for locating and treating the root cause of any ailment, including tension headaches. One of the ways TCM treats the root is by identifying personal triggers that create tension-type headaches. The licensed acupuncturist plays the role of a detective when treating patients. Acupuncturists usually ask multiple questions regarding the symptoms of any illness, including tension-type headaches. This allows for proper diagnosis and treatments. This can also give the patient insight into why the headaches keep occurring and how they can eliminate some of the triggers.

TCM includes more than just acupuncture. Herbal formulas, accessory modalities such as cupping or tuina, and even relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or qi gong are a part of TCM. Acupuncture itself provides headache relief with a great deal of success. As few as one or two needles can be sufficient in stopping tension-type headaches. Acupuncture is also very effective at providing relief from stress and anxiety, two of the most common triggers of tension-type headaches. By adding in herbs and accessory modalities, the patient then has the tools needed to counter oncoming headaches on a long-term basis. The acupuncture treatments then become a type of maintenance to keep the headaches at bay.

A person suffering from tension-type headaches could benefit greatly from regular acupuncture treatments. If you are one of the nearly 1.4 billion people that suffer regularly from tension-type headaches, give me a call today at (218) 724-3400, acupuncture and TCM CAN HELP!

How Nature Supports Our Wellness

Spring is an amazing time to reconnect with the natural world. Did you know that being in and around nature actually improves our physical, mental, and emotional health?

Just in time for Earth Day on April 22, it’s time to commit to immersing yourself more regularly and deeply in nature.

Bring some nature indoors.

Did you know that adding houseplants to your space can actually make you healthier and happier?

Research shows that having plants indoors supports our health and wellness both physically and emotionally/mentally. They can improve mood, reduce stress levels, enhance memory and cognitive function, and developing research even shows that they improve indoor air quality.

Physically, houseplants have been shown to reduce blood pressure, fatigue, and headaches and other types of pain. Nowadays, thanks to this research, hospitals often put houseplants into patients’ rooms after surgery to help reduce pain and speed up physical healing.

Look out the window at some greenery.

It’s that simple! During the day, when you’re stuck inside, just gazing out a window at nature helps reduce stress, increase focus, and improve eye health. Studies show that not only is gazing at far-distance objects helpful, but also that the color green is particularly soothing for our eyes and brain.

It’s essential for eye and brain health to look at a variety of distances throughout our day, but our modern lives have us gazing at close-range objects almost all day! And the fact that these close-range objects are electronic screens makes for even worse eye/brain health.

Throughout your day, set an alarm for once every hour, and take 2-3 minutes to gaze out the window at trees or even grass. Soften your gaze and let your eyes relax.

Try forest bathing.

Forest Bathing or shinrin-yoku is the Japanese practice of taking walks surrounded by and fully immersed in nature. It does wonders for our nervous system.

The nervous system benefits of being in nature are immense. Even low-impact exercise like a walk or mellow hike releases endorphins that increase happiness and help soothe depression and stress. Physically, immersing ourselves in nature can reduce cancer risk, improve heart health, and so much more.

Schedule some time for Forest Bathing. Be sure to unplug from technology—either leave your phone at home or turn it on airplane mode. Try to find a location that is free from car noise and fumes. Move slowly, observe your surroundings with all your senses, and breath deeply. Forest Bathing is meant to be quiet, slow, and meditative.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nature

Traditional Chinese Medicine and all of its branches, including acupuncture, are deeply related to the natural world. This medicine, after all, was developed in ancient times, before modern technology and industrial lifestyles that divided humans from nature and all its healing properties.

TCM’s goal is to create harmony and balance in the body by enhancing our natural defences. Ready to use natural methods and boost your body’s own defense systems to help get and stay healthy? Contact us today to schedule a visit.

Earth Day and The Five Elements

Our Connectedness with Nature

Earth Day arrives on Thursday, April 22. There’s no better day to take some time to remember how connected our own wellness is to the vitality of our planet. All the systems and parts of the natural world are interconnected, and we’re part of it all, too.

Created in 1970, the very first Earth Day was purposefully planned to occur in late April, a time when spring is blooming, students are on breaks from school, and people in the Northern Hemisphere begin to spend more time outside. A major focus on that first Earth Day was bringing attention to water and air pollution, including from toxic pesticides, oil spills, and the impact of humans’ industrial activities on the environment.

Earth Day is a perfect time to reflect on how our own bodies and lives are connected to the natural world. Just like the planet’s environment, our bodies are majorly impacted by toxins and pollutants from the outside world. Our bodies rely on clean water and air, healthy soil to grow food, and a vibrant, biodiverse ecosystem.

The Five Elements

Traditional Chinese Medicine views the world and everything within it as having aspects of five elements.

These Five Elements are:

Fire: associated with the heart, tongue, circulation, and heat.
Earth: associated with the spleen, stomach, mouth, muscles, and damp weather.
Metal: associated with the lungs, nose, skin, and dry weather.
Water: associated with the kidneys, ears, bones, and cold.
Wood: associated with the liver, gallbladder, eye, and wind.

Each is associated with a season, as well as with certain organs, flavors, tissues, colors, etc. Each element also promotes and controls another. And each of us has a different constitution of these five elements within us. When the elements are imbalanced, and we can fall ill, experience emotional and mental distress, suffer from pain, and generally just feel…out of whack!

Yet, just like the earth’s seasons, it’s natural for us to experience cycles when one element dominates our constitution.

Balancing The Elements

Your acupuncture and TCM treatment plan is always focused on restoring balance to your systems by balancing Qi, or energy. Along with acupuncture treatments, you can restore balance and energy flow through exercise and movement, nutrition, herbal supplements (as directed by your care professionals), and other lifestyle habits.

Give me a call to schedule an appointment today at (218) 724-3400 —let’s get your elements balanced!

Allergies and Asthma—Can Acupuncture Help?

Fact: You will take about 20,000 breaths today. Let’s take a big one now…aaah, that’s better.

Now imagine having to take all of those breaths as someone with asthma, wheezing, feeling like you can’t fully inhale. That’s the case for approximately 1 in 13 people in the United States who have asthma. Maybe you’re one of those people suffering!

Do you suffer from allergies or asthma? If so, you aren’t alone. It’s estimated that more than 26 million Americans have chronic inflammatory disease asthma, while more than 50 million Americans have nasal allergies. While most people resort to harsh prescription drugs to treat these conditions with awful side effects, a safer and more effective solution lies in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture.

Some people might turn their head at the thought of treating asthma by placing small needles under your skin. However, this ancient practice is believed to be effective in the treatment of numerous respiratory disorders.

Several studies over the past decade have shown that when patients with asthma receive regular acupuncture treatments, they have fewer asthma attacks and less labored breathing. Some studies show an even more significant improvement when acupuncture treatments are combined with Western medical treatment, as acupuncture is an incredibly safe, natural, and effective complementary treatment.

A study conducted by the University Medical Center in Berlin explored the efficacy of acupuncture as a treatment for seasonal allergic rhinitis (seasonal allergies). Over 400 patients were divided into three groups. The first received proper and regular acupuncture treatments, the second received a similar treatment however the acupuncture needles were not placed in proper acupoints, while the third group was only allowed to take antihistamines. This study was able to conclude that the group receiving proper and regular acupuncture treatments reported the greatest relief from symptoms as compared to the other two groups.

Other studies have looked into acupuncture for the treatment of eczema. Atopic dermatitis (eczema) is an itchy rash that can be caused by common irritants. Though this study came to the conclusion that acupuncture did not work well to prevent eczema, it did however significantly reduce itchiness and pain in many patients who were experiencing outbreaks.

The World Health Organization (WHO) even lists asthma as being “a condition for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed.” This doesn’t necessarily mean that acupuncture will cure your asthma, but it can help alleviate the symptoms and reduce the frequency of flare-ups.

Acupuncture involves the placement of fine needles in specific points of the body, known as acupuncture points. The idea behind this practice is that placing the needles in these areas will restore the body’s flow of energy (Qi). When Qi becomes stagnant, it leaves the individual susceptible to disease and illness, which is why it’s important to keep it moving throughout the body. Professional acupuncturists often treat asthma by using acupuncture points found in the Lung, Stomach and Kidney meridians.

Acupuncture may also help those who suffer from allergies. Allergies are the result of the immune system’s wrongful identification of what it believes to be a foreign invader. When you are exposed to an allergen, your immune system may view the substance or pathogen as being a foreign invader, at which point it responds by manifesting symptoms like sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, etc.

By restoring the body’s Qi, the immune system is given a helpful boost of energy that allows it to properly identify what’s a foreign invader and what’s not. Whether your allergies are minor or severe, you should consider seeking the services of an acupuncturist. It’s a safe and painless process that can reinvigorate your body and mind, alleviating the symptoms of both allergies and asthma. A study published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine found acupuncture to offer greater relief of allergies when compared to both antihistamines and sham acupuncture.

Is it Time for a Liver Tune-Up?

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each season is ruled by a particular organ system and spring is connected to the liver. What does this mean? You probably notice changes in the way you feel, both physically and mentally, as the seasons change. Many of us feel more contemplative and introspective during the winter months. Once spring hits, we may feel ready to recharge and get things done.

Liver energy is strong and assertive, the type of energy you need to create plans and propel them into motion. However, if your liver is out of balance, you might notice that you’re more irritable or on edge than usual.

Here are a few signs that your liver is in need of an acupuncture tune-up:

You’ve noticed an increase in headaches, and these headaches seem to feel worse when you aren’t active. Generally, headaches tend to manifest at the vertex of your head.
You feel constipated or bloated. Your bowel movements have become irregular, alternating between constipation and loose stools. Hard, difficult stools that appear pebbly are also a sign of liver imbalance.
Friends and coworkers are scared of you because you are cranky, cranky, cranky! When liver energy is out of balance, you can feel agitated, irritated, and generally out of sorts. Sometimes irritation flares into outright anger more easily than it would if this energy was flowing smoothly.
You may notice PMS symptoms have been worsening. Bloating, breast tenderness, sensitivity can all be exacerbated by liver imbalance. If your periods are more painful or clotted, this can also be due to a stagnation of liver energy.
Your eyes are red, itchy, or irritated.
Shoulders, neck, or jaw are uncomfortably tight. If the liver energy is out of balance, it can flow upward. This causes inflexibility, and everything in your body to “rise up”: you might grind or clench your teeth, hold your shoulders up, experience symptoms of TMJ, or have headaches at the top of your head
Maybe you’ve noticed that your allergies are in full force, complete with itchy, red, watery eyes.

If you are suffering from any of these issues, your body is crying out for a visit. Please, come and talk to us! We are conveniently located on 205 W. 2nd Street, Suite 502, in Duluth MN or you can give us a call at (218) 724-3400.
Let’s get you a Spring tune-up with tried and trued TCM solutions that can help right away.

Professional Acupuncture & Physical Therapy

Duluth, MN