Acupuncture to treat nausea and vomitting in early pregnancy

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11843784

RESULTS:

Women receiving traditional acupuncture reported less nausea (p < 0.01) throughout the trial and less dry retching (p < 0.01) from the second week compared with women in the no acupuncture control group. Women who received p6 acupuncture (p < 0.05) reported less nausea from the second week of the trial, and less dry retching (p < 0.001) from the third week compared with women in the no acupuncture control group. Women in the sham acupuncture group (p < 0.01) reported less nausea and dry retching (p < 0.001) from the third week compared with women in the no acupuncture group. No differences in vomiting were found among the groups at any time.

CONCLUSION:

Acupuncture is an effective treatment for women who experience nausea and dry retching in early pregnancy. A time-related placebo effect was found for some women.

 

Acupuncture is effective for rising pregnancy rate in IVF

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23512550

The clinical pregnancy rate in the acupuncture group was significantly higher than that in the control and sham groups (35.7% vs 7.1% vs 10.7%; p=0.0169).

Acupuncture treated group-35.7%  of pregnancy rate.
Controlled group- 7.1%of pregnancy rate.
Sham acupuncture( not using acupoints, insert needle randomly)-10.7%

CONCLUSIONS:

In this study, acupuncture and moxibustion increased pregnancy rates when used as an adjuvant treatment in women undergoing IVF, when embryo implantation had failed

Exercise for Plantar fasciitis

1.     Towel Stretch

Sit on a hard surface with your injured leg stretched out in front of you. Loop a towel around the ball of your foot and pull the towel toward your body, stretching the back of your calf muscle. Hold this position for 30 seconds. Repeat 3 times. When the towel stretch becomes too easy, you may begin doing the standing calf stretch.

2.     Standing Calf Stretching

Facing a wall, put your hands against the wall at about eye level. Keep the injured leg back, the uninjured leg forward, and the heel of your injured leg on the floor. Turn your injured foot slightly inward (as if you were pigeon-toed) as you slowly lean into the wall until you feel a stretch in the back of your calf. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds. Repeat 3 times. When you can stand comfortably on your injured foot, you can begin stretching the planter fascia at the bottom of your foot.

3.     Plantar Fascia stretch

          

Stand with the ball of your injured foot on a stair. Reach for the bottom step with your heel until you feel a stretch in the arch of your foot. Hold this position for 30 to 60 seconds and then relax Repeat 3 times. After you have stretched your bottom muscles of your foot. You can begin strengthening the top muscles of your foot.

4.     Frozen can roll

Roll your injured foot back and forth from your heel to your mid arch over a frozen can. Repeat for 3 to 5 minutes.This exercise is helpful if done first in the morning.

5.     Sitting Toe raise

Sit in a chair with your foot flat on the floor. Raise the toes and the ball of your injured foot off the floor while keeping your heel on the floor. Hold for 5 seconds. Repeat 10 times. Do three sets of 10.

6.     Towel pick up

With your heel on the ground. Pick up a towel with your toes and release. Repeat 10 to 20times.

7.     Resisted flexion, dorsal flexion, inversion, eversion with elastic band is recommended as well.

 

 

 

What is the TMJ disorder, How to treat?

What is TMJ disorder?

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) connects the mandible( lower jaw) to the skull and regulates the movement of the jaw. The TMJ is one of the most complex, delicate and highly used joints in a human body. The most important functiuons of the TMJ are mastication and speech. TMJ disorder is a generic term used for any problem concerning the jaw joint.

What causes TMJ disorder?

1.     Stress( stress tighten face and jaw muscles, and clench the teeth.)

2.     postural problem of the head and neck

3.     Injury to the jaw

4.     Aging

5.     Disc dislocation

6.     Grinding and clenching the teeth

7.     Arthritis or Rheumatoid arthritis.

What is the symptom of TMJ disorder?

The most common TMJ disorders are pain dysfunction syndrome, internal derangement, arthritis, traumas.

 

How to treat TMJ?                                                                                   

1. Electro-Acupuncture to cut the pain and discomfort.

2. Massage to relax Pterygoid muscles.

3. Cupping( sometimes when the pain is severe)

4. Self massage to Masseter muscle.

 

 

Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at Korean Acupuncture and Herb Clinic

 Treating Carpal Tunnel Syndrome at the Korean Acupuncture and Herb Clinic

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is an entrapment median neuropathy, causing pain, numbness, and other symptoms in the distribution of the median nerve due to its compression at the wrist in the carpal tunnel. It appears to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Some of the predisposing factors include: diabetes, obesity, pregnancy, hypothyroidism, and heavy manual work or work with vibrating tools but not lighter work even if repetitive.

 

How to treat Carpal tunnel syndrome in Korean Acupuncture and Herb Clinic?

First: Electro-Acupuncture to cut the discomforts from the pinched nerve

Second: Friction massage to get rid of the entrapment.

Third: Placing Icepacks on the affected area to prevent inflammation from friction massage

Fourth: Nerve stretching to glide the nerve properly

Ref: Wikipedia

Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome

 Treating a Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome at KAHC

 What is Tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS)?

Also known as posterior tibial neuralgia, it is a compression neuropathy and a painful foot condition in which the tibial nerve is compressed as it travels through the tarsal tunnel. This tunnel is found along the inner leg behind the medial malleolus.

What symptoms accompany a TTS?

1.     Numbness in the foot radiating to the big toe and the first three toes

2.     Pain, burning, electrical sensations, and tingling at the base of the foot / heel.

3.     The entire foot can be affected as different parts of the tibial nerve can become affected

4.     Ankle pain

5.     Possibilities of Inflammation or swelling. As the flexor retinaculum has a limited ability to stretch, increased pressure may eventually cause compression on the nerve within the tunnel causing the nerves to respond with altered sensations like tingling and numbness.

6.     Fluid could collect in the foot while standing or walking making the condition worse.

How do we treat Tarsal tunnel syndrome [TTS] at the Korean Acupuncture and Herb Clinic?

First: We stimulate the nerve, by using Electro-Acupuncture treatment near the entrapped area and the nerve innervation area as well.

Second: Friction massage is applied to take apart the nerve and ligament or tendon

Third: Icepacks are placed to prevent inflammation from the separation.

Acupuncture and Low Back Pain

Acupuncture and Chronic Low Back Pain

Low back pain remains as one of the most frequented reasons to visit a doctor. However, the most common problem is “nonspecific” or “idiopathic” low back pain, and it is this disorder that is most often associated with chronic or recurrent symptoms.

 

Alternate medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM] treatments such as Acupuncture are helpful in treating such conditions. TCM works on the physiological system which looks at the harmony between the body, mind and spirit. Internal disharmony is believed to be due to a blockage or improper flow of the energy or Qi. Acupuncture needles inserted at specific acu-points are believed to restore the proper flow of Qi.

 

Acupuncture can be used as a multidisciplinary approach before or together with conventional treatment such as physical therapy, pain medicine etc. Caution should be taken that electro-acupuncture is not performed on patients with implanted electric devices such as pacemakers.

 

During an acupuncture session for low back pain, and based on patient history and physical examination, specific areas will be identified for needle insertion. Nonetheless, there are common acu-points that may be used to treat low back pain. Supplementary procedures such as tongue checks and or herbal medicines may be used to comprehensively treat the condition.

 

Typically post insertion of needles, the patient is advised to rest and relax for about 15-30 minutes. Manual stimulation of needles by the practitioner may be done to create a dull, localized “needle grasp” tugging sensation. Further stimulation can be done using moxibustion (burning the herb at the end of the needle) and application of heat.

 

Although number of sessions of acupuncture varies from case to case, a minimum of around 10 sessions maybe needed, with visits of at least twice a week. Major side effects from acupuncture are rare and it is mostly considered a safe practice. Acupuncture has shown to have an effect on the limbic structure post treatment for low back pain patients.

 

Acupuncture provides short-term pain relief and functional improvement and is a recommended option for low back pain treatments. Physiotherapy in the form of mild stretching and strengthening programs go a long way in aiding the acupuncture program.

 

At the end of treatment, the patient’s response, particularly - levels of pain, mood, and general activity level are checked and it is determined whether additional acupuncture treatments should be received or not.