aculaval

Stress and Anxiety

At one time or another, all of us experience stress. These feelings are a healthy response to events in our lives that may feel beyond our control. When we are healthy and the stress is short-lived, we are usually able to recover without too much wear and tear to our overall health. However, when the stress is extreme, or if it lasts a long time, our emotional health and ultimately, our physical health begin to suffer.

Our bodies are hardwired to help us react to stressful events. At the first sign of a threat, whether real or perceived, our sympathetic nervous system kicks in and facilitates what is called the “fight or flight” response. Our heart rate increases, our pupils dilate, and our digestion temporarily shuts down, directing blood to our extremities, so that if need be, we can either fight what is threatening us, or turn and run if the threat is too formidable.

Unfortunately, the “fight or flight” response, which worked well in caveman days, does not serve us as well if the “threat” is a demanding boss, nasty co-worker or even a worrisome situation that is not being resolved. More often than not, the stress in our lives is long-term, and as a result, we find ourselves in a constant state of “fight or flight”, or stress. Over time, the constant state of stress takes its toll. Cortisol, the body’s stress hormone elevates, blood pressure increases, and our immune function is suppressed. Over time, these symptoms become worse and can develop into anxiety, depression, fatigue, digestive problems, and tension headaches.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, stress, anxiety, depression or any strong emotion interrupts the smooth flow of energy throughout the body. Energy flows through our body through a network of “roads”, almost like a highway system. Stress, anger, or any intense emotion acts like a traffic jam, blocking the free flow of energy in the body. For example, many people who are very stressed out complain of upper back, shoulder and neck pain. This is because stress is causing tension in those areas, blocking the free flow of energy, causing pain, tightness, and often leading to headaches.

In a highway system, when there is road construction or an accident, traffic may be also backed up on other secondary roads that feed into or out of the affected area. This is true in the body, too. Stress may affect many other parts of the body, most notably digestion, the ability to sleep, pain conditions, and blood pressure. Stress can also aggravate an already troublesome health condition.

Through acupuncture, theses energy blockages can be addressed. Acupuncture points serve as the on and off ramps to the energy highway, and can help energy flow smoothly, and alleviate not only the symptoms of stress and anxiety, but the stress and anxiety itself.

From a Western viewpoint, acupuncture works to alleviate stress by releasing natural pain-killing chemicals in the brain, called endorphins. In addition, acupuncture improves circulation of blood throughout the body, which oxygenates the tissues and cycles out cortisol and other waste chemicals. The calming nature of acupuncture also decreases heart rate, lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles.

Depression

Depression is a mood disorder characterized by both physical and psychological symptoms that can be detrimental to one''s normal daily functioning. Depressed individuals often suffer from poor sleeping habits, crying spells, anxiety, worry, poor memory, inability to concentrate, body aches, stomach disturbances and a lack of interest in activities previously enjoyed. In extreme cases, individuals become helpless and hopeless about their lives and suicide is often considered.

Modern medicine typically treats depression with a form of psychotherapy and/or anti-depressant drugs regardless of the specific symptoms presented by the depressed patient. In the United States, the DSM-IV, a diagnostic tool for appropriately categorizing psychological disorders, is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment for depression.

In contrast, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) does not recognize depression as a particular illness per se, but it aims to treat the specific symptoms that are unique to the individual using a variety of techniques such as acupuncture, Chinese herbs, Tui-na massage, and energetic exercises to restore imbalances found in the body.

Based on a holistic approach, acupuncture consists of fine needles inserted along various points in the body, with the purpose of stimulating the body''s flow of energy and functionality, known as Qi. Though acupuncture has been traditionally taught as a preventive form of health care, it has also been proven effective in the treatment of pain and chronic conditions.

Showcase: Acupuncture for Depression

Since the early nineties, studies around the globe have suggested that treating depression with acupuncture has a positive and holistic effect on depressed patients, particularly when used in combination with psychotherapy and herbal treatments.

Psychologist John Allen, from the University of Arizona in Tucson, and Acupuncturist Rosa Schnyer, conducted the very first pilot controlled study on treating depression symptoms with acupuncture in the Western scientific world. In a double blind randomized study, 34 depressed female patients who met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria were assigned to one of three treatment groups for eight weeks.

The first group received acupuncture treatment specifically tailored to their depression symptoms. The second group received a general acupuncture treatment not specific to depression, and the third group was placed on a waiting list for acupuncture treatment, but received no treatment. The study found that those in the tailored acupuncture treatment experienced a significant reduction in symptoms, compared to those in the non-specific treatment. Moreover, over 50% of the participants no longer met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for depression after the study.

The study findings suggest that using acupuncture alone could be as effective as other types of treatments for relieving depression symptoms typically used in Western medicine, such as psychotherapy and drugs. While these results are promising and the United Nations World Health Organization has approved acupuncture as a treatment for depression, further clinical trials with larger samples are deemed necessary to endorse this new hope for relief.

Acupuncture for Cancer Patients

For cancer patients who are considered to be cured after the surgery, acupuncture plays an important role in its adjunctive use in anesthesia, in post-operative pain control, and in aiding and hastening recovery from the side effects of the various therapies. This is because Acupuncture is very effective in

· Pain control

· Reduction of local swelling from the surgery

· Reduction on the medication usage, which leads to minimize the side effects.

· Reduction of the resolution of hematoma and tissue swelling

Especially with the help of electricity needle, energetic acupuncture makes the cancer patients feel great relief by removing or mitigating the symptom from chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment etc. This accelerates patient''s recovery significantly. Combined with the proper nutritional support, acupuncture treatment has been clinically proved to be an effective method in helping the patients to recover. Hence it has been being used as a routine adjudicative approach in some cancer institutes for a while.

For instance, the following symptoms are common for the cancer patients who receive chemotherapy after medical surgery:

· The dread nausea

· Vomiting

The symptoms can get worse when certain classes of agents are used. It has been reported that a majority of oncologists have experienced the patients who start vomiting at the thought of their next clinic visit.

At the University of Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, a well-controlled study completed over two Years ago, the authors of the published paper reported significant reduction of nausea and vomiting when pre-treated with Acupuncture. It is now routinely administered before, after and in between chemotherapy treatment sessions for control or nausea and emesis. Such treatments are relatively simple and easily executed in an outpatient setting. Its effectiveness helps in minimizing the use of standard, expensive multi-drug anti-nausea regimens with their attendant side effects, given along with the chemotherapeutic agents.

That acupuncture is a powerful tool for general pain control is widely known. Less known is its success use in some cancer-related pain and in reducing narcotic use and thereby minimizing the side effects confusion, disturbed mentation, behavioral changes, nausea and severe constipation.

According to the traditional Chinese medicine theory, any chronic disease process depletes the energy level in the organism. Such depletion can be ameliorated, at least temporarily, by tonification, a process of imparting energy into the system. This is deemed necessary for more durable, successful pain control. It can also add to the patients'' sense of well being and decrease the malaise associated with any chronic disease, especially cancer.

Nutritional support as an aid in boosting immune response in cancer patients, along with minimizing the immune and white blood cell suppression that occurs with most chemotherapeutic agents, has been receiving greater attention and funding for research.. Kenneth Conklin, M.D., Ph.D., an anesthesiologist at UCLA working with the Oncology Department, reports gratifying results utilizing nutrition and supplements combined with energetic acupuncture.

Energetic acupuncture repletes energy level to the organism as a whole, reestablishes homeostasis by re-balancing energy distribution and un-blocking energy flow. This systems approach to deal with system wide patho-physiology can be complemented by distinct meridian acupuncture, which directs healing energy to specific organ pathology. Energetic acupuncture has been used as a routine approach in treating diseased organs such as liver, pancreas kidney, including those ravaged by cancers.

The degree of beneficial results from acupuncture treatment is dependent on various clinical factors such as presenting symptoms, clinical staging, timing of the encounter in the course of the illness, areas of involvement. In general, Acupuncture can play an important role in the care of the cancer patient.

Menaupause (Hot Flashes)

Menopause is a transitional period marking the cessation of ovulation in a woman''s body. This time of change may last a few months to several years. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and are brought on as women bodies try to adapt to decreasing amounts of estrogen. Symptoms include hot flushes, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, mood swings, memory loss, vaginal dryness, headaches, joint pain, and weight gain.

According to Traditional Chinese Medical theory, menopause occurs when a woman''s body begins to preserve blood and energy in order to sustain her vitality and allow for the maximum available nourishment for her body, especially her kidneys, which is viewed as the root of life and longevity. Therefore, the body, in its wisdom, reserves the flow of a channel in the center of the body which sends blood and energy down to the uterus. Instead, blood and essence from the kidneys are conserved and cycled through the body to nourish the woman''s spirit and extend her longevity.

Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have the ability to detect energetic changes that occur in the body and quickly relieve symptoms such as hot flashes, foggy mind, and irritability.

The mental and emotional symptoms that you are experiencing will help create a clear picture on which your acupuncturist can create a treatment plan specifically for you. The basic foundation for Traditional Chinese medicine is that there is a life energy flowing through the body which is termed Qi. This energy flows through the body on channels known as meridians that connect all of our major organs. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, illness arises when the cyclical flow of Qi in the meridians becomes unbalanced. Acupuncture is the stimulation of specific points located near or on the surface of the skin which have the ability to alter various biochemical and physiological conditions in order to achieve the desired effect

Show Case 1 – Acupuncture for Hot Flushes (Acupuncture in Medicine, USA, 2011)

Traditional Chinese acupuncture curbs the severity of hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms, suggests a small study published on March 8 in Acupuncture in Medicine.

The study shows that effects did not seem to be related to changes in levels of the hormones responsible for sparking the menopause and its associated symptoms. The authors base their findings on 53 middle aged women, all of whom were classified as being postmenopausal -- they had spontaneously stopped having periods for a year. Their somatic (hot flushes) urogenital (vaginal dryness and urinary tract infection) and psychological (mood swings) symptoms were measured using a five point scale (MRS).

Twenty seven of the women received traditional Chinese acupuncture twice a week for 10 weeks, with needles left in position for 20 minutes without any manual or electrical stimulation. The rest were given sham acupuncture.

Hormone levels of estrogen, follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinising hormone (LH) were measured before the study began and after the first and last acupuncture sessions in both groups to see if these changed.

The results showed that those women given traditional acupuncture had significantly lower MRS scores for somatic and psychological, but not urogenital, symptoms at the end of the 10 weeks than their peers given the sham treatment. The symptom registering the sharpest fall in severity was that of hot flashes. Furthermore, the effects seemed to be cumulative, with stronger results seen between the first and last sessions.

Estrogen levels also rose, while LH levels fell in the group treated with traditional Chinese acupuncture. Low levels of estrogen and high LH and FSH levels are characteristic of the menopause, as the ovaries start to fail.

But because of the differences between the groups in these various hormones to start with, there was little evidence to suggest that any hormonal fluctuations were themselves responsible for the changes in symptom severity, say the authors.

They suggest that the explanation for the reduced severity of hot flushes might be that acupuncture boosts the production of endorphins, which may stabilize the body''s temperature controls.

The authors caution that their study was small and that they did not monitor how long symptom relief lasted, but they suggest that traditional Chinese acupuncture could be an alternative for those women unable or unwilling to use hormone replacement therapy to ease troublesome menopausal symptoms.

Show Case 2 – Acupuncture for Hot Flushes (Acupuncture in Medicine, Turkish, 2011)

According to British Medical Journal – Acupuncture in Medicine, Turkish researchers randomly assigned 53 women with menopausal symptoms whose periods had stopped for at least a year to receive either real acupuncture or "sham" acupuncture using blunted needles that are designed to appear as though they penetrate the skin without actually doing so. After 10 sessions with a licensed practitioner who had at least six years of experience, women treated with acupuncture reported significantly fewer hot flushes and mood swings. Additional sessions appeared to offer additional benefits, particularly against hot flashes.

Traditional Chinese acupuncture is usually explained through unscientific terms such as Qi (life energy), Ying and Yang, the Five Elements, and meridians. But the current study, along with a growing body of additional research, is beginning to uncover the science behind acupuncture, and helps explain how it might help a number of conditions, including pain as well as nausea from chemotherapy or pregnancy.

For example, scientists can now measure changes in neurotransmitters or hormones that are triggered by stimulating the musculoskeletal system at known acupuncture "points," or meridians. And MRI or PET scans to visualize changes in the central nervous system. In this acupuncture and menopause study, researchers measured levels of two hormones--estradiol and luteinizing hormone--both of which normally decline with the onset of menopausal symptoms. Estradiol levels actually rose slightly in women receiving acupuncture treatment. In addition, acupuncture might boost endorphins, which could help stabilize body temperature as well as mood.

Acupuncture typically poses few risks when performed by an experienced, licensed practitioner or medical doctor trained in acupuncture. So I would recommend it, along with an individualized nutritional and exercise program, for some women with menopausal symptoms.

Treating Infertility using Acupuncture

Acupuncture, combined with herbal medicine, has been used to treat infertility because of the potential effect of improved ovarian and follicular function. Furthermore, acupuncture can increase blood flow to the endometrium, helping to facilitate a thick, rich lining.

Acupuncture is similar to physical therapy in that it is a process-oriented method of medical intervention. It is better to do more than less. Patients are commonly treated for three to four months before progressing to insemination, in vitro fertilization (IVF), or donor-egg transfer. This pacing of treatment seems to have a therapeutic effect.

In a study by Stener-Victorin et al from the Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology Fertility Centre, Scandinavia and University of Gothenburg, women are encouraged to receive acupuncture treatments pre and post embryo transfer. Clinical observations from the Berkley Center for Reproductive Wellness suggest that the most effective fertility treatments involve a combination of acupuncture and herbal medicine as well as traditional medicine. As a good example, in 2010, Celine Dion, a Quebec born and world star singer, succeeded in getting pregnant with the help of the acupuncture treatment.

Acupuncture Treatment for Typical Fertility Patients

Acupuncture can be used to treat any type of fertility disorder including spasmed tubes. Spasmed tubes are often de-spasmed with acupuncture, though blocked tubes will not respond to acupuncture. Acupuncture is often combined with herbal remedies to treat elevated follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), repeated pregnancy loss, unexplained (idiopathic) infertility, luteal phase defect, hyperprolactinemia (when not caused by a prolactinoma), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) with annovulatory cycles, and male factor including men affected with sperm-DNA-fragmentation.

There are minimal risks in using acupuncture for fertility treatment. The risk of miscarriage may increase if incorrect acupuncture points are used during pregnancy. This is one reason why those choosing to include acupuncture in their treatment regimen should only be treated by an acupuncturist who specializes in treating fertility disorders. Acupuncture is generally safe regardless of a person''s medical history.