Lifting the Head Off the Spine

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neck_alignmentYears ago my (Carol) first qigong teacher made the provocative statement that the world would be a different place if everyone’s heads were correctly held, in the proper position.

What did he mean by this? Most of us have the bad habit of letting our heads fall back, with the chin lifted, or forward, in a slouched position. First of all, the average human head is 8 to 12 pounds! That’s a lot of weight to carry around, and we’re too distracted, between work and other stressors, to notice.

This mal-positioning creates a constant blockage, leading to headaches, neck strain, shoulder strain, and worse, nerve impingement leading to numbness and tingling down the arms, to the fingers.

Ready to give it a try? Lift your sternum (the bony area at the center of your chest), tuck your chin in slightly, and lift the crown of the head center skywards, giving a slight tug to the muscles at the back of the neck. At the same time, let your shoulders drop. You are now lifting your head off the spine! Practice: hold it for several seconds at a time, any time, and soon your body will crave the correct position. Some examples of practice are when waiting (for a red light to turn green, for the water to boil, when listening to someone speak, or when you’re on hold), meditating, or during your daily peregrinations when you are called upon to be still for a moment.

soft_palateA related area to this is inside the mouth, where there are a number of muscles no one ever thinks of. These are: Tensor veli palatini, Levator veli palatini, Palato glossus, Palato pharyngeus, and Musculus uvulae. When you practice lifting your head off the spine, think of softening the muscles of the soft palate. This will create more space to free up the components of the jaw and neck.

Lifting the head off the spine is really a qi gong practice in that the focus is on the bones, allowing the surrounding tissue to lengthen, become stronger, and relax all at once. When you hit the “sweet spot,” you’ll know it, and with practice, will be able to hold the position for longer moments, then periods, of time.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/lifting-the-head-off-the-spine

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: All Things Exercise, Health Tips, Philosophy, Stress Busters, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , ,

Neck Stiffness is No Joke!

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neck_muscles_tsThe neck is dense with anatomical structures. Bone, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and lymph nodes compact into a contained space that connects the brain and sensory organs with the rest of the body.

When you have a stiff neck, the muscles contract and press against the many structures in this tunnel-like space, which may be the culprit behind your headaches, sinus congestion, ear pain, eye pain, TMJ, or numbness and tingling of the arms, hands, and fingers.

Just to give you a sense of just how much stuff is squeezed into your neck, we are listing its major anatomical components, with a bit of physiology to make some sense of it all. Keep in mind this is a partial list, with none of the ligaments or tendons listed. It’s hard to fathom, but there’s so much more than you see, below:

Bony Structure
In the sub-occipital region of the neck, directly adjacent to the skull, there is a pivot joint that enables the ability to rotate the head freely, made up of the atlas (C1) and the axis (C2). There are 5 additional cervical vertebrae, with the same structure as the upper and lower back. Other significant bony structures in the neck are the hyoid bone and cricoid cartilage.

Muscles at Back of Neck
Cervical multifidi, Levator scapulae, Longissimus capitis, Longus capitis, Longus colli, Obliquus capitus superior, Obliquus capitus inferior, Rectus capitis posterior minor, Rectus capitis posterior major, Rectus capitis posterior minor, Rectus capitis posterior major, Rotators, Spinalis capitis, Semispinalis capitis, Splenius capitis, Splenius cervicis, Sternocleidomastoid, Trapezius.

Muscles at Front of Neck
Digastric, Laryngeal, Myohyoid, Omohyoid, Platysma, Scalenes: anterior, middle, and posterior, Sternothyroid, Thyroidhyoid.

Nerves
The major nerves of the neck are the Greater Auricular, Greater Occipital, Lesser Occipital, the Cervical nerves of which there are 8 pairs, Transverse Cervical, Accessory, Brachial Plexus, Vagus, Phrenic, and the Laryngeal.

Arteries and Veins
The major blood vessels of the neck are the Brachiocephalic trunk artery, External and Internal Jugular veins, Internal Carotid and External arteries, Internal and External Carotid arteries, Right Common Carotid artery, Subclavian artery, Suprascapular artery, the Vertebral artery.

Physiological Structures are divided by function. 1. Alimentary: esophagus and pharynx. 2. Respiratory: larynx and trachea. 3. Endocrine: thyroid and parathyroid glands. 4. Lymph Nodes which run throughout the neck, jaw, and upper shoulder.

What to Do For a Stiff Neck
We commonly see stiff necks and shoulders in our practice. Add to the equation the repetitive physical strain of poor posture, daily work and personal stress, and the problem is compounded.

Acupuncture and exercises are the shortest distance between the two points between pain and relief: you have to take care of neck and shoulder pain and stiffness by being proactive. If you haven’t yet experienced acupuncture, it feels like a subtle massage to the inside of the muscles.

Acupuncture has over one hundred named acupuncture points in the head and neck. Balanced with body points, acupuncture treatment will bring relief for longer and longer periods of time with each subsequent session, until the “muscle memory” is knocked out. Exercises that stretch and strengthen the deep muscles of the neck reinforce the acupuncture treatment.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/neck-stiffness-is-no-joke

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have over 30 years experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Conditions Treated, Stress Busters Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Stress, Your Brain, and Feeling Whole, Part II

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hypothalamus (larger structure, top)
pituitary (smaller structure, bottom)

Stress is often cited as a root cause of many disease states and a group of researchers have been locating specific biochemical markers of stress to see if acupuncture can help. While it is understood through empirical evidence that acupuncture DOES reduce stress, the question for this study asked how it helps. Eshkavari, Permaul, and Mulroney of Georgetown University Medical Center’s School of Nursing and Health Studies published their study, Acupuncture blocks cold stress-induced increases in the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis in the rat in the April 2013 issue of the Journal of Endocrinology. This article summarizes its findings.

In order to see how acupuncture might have an effect on chronic stress, the researchers chose common hormones and neurotransmitters present under stress. These could serve as markers for stress because there is more of each when there is a natural response. The subjects were not human, but animal- lab rats- because they also release these substances as a natural response, in this case, temperature change, to which the HPA and SNS are very sensitive. The acupuncture points were needled with the addition of an electrical lead (electro-acupuncture), for greater measuring accuracy.

The researchers measured the effects of acupuncture on stress response by blood test, over a 10-day period. There were four distinct groups to measure and compare against each other.

1. Group 1: No stress and no acupuncture- this is the control group.
2. Group 2: Subjected to cold temperature for one hour a day with no acupuncture.
3. Group 3: Subjected to cold temperature for one hour a day and treatment of “sham” acupuncture- needled in a random, non-acupuncture point (near the tail).
4. Group 4: Subjected to cold temperature for one hour a day and treatment of electro-acupuncture at a significant acupuncture point ST 36.

Group 1 was the control group: they had no stress and no acupuncture. Both Groups 2 and 3 had elevated levels of the hormones and neurotransmitter. Group 4 had reduced levels of all three, almost as low as the control group, and significant for reduction of HPA activity.

The researchers’ conclusion was that the pathways for these biochemical were blocked by the electro-acupuncture in Group 4, resulting in lessened stress response.

Afterthought: any method, modality, or medical intervention that reduces stress by regulating body systems is of benefit to human health. Examples of each might be meditation, acupuncture, or prescription drugs. It bears repeating that the conclusion in this study has broad implications for the future of acupuncture within the cross-section of chronic pain, stress, and achieving a steady state of wellbeing. More research needs to be done on the intersection of acupuncture and additional body systems such as the Inflammatory and Immune Response as well as other structures in the brain.

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Research, Stress Busters Tagged With: , , , ,

A Favorite Quote

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photo courtesy of biology4kids.com

I (Carol) have kept this quote on a 3 x 5 index card, putting it in locations where I’ll see it and actually read it from time to time, in the midst of my busy-ness. It always makes me pause for a breath:

“Once he has banished malevolence and hatred from his mind, he lives without ill will and is also full of compassion, desiring the welfare of all living beings…once he has banished the mental habits of laziness and indolence, he is not only free of laziness and indolence but has a mind that is lucid, conscious of itself and completely alert; …once he has banished anxiety and worry, he lives without anxiety and his mind becomes clear and still; …once he has banished uncertainty, he lives with a mind that has outgrown debilitating doubt and is no longer plagued by unprofitable mental states.”

-Excerpt from ”Buddha” by Karen Armstrong.

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: Nourishing You, Philosophy, Stress Busters Tagged With: ,

Cherry-Picking Your Fruit and Vegetables

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fresh is best, organic even better

I (Carol) signed up for the New York Wellness Guide Newsletter a few years ago, and always find something of interest. Here’s the linkto their site. They do a great job of scouring the web for lists pertaining to all-things-health and stress relief.

I’ve made note of this list each year, and hopefully you will find something of benefit below. I’ve cut-and-pasted the entire article, bracketed with quotations, so you know Mountaintop Acupuncture is not the source. And yes, buying organic gets quite expensive so we buy locally when available and use a veggie-wash on ALL our vegetables and fruit before cooking.

“The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is out with their annual “Shoppers Guide to Pesticides“ report. This includes The Dirty Dozen, a list of the fruits and vegetables likely to contain the highest amounts of pesticide residue. It features the Clean 15, a list of fruits and vegetables least likely to contain pesticides.

How this helps you: Choose organic produce when buying anything listed on The Dirty Dozen. And while we always encourage buying local and organic, if money’s tight, then it’s not going to kill you to buy conventional from the second group. As the EWG says, “The health benefits of a diet rich in fruits and vegetables outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure.”
What’s new this year? Once again, apples, strawberries, and spinach are included in the Dirty Dozen. Blueberries and lettuce fell off the list, but cherry tomatoes and cucumbers are on there.
The Dirty Dozen for 2013
  1. Apples
  2. Celery
  3. Cherry tomatoes
  4. Cucumbers
  5. Grapes
  6. Hot peppers
  7. Nectarines (imported)
  8. Peaches
  9. Potatoes
  10. Spinach
  11. Strawberries
  12. Sweet bell peppers

Dirty Dozen Plus: Kale/collard greens and Summer squash

The Clean Fifteen for 2013
  1. Asparagus
  2. Avocados
  3. Cabbage
  4. Cantaloupe
  5. Sweet corn
  6. Eggplant
  7. Grapefruit
  8. Kiwi
  9. Mangoes
  10. Mushrooms
  11. Onions
  12. Papayas
  13. Pineapples
  14. Sweet peas (frozen)
  15. Sweet potatoes”

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At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we have a combined 34 years of experience. To read more, please click here.

If you have questions and concerns about acupuncture treatment, we offer a free 20-minute phone session: click here for contact information to call or e-mail us. We practice at The Highlands Ranch Medical Pavilion in Littleton, Colorado.

Insurance is welcome and accepted.

Filed Under: All Things Food, Health Tips, Nourishing You Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,
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