The Limbic System and Acupuncture

By

fMRI of Limbic System sections, courtesy of the NIH

Previously we published an article on the Limbic System, describing its function and positing acupuncture’s effects on it. This month, we found a study that supports this idea: Effects of Electroacupuncture versus Manual Acupuncture on the Human Brain as Measured by fMRI, published in the academic journal Human Brain Mapping in 2005.

This study was funded by the NIH and conducted by Harvard University at Massachusetts General Hospital. Researchers used fMRI’s on 13 healthy participants. Brain activity was measured at just one acupuncture point, ST 36, using four mechanisms:
1. manual acupuncture
2. electrical stimulation at 2 Hz
3. electrical stimulation at 100 Hz
4. placebo acupuncture creating a tactile sensation as a control

Please note: electrical stimulation utilizes a machine that attaches to the needles to amplify their effect. ST 36 is a major, commonly-used point for its many functions supporting overall health. For those of you who receive acupuncture treatment, it is located below the knee, on the outer side of the leg.

While the researchers found that electrical stimulation increased desirable effects in specific regions of the brain, overall their study supported the “…hypothesis that the limbic system is central to acupuncture effect regardless of specific acupuncture modality.”

To read this study is humbling, for it requires advanced knowledge of the brain’s anatomy and physiology. In a nutshell, it found the first three mechanisms listed above had a regulating effect on the limbic system, while the placebo of tactile control had little or no change. That is, where it is beneficial for activity to increase (a biological call to action) or to decrease (a biological call to calm), real acupuncture, with the help of the electrical stimulation machine or alone, affected this part of the nervous system in the manner intended.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/the-limbic-system-and-acupuncture

—————————–
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: Herbs and Acupuncture, Philosophy, Research, Stress Busters, Theory Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Keep Moving!

By

millet_the_gleanersWhen I (Carol) took the Memorial Sloan Kettering online oncology course for acupuncturists, the recommendation for healthy people to exercise 30-60 minutes a day was the standout detail from the entire, 30+ hours of lectures.

That’s 30-60 minutes, seven days a week of formal exercise, not including the time you may spend traveling, changing, or cleaning up. And movement for our daily peregrinations, though better than nothing, doesn’t count.

Why, I wondered, did they advocate 30-60 minutes a day, and then it hit me: our DNA is programmed to move a lot more than we do in the 21st Century. It’s only been about 250 years since the Industrial Revolution, and many conveniences we take for granted didn’t exist before then. For our ancestors, chores and travel demanded constant physical effort; physiological evolution doesn’t change as quickly as our world has, so we have to accommodate our body’s needs by moving more.

Moving is one of the main ways to reduce your risk of getting cancer, because where there is blood flow, free radicals cannot pile up. When you regularly engage in steady, sustained movement, blood perfuses throughout your body.

Once I grasped this fact, I took up the challenge, and found it easy to justify the time spent, because being cancer-free is a compelling motivator. Viewed in this light, choosing to move is as simple as standing on one side of a line and stepping over it to the other side.

Regular exercise has many benefits, including leveling out the stresses encountered in a day.

If you are new to exercise, begin slowly and build up to it. You will find the body grows stronger exponentially, for it’s designed to do this. Expect some aches and pains as you make progress, but pay attention to the quality of pain to avoid injury (so you can continue working out!). If you overdo it, don’t give up, just take a break and get some acupuncture or a massage to speed the healing.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/keep-moving

—————————–
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, Stress Busters, Theory, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Official Fifth Season: Late Summer

By

keep a scarf on hand in case it gets cold, as the weather changes from summer to fall

Late summer is the period of transition from the heat of summer to the coolness of fall, that brings with it sudden changes in temperature and climactic conditions. Late summer is a time when dampness and heat prevail first, then give way to fluctuations that bring wind and dryness with the cooling off from high temperatures.

We have been entering the fifth season in New York City since early August this year, though late summer generally runs from late August to late September or early October (as in “Indian summer”).

At this time, our bodies are challenged more than the usual to adapt to these changes. All summer long we have already been in been in and out of (natural) heat and (unnatural) air-conditioning, and this continues into the late summer season.

Asking the body to keep regulating itself, back-and-forth, can tire us out, and leave us susceptible. An analogy might be the walled cities of yore: the gates were guarded, but if a gate was accidentally left open, invaders could easily enter and cause mayhem.

Chinese medicine has a correlate to the western immune system, but for simplicity’s sake, let’s say this time of year often brings sudden onset-type illnesses which resolve quickly with the appropriate intervention.

Our best bet to keep the gate of our immune systen well-guarded during this season is to double-down on our health practices, including quality nutrition (easy to do when fresh vegetables are plentiful in the markets), extra vitamin C & D, and adequate rest. Also, carrying an extra layer- shirt/sweater/scarf- when you leave the house will help you adjust to the sudden climactic changes.

The Official Fifth Season: Late Summer

—————————–
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, Health Tips, Nourishing You, Theory Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bagua For Runners

By
Bagua for Runnners

Bagua for Runnners

One morning, in my (Tom) qi gong and ba gua class, when we were walking in a circle, the teacher, mixed it up a little by getting us to jog, calling out directions of body alignment all the while. It dawned on me then that ba gua would be great for runners.

Sports medicine is my focus, so I see runners all the time in my practice. I would say the majority of injuries are due to muscle imbalances from improper training.

Muscle groups are divided functionally into agonistics and antagonistics. For example, when the hamstrings contract, the quadriceps stretch: this supports the femur (the upper leg bone), and allows the hamstrings to work correctly. Physiologically, quadricep strength should be 60% and hamstrings strength 40%. If this ratio is off, one can get what is called “runners knee.”

Ba gua training balances and connects the body as a whole so your movements are not isolated, but flow together, continuously. When the body is in proper alignment the muscles work efficiently, with much less stress.

The feet are extremely vital for standing, walking, and running. The feet reflect the whole body, so when the feet are tight this translates upward, causing problems elsewhere, for a structure is only as strong as its foundation. Ba gua works a lot on the feet to strengthen and open them, creating a good support.

Running can be hard on the leg joints due to the repetitive pounding on hard surfaces. When runners get tired, they commonly use the force of gravity versus muscles, which eventually takes its toll.

Bagua 8 trigrams

Bagua 8 trigrams

Ba gua challenges the body to incorporate multiple disciplines. You simultaneously work on the inhaling and exhaling of breath , the compression and decompression of joints, the winding and unwinding of tissue attached to bone, and on internal and external conscious focus. This multi-disciplinary approach creates a dynamic movement in whatever you do, so practice is not limited to class time, it’s something you take with you into your daily life.

Ba gua is based on the I Ching and is one of the three Chinese internal martial arts (tai ji and hsing yi are the other two). Qi gong is the basis of all three , and all offer tremendous health benefits.

Runners should always cross train to keep the whole body conditioned and reduce the chances of injuries. I highly recommend ba gua as an adjunct in training, because the body’s mechanics are explained in a new way that is both enjoyable and practical for the long-term.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/bagua-for-runners

—————————–
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, I Ching, Philosophy, Stress Busters, Theory, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Yin and Yang Theory in a Nutshell

By
photo courtesy of taoism.about.com

photo courtesy of taoism.about.com

The Yin and Yang Theory is the foundation of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is a simple concept of opposites, but can be somewhat complex in its application in understanding the human body in Chinese Medicine.

In the macrocosm of the universe, Yin is the physical manifestation of all things and Yang is the potentiality of all things. In the microcosm, all physical forms are Yin, but all forms have the potential for change, which is Yang.

Sometimes the best way to explain Yin and Yang is with an analogy, and we will bring these to you as they arise. Here’s the first one we came up with:

A car engine is a static thing. The fuel that runs it is Yin, and the spark that ignites the fuel is Yang, transforming the fuel into energy to make the car run. Likewise, in the human body, the food we eat is Yin and the process of digestion is Yang; without the transformation of digestion, the food is useless.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/yin-and-yang-theory-in-a-nutshell

—————————–
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: Theory Tagged With: , , ,