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.

A 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.

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.

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.

Brain illustration courtesy of The Human Brain Book
by Rita Carter

A recent study of interest looks at the intersection of the nervous system and acupuncture, and some brain anatomy and physiology might be helpful, so here it is, in a nutshell:

The hypothalamus-pituitary-axis (HPA) is a region in the brain that has to do with regulation of a multitude of body functions, from immunity, to reproduction, digestion, and temperature.

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is our “fight or flight” system that helps us survive.

The hypothalamus acts as the intermediary between the nervous system and the endocrine system, and the pituitary is the body’s major endocrine gland.

The hypothalamus-pituitary-axis and sympathetic nervous system work ceaselessly to attain and maintain homeostasis, the natural state of equilibrium, in the entire body.

The two hormones from the HPA were ACTH (adrenocorticotropic) and CORT (corticosterone); the peptide from the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) was NPY (neuropeptide Y).
ACTH, CORT, and NPY are present in abundance when the both systems are activated.

The hormones and neurotransmitter measured were obtained by blood tests over 10 days.

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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.

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.

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.

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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.

This post is a nutshell guide to orienting yourself when the need arises. At Mountaintop Acupuncture, we’re big believers in being proactive. We find when we do a little responsible research, we’re able to make clearer decisions about our health.

Getting information on a condition helps us understand how the problem may have arisen, understand what the tests and treatment options are, and communicate to find the best ways to get better.

We recommend the following sites, because they provide information that is based on quality scientific research.

• Basic Level

Medline Plus: overview of common symptoms, treatment options, management strategies of many medical conditions.

Mayo Clinic: a little more detail, stated differently, which allows you to compare and contrast the basic information, helping you orient yourself and deepen your understanding.

• Intermediate Level

Cochrane Reviews: meta-analyses of published studies.

British Medical Journal: published studies.

• Complex Level

PubMed: abstracts of published studies.

Minimizing Bias

Research studies of the highest quality are based on standards that seek to minimize bias when collecting data and analyzing it. Quality studies are the polar opposite of “he said, she said.”

Studies must meet the following criteria in order for money and time to be invested:

• Outline the objective, method, and design of the study, with a complete review of related literature published to date.
• Be affiliated with institutions that provide the ethical and scientific checks and balances, to ensure minimum bias and error.

There are many types of studies:

• Randomly Controlled Trial is the research study gold standard in medicine. The RCT gathers information through a rigorous process that mathematically must have minimum bias and error built into its design. The RCT uses human subjects to find out the usefulness of healthcare practices. Built into it is the idea of chance: do some people get better because of other factors, or is the drug/device/protocol/healthcare practice of significant benefit?
• The Large Prospective Study is also highly regarded, because it measures outcomes in the same participants, over a long period of time. Large Prospective Studies provide an opportunity to collect and analyze related data, often resulting in unexpected, useful findings. An example of this is the Women’s Health Initiative, which collected data for 12 years, from 1992-2004, from a large sampling of women. One arm of the study followed breast cancer incidence and hormone replacement therapy, ultimately leading the scientific community to agree to change methodologies in treatment of menopausal women.
• The Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses look at all the studies that have been done on a given subject, to verify the findings of current research, including acknowledgement of weaknesses or shortfalls in the conclusions.

Not all studies are equal, so when you find a favorable study on your subject of interest, it is important to assess several factors: the who, what, where, and why of it. For example, how many participants are in the study, what methodology and design was used, the authors, the institution involved, the publishing journal. In future posts, we will cite some studies and point out some of these legitimizing details.

http://mountaintopacupuncture.com/researching-medical-conditions-on-the-internet

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

this is what bunion booties look like on your feet

Hello fellow bunion people!

While science has determined a certain percentage of us have bunions due to genetic factors, I (Carol) have a strong suspicion my life of pounding-the-pavement activity (running, dance, living/walking in NYC, etcetera) have contributed greatly to the current state of my feet. I don’t want surgery if I can avoid it and even my beloved doctor, aka Mr. Common Sense, recommended I work on stretching the tendon out by massaging it myself on a regular basis, and not resort to surgery.

the packaged product

I came across Bunion Booties last spring when my big toes ached from being trapped all winter-long in shoes and boots- and only “orthopedically-inclined” Keens and Le Canadiennes, mind you. Amazon testimonies had a consensus of positive reviews with people saying it seemed their tendons were stretching with consistent use, so I bought a pair to try them out (they’re not cheap). I’d occasionally wear in them in the house (not exactly attractive to wear with summer sandals), planning to test them with consistent wear this past winter. Now I can attest that they definitely work! I have worn them under tights and socks every day for the past few months with the addition of a gel toe separator found at Walgreen’s. I’m finding they are doing what they are designed to do: slooooowly stretch out the tendons that are arcing the big toe in the undesirable direction. A little massage when you’re in the warm water of a bath or jacuzzi, or when applying a warming oil (something with Vitamin E  and/or almond oil) helps too, to break up adhesions and just the old habit. Don’t expect a miracle: if it took a long time to get that way, it’ll probably take awhile for the change to happen. A diet rich in anti-oxidants to reduce inflammation at the joint couldn’t hurt, either.

So- whether you’re a wanna-be athlete like me, a bona fide athlete, or somewhere in between and your feet have taken a hit from all your great activity, here’s a message telling you all is not lost and you can change the trajectory on this one, hopefully before it goes to far, so you can continue to get out there and do what you love.

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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.