Feeling Anxious Before an Operation? Acupuncture Can Help.

Facing an upcoming operation or procedure can be anxiety-inducing. With so many questions, uncertainties and concerns, it’s common to be feeling scared, nervous or anxious. It’s also quite normal to feel stressed out or worried about what your recovery will be like.

How will you feel? Will there be pain? What will your limitations be?

While we, unfortunately, can’t be there to hold your hand, you may be surprised to know that acupuncture can help you to relax and recharge both before and after an operation.

Here’s how.

According to a study published by Cision entitled Acupuncture and Surgery: Relieve Anxiety Before and Reduce Discomfort After, Dr. Constance Chen (a plastic surgeon and breast specialist) explains, “Acupuncture can effectively reprogram the body to switch from the 'fight-or-flight' stress response to rest and relaxation.”

She adds, “The precise mechanism that causes this effect isn't known but it may be due to acupuncture increasing the body's production of endorphins, the natural hormones that counteract inflammation, pain, and stress.”

The study further explains that in some studies, “ perioperative acupuncture has been found to reduce stress and anxiety before surgery, reduce the need for opioids during surgery, and decrease both pain and post-operative nausea and vomiting after surgery.

Perhaps even more interesting?

According to the article, acupuncture performed DURING surgery, “in combination with conventional anesthesia can reduce the dose of opioids needed and provide a more comfortable post-operative experience than anesthesia alone.” And then after surgery, “Acupuncture can help alleviate pain and reduce the amount of medication needed to control it. Post-operative acupuncture may also promote the recovery of the immune system, bladder function, and the gastrointestinal tract.”

This is just even more evidence of the incredible healing powers of acupuncture. If you’re facing an upcoming surgery and would like pre or post-operative acupuncture, call our office or click here to book an appointment today!

Using Acupuncture to Treat Trauma

The mind/body connection is truly undeniable. When one isn’t working properly, you can bet the other isn’t either. This is perhaps nowhere more complicated than in individuals dealing with trauma.

Trauma is a multifaceted word that embodies so much. Pain, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, memory issues, terror, difficulties adjusting to post-trauma life — it’s almost endless. But if you work to heal the mind, you can often heal the body. And you can use the body to heal the mind, too.

But with what, you might ask? Acupuncture, of course. In fact, it’s a proven way to help reduce stress and anxiety and improve sleep, which naturally lends itself to improved mental health. In dealing with something as serious as trauma, the smallest improvement can mean a world of difference.

As reported on Rfi News, acupuncturist Elise Boghossian packed up her acuneedles and headed to Iraq, leaving her lie behind in Paris and setting out to bring healing to kidnapped and enslaved women in northern Iraq.  

She told the site, ““The first time I went to Iraq I was completely alone. I didn’t have colleagues or work with a specific organization. I just had my acupuncture needles to offer people pain relief.”

Through her experiences, she eventually founded NGO EliseCare, an organization with six sites throughout Iraq that offer free medical consultations, continuous psychological care to patients, and medical training in acupuncture, emergency medical care, gynecology, radiology and biology.

You can watch her story, here.

New Study Shows Acupuncture Can Help Heal Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is one of the most common conditions ailing adults in the United States. A staggering 54 million among us suffer from osteoporosis, which literally translates to “porous bone”. Osteoporosis occurs when the body loses too much bone, makes too little bone, or both. This causes the bones to become weak, resulting in chronic pain, or worse. Low bone mass means that breaks can happen very easily, from falls or in serious cases even from something as low-impact as sneezing.

Osteoporosis is a serious condition, with many of the fractures resulting from it occurring in the hip, spine or wrist. In elderly patients, these breaks can result in serious injury or death. 

The unfortunate thing is that osteoporosis cannot be reversed. It can only be treated. Thankfully, clinical trials have been recently done that show acupuncture as an effective treatment for osteoporosis.

The great thing is that acupuncture works two-fold: it is effective at treating the pain associated with osteoporosis, as well as crucially improving bone mineral density. This still does not represent an ability to reverse the effects of osteoporosis, but it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Researchers at First Affiliated Hospital of Chengdu in China conducted a study of 182 participants, all who were suffering from the disease. The study compared acupuncture’s effectiveness at treating osteoporosis with calcium supplementation. Acupuncture treatment was administered supplementing the liver and kidneys and strengthening the spleen. While both methods proved to be effective, the acupuncture group outperformed the calcium supplementation. 77 cases in the acupuncture group registered as very effective, with 5 cases effective and 9 ineffective.

The study measured both pain levels as well as mean bone mineral density—those who received acupuncture reported a decrease in pain level, and their bone density was shown to have increased.

Osteoporosis is one of the most difficult conditions to deal with, one that greatly affects the patient’s quality of life. If you or one you know is suffering from the condition, be sure to tell them that acupuncture can help them on the road to recovery.