Conquer Holiday Stressors with Acupuncture

This time of year is filled with fun get togethers with family and friends, festive happenings, delicious treats and lots shopping. It’s also filled with, sometimes, lots of stress. Often, people also experience the holiday blues, a feeling of general sadness.

Stress, tension and/or sadness shouldn’t take away from your enjoyment of the holiday season, yet all too often it does. Acupuncture is a fantastic option to decompress, relieve muscle stress, and increase endorphins.

If you’re feeling overworked and are having trouble tackling your holiday to-do list with a peaceful mind, acupuncture sessions can help to restore your sense of well-being and relaxation.

In this Psychology Today article, scientific studies that prove the effects of acupuncture as a treatment for anxiety and depression are discussed.

In the article, author of a 2013 study in the Journal of Endocrinology authored by Eshkevari, “showed that rats who endured stress conditions and then received acupuncture had lowered blood hormone levels secreted by the hypothalamus pituitary adrenal (HPA) axis (which controls reactions to stress and regulates processes like the immune system, digestion, emotions and moods and sexuality.)”

Based on these results, Eshkevari stated, ““We found that electronic acupuncture blocks the chronic, stress-induced elevations of the HPA axis hormones and the sympathetic NPY pathway…. Our growing body of evidence points to acupuncture’s protective effect against the stress response.”

The article’s author Teri Goetz, MS, LAC, ACC ended the piece saying, “The experience of acupuncture is, for most of my patients, quite pleasant and relaxing. Once the needles are in, the patient lies quietly on the table with low lighting, lovely music playing and often with aromatherapy incorporated into the process. The patients leave feeling “blissed out” — and a new phrase has been coined in my office. ‘Acubliss’ It’s real.”

We couldn’t agree more.

Come and achieve your own “acubliss” this holiday season, and beyond, at NJ Acupuncture Center.

Acupuncture as a Possible Solution for Seasonal Allergies

Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures, it’s safe to say Fall is here – and with it comes all the seasonal allergy symptoms of sneezing, coughing, itchy eyes, congestion and headaches. If you find that the beauty of the season gets hidden behind suffering from seasonal allergies, you’re not alone.

In fact, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, nasal allergies affect approximately 50 million people across the country, amounting to nearly 30 percent of adults and 40 percent of children.

If you’ve tried your fair share of pills, syrups, sprays, sinus rinses and cold packs, perhaps we can help.

A recent article originally published by TIME via CNN reported that of the participants studied in a trial published in Annals of Internal Medicine who tested positive for pollen allergies with nasal symptoms, those who received combined treatment of acupuncture and antihistamines demonstrated a greater improvement in their allergies than those who took antihistamines alone, and those who had “fake” acupuncture.

Additionally, a NPR article cited Dr. Sandra Lin, an Associate Professor of Otolaryngology (an ear, nose and throat doctor)  at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine as suggesting, “Acupuncture may help relieve symptoms and improve quality of life for people with perennial allergic rhinitis, and may help with seasonal allergies. too, according to several studies. Thus, it could be an option for people looking for non-pharmaceutical treatments.”

As far as allergies and rhinitis are concerned, within alternative medicine they are typically associated with qi within the lung, and spleen. By targeting these meridians, acupuncturists can attempt to target these meridians and help to balance the qi.

Curious to know if acupuncture could help relieve some of your allergy woes? You won’t know until you try – and it can’t hurt (literally) to pay us a visit!

An Argument for Acupuncture use in the Emergency Room

It’s hard to watch the news these days without hearing of the crippling opioid epidemic that is sweeping our nation. With stronger prescription pain medication regulations and the high risk of addiction and/or overdoes, people are swiftly turning to other resources and options when it comes to pain management. While many may already know the benefits of acupuncture for chronic pain, it is now considered an option for acute moderate to severe pain, as well.

In emergency rooms (where people typically go for sudden or concerning pain) doctors are becoming increasingly cautious about the use of prescription pain medication administered orally or intravenously. Instead, according to a recent article in Forbes, a recently published study out of Australia has found that acupuncture is a safe and alternative option to opiates; depending on the patient, of course.

Dr. Marc Cohen, the lead investigator behind the study, said to Forbes, "Our study has shown acupuncture is a viable alternative, and would be especially beneficial for patients who are unable to take standard pain-relieving drugs because of other medical conditions. But it's clear we need more research overall to develop better medical approaches to pain management, as the study also showed patients initially remained in some pain, no matter what treatment they received.”

Dr. Sergey Motov, M.D, a specialist in pain management, and an attending ER physician at Maimonides in Brooklyn was also quoted in the article as saying, “I am very supportive for use of acupuncture in the ED as an adjunct to opioid analgesics with a hope of opioid reduction and to non-opioid analgesics as a part of multimodal approach.”

We find these results and support incredibly valuable, as holistic methods are often effective yet overlooked.

If you find yourself suffering from chronic pain, acupuncture is sure worth giving a chance. And while acupuncture can provide relief- as always-  any concerning pain or symptoms should be addressed with your physical as soon as possible.

Hate Needles? Here's Why You Should Still Try Acupuncture.

Let’s face it, nobody really likes needles. Really, who would be a fan of sharp metal objects being inserted in your body to either draw out blood or inject a needed treatment? While nobody is really lining up around the block to get poked and prodded, some people hate them more than others. And while that’s all perfectly normal, it shouldn’t get in the way of you trying acupuncture. Here’s why.

While acupuncture technically involved needles, the approach is considered to be “needling” and blood is very rarely a factor (unless a drop here or there comes up from a particularly congested area.) No Band-Aids necessary, no closing your yes or holding your breath, and no certainly no tourniquets are needed.

In fact, acupuncture needles are also far different from what is considered a traditional needle. Often called acu-needles, they are typically hair-thin and made of surgical stainless-steel wire. Typical acu-needles range between .16-.4mm, whereas needles uses for venipuncture (a blood draw at a lab) are .82. Some have compared the needle size and sensation to that of a cat’s whisker. Feeling a little better already?

As for the biggest component of fear - pain – you can relax. There’s little to no pain involved in acupuncture. The unpleasant sensation and pain of a needle for blood draw or injection is in no way, shape, or form similar to the sensation of an acupuncture needle. Those who have tried the practice liken the sensation to be less of a needle prick and more of a twinge, similar to tweezing unwanted hair. If you can handle tweezing your eyebrows, you can handle acupuncture.

An added bonus, any uncomfortable sensation that you might (but probably won’t) feel will only exist during needle placement/insertion, so think of it as a mere second of potential discomfort in exchange for hours, weeks, or even months of health benefits.