Ear Acupuncture

Ear acupuncture is commonly used as an adjunct to full body acupuncture, particularly in cases dealing with emotional disorders (i.e. stress, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder), weight loss, pain, and addiction. However, it is also a great option for people who are on a tighter income and want to receive more frequent and low-cost acupuncture.

Dr. Paul Nogier, a French neurologist considered the "Father of Auriculotherapy", introduced the inverted fetus map (seen to the left) in the 1950's which is used to demonstrate the point arrangement in the ear. During fetal development the brain, spinal cord, and what will later become the ear all develop at the same time. When acupuncture points in the ear are stimulated, the brain is activated and sends a signal to the corresponding part of the body.

Anywho, AcuTake wrote a great article about the NADA ear acupuncture protocol and it's many uses. I highly recommend giving it a read if you're interested in learning more about ear acupuncture and its many applications.

And if you're interested in receiving ear acupuncture, you can always come to Spot of Qi and try it out!


Here's an excerpt from AcuTake's article, enjoy!:

Ear Acupuncture For the Masses

By Ryan Bemis

Acupuncture is becoming more accessible—one ear at a time.
Ear acupuncture, also known as auricular acupuncture, is the most widely used form of acupuncture within Western health settings in the United States and Europe.

This is due in part to the fact that some ear acupuncture protocols can be performed by non-acupuncturists. Standardized ear protocols are safely taught to existing healthcare workers who can easily integrate them as part of their clinical practice within hospitals, and mental health and addiction clinics. In the military, personnel are trained in ear acupuncture protocols to address pain and trauma symptoms in soldiers.

Perhaps the most established model of ear acupuncture today is a protocol known as NADA....
 
Read the whole article here: http://acutakehealth.com/ear-acupuncture-for-the-masses

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all eat 'till you burst. Enjoy the holiday and don't worry too much about counting the calories (because you may lose count!). But when the celebrations are done, you may want to try the recipe below to help detox after so much decadence. It looks delicious and in TCM we really looooove ginger, aka 生姜. In TCM theory, Sheng Jiang (ginger) has the following qualities: 

• Releases the exterior, wind-cold, regulates ying and wei qi
• Warms the middle jiao - stomach cold/vomiting
• Alleviates coughing, warms lung
• Reduces toxicity of other herbs 

 Enjoy your holidays and sneak some ginger into your meals to soothe your tummy and warm you up from the inside out.

Detox Deliciously: Ginger-Carrot Soup 

 

You may be surprised to learn that it's celebrity chef Guy Fieri who created this perfect bowl of soup fit for a delicious detox. This ginger-carrot soup is high in vitamin A, vitamin C, and manganese, which helps to aid in digestion. To top it all off, there's no cholesterol whatsoever in this tasty recipe! To up the detox power and offer a more robust flavor, I added an additional tablespoon of ginger to give the soup a brighter flavor. Ready to detox deliciously? Keep reading for the healthy and fresh soup recipe.

Ginger-Carrot Soup

From Guy Fieri, Food Network
Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped sweet onion
Kosher salt
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger
2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped
1 medium russet potato, peeled and chopped
6 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 1/3 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
Freshly ground pepper
Directions

1. Combine the olive oil and onion in a Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, 10 minutes, until just starting to caramelize.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, 2 more minutes, being careful not to burn the mixture. Stir in the carrots, potato, and the chicken or vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the carrots and potato are very tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Keep warm.
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan over high heat, lightly toast the pine nuts. Set aside to cool.
4. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, honey, thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
5. Puree the soup with an immersion blender until very smooth (or puree in a regular blender in batches). Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper and serve with a dollop of the yogurt mixture and some pine nuts.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Calorie Count

 

Link: http://www.fitsugar.com/Ginger-Carrot-Detox-Soup-Recipe-25810232

Centuries-Old Art of Cupping May Bring Some Pain Relief

Finally an article about cupping! I love cupping and use it not only on myself for various sports injuries, but also for my patients with complaints ranging from tired backs, pulled muscles, and tight shoulders from using the computer, to even the common cold.

The most common questions I get asked about cupping are:
1) Will it burn me? 
2) Will it hurt?
3) How long will the marks last?

And the answers are as follows:
1) No it will not burn you. The flame used creates a vacuum in the cup so it can suck onto the skin. The flame is inside the cup for about one second or less, hardly enough time to make the glass hot.
2) Cupping feels great! The practitioner has the ability to adjust how tight the cups are on the body, making it more or less intense. Stationary cups give a more concentrated sensation and moving cupping is very akin to a deep tissue massage.
3) The marks very greatly from person to person and from treatment to treatment. Typically those who are more fair skinned mark more easily and stationary cups leave more of a mark than moving cupping. I usually tell my patients the marks can last anywhere from one day to a week and a half. Cupping's cool, wear the marks as a fashion statement!

I love how these articles like to suggest that these treatments may just be placebo effect, but the fact remains, if patients feel relief then it works. (And it really does work.)

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Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324073504578114970824081566.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

The ancient art of applying suction cups to the body has gotten a boost from several new studies that show it helps relieve a variety of painful conditions. But scientists say larger, more rigorous studies are needed.

Fairbanks Daily News-Miner/ZumaPress.com

Cupping, as the practice is called, was performed traditionally in China and other countries, and is now available from acupuncturists, and some chiropractors and massage therapists in the U.S. In the traditional method, called fire cupping, a ball of burning cotton is briefly placed inside a glass cup to heat the air inside, which then creates a partial vacuum as it cools. Newer-style plastic or silicone cups have valves that attach to hand pumps used to create suction.
Until recently, there was scant published evidence in favor of cupping for pain relief. Over the past three years, a handful of new studies have shown it helps relieve back, neck, carpal tunnel and knee pain.

There are a number of theories on how cupping may work to relieve pain. A widely held one is that suction on the skin "increases blood flow to the area and creates a mild immune response," says Kathleen Lumiere, an assistant professor of acupuncture and oriental medicine at Bastyr University in Kenmore, Wash. It also helps release fascia, connective tissue that can pull on muscles causing pain or limited motion, clinicians say.

Typically cups are on for up to 20 minutes and leave a temporary reddish mark that looks "like rare roast beef," says Brian K. Nathanson, a Norwalk, Conn., chiropractor who has been doing cupping for about five years.

Some clinicians slide the cups on the body, using them as massage tools in a technique sometimes called running cupping. "People who love deep-tissue massage love cupping," says Gabrielle Francis, a Manhattan chiropractor and acupuncturist who does both static cupping and running cupping. Both can cause mild discomfort in some patients, clinicians say.

The intrepid can opt for "wet cupping," in which the skin is punctured with a lancet before the cups are applied. The technique, which draws out a small quantity of blood, can have a powerful effect—particularly on areas where you can feel a hard lump of knotted muscles, says Kristine Tohtz, a Chicago chiropractor and acupuncturist who does wet and dry cupping.

Cost of cupping varies widely, from $40 to $100 or more for a half-hour session. It shouldn't be done on pregnant women, people with heart conditions or people with bleeding disorders, clinicians say. Caution should be used if a person has thin skin that might tear easily.

In a study of people with neck pain caused by computer use, "cupping therapy was effective in reducing pain," says Tae-Hun Kim, a researcher at the Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine in Daejeon, South Korea. The 40-person study, published online in September in the Journal of Occupational Health, found that six cupping sessions over two weeks was more effective on average in relieving pain than a heating pad—and the benefit lasted a month after treatment ended.

But, says Romy Lauche, a scientist at the University of Duisburg-Essen in Essen, Germany, "the studies are very preliminary. We cannot say it has proven its efficacy."
Dr. Lauche co-authored a 50-person study published last year that found a single wet-cupping treatment on average significantly reduced chronic neck pain three days after the treatment, compared with a control group that had no treatment. Location of the cups varied with each patient but typically was on the trapezius muscle, which spans the neck, shoulders and upper back. In unpublished results, she adds, scientists found the pain relief lasted for months.

In a 40-person German study published in October, cupping therapy significantly relieved knee arthritis pain compared with patients who received no treatment. But the study's lack of a control group treated with a sham technique "raises questions of whether it is cupping that is really working or if it has a placebo effect," says David Felson, who directs an arthritis research program at Boston University School of Medicine.

Dr. Lauche agrees that lack of a placebo control is a flaw in the studies. A new study, currently ongoing for fibromyalgia pain, is testing cupping against a sham cup that attaches with adhesive and provides minimal suction, she says.

By LAURA JOHANNES
—Email aches@wsj.com
Write to Laura Johannes at laura.johannes@wsj.com

What to Eat (and When) Before Working Out

I really liked this quickie article because as someone who usually works out later in the evening, I have definitely noticed that some food choices I make earlier in the day can affect how good or bad my workout is. Planning ahead and thinking about what your body needs for fuel will not only make you feel more energized and vibrant through out the day, but it will also greatly improve your workout stamina, help avoid injuries, and decrease recovery time. Eat up!

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What to Eat (and When) Before Working Out

When it comes to working out, you always want to make sure you have ample energy. However eating too close to vigorous exercise is a recipe for discomfort, but heading to the gym hungry isn't ideal either — something I learned during a recent session with my Crunch trainer, Tim Rich. Not being adequately fueled led to a weak-feeling workout and unusually sore muscles the next day. Wanting to maximize the potential of my training sessions, I turned to nutritionist Heidi Skolnik, MS, CDN, FACSM, and author of Nutrient Timing for Peak Performance to find out what to eat, and when, before heading to the gym. Keep reading to see the simple guidelines that Heidi suggests.

All Day Long

It's never a good idea to start a workout with a water deficit. Make sure to stay well hydrated before, during, and after exercise. Use the FitSugar calculator to see how much water you should be drinking daily. Keep in mind that the body needs to be hydrated to process calories; even being mildly dehydrated can slow down your metabolic rate.

Two to Three Hours Before a Workout

If you're planning a meal a couple of hours before working out, Heidi suggests eating a mix of carbs, protein, and fat, which falls in the 300- to 400-calorie range. Her suggestions include a small serving of lean protein with veggies, hummus and pretzel crisps, or a fruit and nut bar (we're partial to KIND and Larabars) with a small serving of yogurt. Avoid gassy food like beans and broccoli since they may cause intestinal discomfort.

One to Two Hours Before a Workout

As you get closer to your workout, carbs should become the focus of your snack (up to 50 grams) with just a little bit of protein. Heidi suggests cereal with skim milk or trail mix with a latte. If you only have one to two hours before your workout, keep your snack under 200 calories. This mixed protein-carb snack will help you feel satisfied and fueled and may also help reduce muscle soreness.

15 to 30 Minutes Before a Workout

If you only have 15 to 30 minutes before a scheduled workout, choosing a snack that is simple to digest is key, says Heidi. Pick a snack that has about 25 grams of carbs like a tablespoon of raisins, a few saltine crackers, or a small serving of applesauce.

Immediately Before a Workout

If you haven't eaten in awhile, don't skip out on food — even if you're just about to head into the gym, says Heidi. Your body will need the energy to power through whatever vigorous workout you put it through. Restrict this snack to carbs (up to 15 grams), and keep it light: seven to nine jellybeans, an eight-ounce sport drink, or one slice of white bread should do the trick.

Post-Workout Snack

Within 30 minutes of finishing a workout, eat a snack that is a mix of carbs and protein. This will help reduce muscle soreness, and, since your body's metabolic rate is higher after a workout, it will give it the fuel it needs to recover. Heidi's faves include chocolate milk or yogurt (throw in an energy bar if you're famished or had a really intense workout), or cottage cheese with a banana or pineapple.











Link: http://www.fitsugar.com/What-Eat-Before-Working-Out-2923890