Acupuncture and Manual Therpaies
Acupuncture dry needling for Pain Relief, Cupping, and Gua Sha
The practice of acupuncture began about 3,000 years ago of development and refinement. Acupuncture is itself a complete medical system that is used as a means of treating and preventing diseases through the application of needles to specific points on the body that lie on meridians which eventually lead to an internal organ and normalize its function. A sound and safe medicine, acupuncture is general medicine that is effective in healing a wide range of specific problems and diseases without side effects. Any condition you would go to an M.D. for, you may come to Middle Path Acupuncture for.
The core philosophy of Chinese Medicine and acupuncture acknowledges the significance of a person’s lifestyle, diet, mental health, body, emotions, and spirit in identifying the root cause of a health problem. Once the root cause is identified and the pattern of symptoms understood, I can then treat my patients and their conditions, reversing patterns of health imbalance and preventing future relapse.
Manual Therapies
Removing Your Pain With Complementary Manual Therapy
I practice three styles of manual therapy to complement acupuncture treatments for pain.
– Acupressure is a style of bodywork that works with the acupuncture point meridian system to release congested energy, invigorate blood flow and stretch fascia. The type I use is a Chinese style of acupressure called Tui Na.
– Myofascial Trigger Point Release is the contribution of Dr. Janet Travell, M.D. and Dr. David Simon, M.D. Their breakthrough research into the predictable patterns of where we feel pain and where its source is located makes it truly unparalleled. Pain in the shoulder blade that is coming from a tight muscle in the neck? This and other patterns of referred pain I see every week in my office. Knowing human anatomy very well and having the ability to treat these painful trigger points is necessary to resolve or give lasting relief of chronic pain.
– A.R.T. stands for Active Release Technique. By pressing sore trigger points while the patient actively engages the muscle we retrain muscles to function properly after releasing them with acupuncture.
Cupping
Cupping is suction therapy applied whenever the root of the health problem is excessively tight muscles that are close to the surface. The plastic cups are applied to a patient’s back, neck, legs, shoulders or arms to pull out the chemicals that accumulate in a muscle that is in semi-spasm and not receiving a healthy supply of fresh blood. As a result oxygenated blood can flow in to rehabilitate the dysfunctional muscle, relieve symptoms of pain or discomfort and improve range of motion. It often leaves bruise marks. Read More
Gua Sha
Gua sha is the application of a gentle scraping therapy. It is most commonly used to help break up scar tissue that has formed in muscles or the surrounding connective tissue, fascia. It tends to leave bruise marks.