What conditions can Traditional Acupuncture and TCM treat?
Inheriting two generations of TCM experience, Victor's areas of expertise include stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, dizziness & vertigo, women’s health (irregular period, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroid, endometriosis, infertility, functional uterine bleeding, menstrual cramps, menopause, mastitis, breast hyperplasia, breast fibroma, pelvic inflammatory disease, etc), digestive disorders (heartburn, epigastric pain/gastralgia, acid reflux, acute & chronic gastritis, peptic ulcers, gallstones, diarrhea, constipation), and UTI (urinary tract infections).
He also has experience in treating headaches, migraines, hypertension, palpitations, cancer and circulatory diseases, different kinds of pain including chest pain, flank (hypochondriac) pain, abdominal pain, back pain, upper limb, hip, lower limb, as well as neck and shoulder pain.
Studies have shown that Traditional Acupuncture and TCM are effective for a variety of conditions, including (but not limited to) the ones listed below.
Integrated Weight Management
Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture can be effective therapies to help with successful weight loss in a natural and holistic way.
For people who have not seen desirable effects from dieting and exercise, TCM and acupuncture help in weight loss by improving digestive functioning and sleep, and reducing stress. In TCM principles, lipid build up is recognized as phlegm, or “dampness”. Excess phlegm impacts the spleen’s ability to eliminate waste from the body, resulting in a cycle of buildup leading to weight gain. Stress and inadequate sleep also contribute to weight gain, disrupting the normal hormonal control of appetite. In this situation, acupuncture can be used to regulate appetite by stimulating endorphins that help relax the body and improve sleep. The combination of TCM herbal formulas and acupuncture will provide the best results in reducing dampness in the body.
In summary, TCM and acupuncture are useful tools to aid in weight loss, however these effects happen gradually and not instantaneously. In some individuals, the actual weight loss may not be as noticeable, but there will be a marked improvement in associated conditions such as acid reflux, constipation, bloating, colic disease, other digestive issues, etc. It will take most individuals 3 weeks to 3 months to observe these changes, and everyone experiences the effects of these therapies to a different extent.
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders are the most common and widespread of psychiatric disorders, but many treatments have undesired side effects. Acupuncture and TCM Herbs are natural ways for treating anxiety, to lessen the symptoms by attacking the problem at its roots.
There are steps that our practitioner will take to ease and treat anxiety, by following treatment principles of TCM to formulate a distinct group of acupoints and herbal prescriptions unique to the individual. An example may be to prescribe Minor Bupleurum Formula and stimulate the acupoints HT-7, LI-11, LIV-3, GB-34.
Insomnia
Not getting enough sleep? Having trouble sleeping? Sleep is your body’s method of recovery and rest; and closely linked to quality of life. It can manifest in many ways, such as trouble falling asleep, or having trouble staying asleep. Treatment of insomnia begins with investigating the cause of imbalance in the body (which almost always differs between individuals) that is blocking Qi flow. The type and duration of treatment will depend on the stage and severity of insomnia.
Acupuncture treatment for insomnia will stimulate distinct points on the body that correlate with your symptoms, and some of the commonly used acupoints include Anmian, HT-7,ST-40, HT-7, SP-6. Although acupuncture is effective on its own, complementary herbal formulas like Zizyphus Formula and Huo Xue Mian Tong Tang will greatly improve treatment efficacy and your quality of sleep.
Women’s Health (including irregular periods, ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, endometriosis, infertility, functional uterine bleeding, etc)
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine have been used for thousands of years to promote female reproductive health and correct menstrual irregularities. Conditions linked to irregular cycles include endometriosis, fibroids, and ovarian cysts (and more); all are signals indicating an imbalance in the body. From a TCM perspective, the common causes of these symptoms can be due to stagnation of blood in the uterus, or infiltration of cold into the uterus. If you don’t change the environment that created the problem in the first place, it is probable the issue will occur again, so action must be taken.
Every menstrual cycle is different, but a common course of treatment involves acupuncture and TCM methods to promote blood circulation and warm the uterus, enhancing the flow of qi and blood. Possible acupoints include REN-3, SP-6, and CV-4, and the addition of herbs like Dang Gui Nian Tong Tang to tonify blood and stop pain.
UTI (urinary tract infections)
Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) affect the urinary system and cause painful sensations during urination, along with other symptoms like discolored urine (cloudy, red, brown, etc.), a persistent urge to urinate, etc. Although antibiotics are the mainstay treatment, there is a growing need for non-pharmaceutical interventions like acupuncture and TCM, given the increasing challenge of antibiotic resistance on overall health.
In many cases, the symptoms of a UTI can be attributed to dampness and heat in the kidneys, spleen, or bladder. Our practitioner’s treatment protocol in this situation would be to purge heat and dispel dampness, by stimulating acupoints (ex. HT-1, HT-2, PC-7) and prescribing herbal formulas like Cheng Shi Fen Xing Yin to reduce UTI severity and recurrence.
Constipation
Constipation usually occurs when bowel movements move less frequently than usual, resulting in difficulty expelling stool from the digestive tract. The source of constipation can be both external (diet, medications, etc.) or internal (stress, infiltration of wind, heat, etc.). For example, these interruptions to the body’s normal flow of Qi can be mitigated by dispelling the wind or heat that has invaded the body. Our practitioner will stimulate acupoints such as LI-4 (Hegu) and prescribe herbs formulations (ex. Hou Po Qi Wu Tang) to eliminate stagnant stool from the body to restore and improve your digestive health.
Dizzziness
Dizziness and dizzy spells are very commonly encountered disorders that can be an upsetting experience whether it be acute or chronic. These are symptoms that can be caused by a multitude of health problems and organ imbalance, and pharmacological medications may cause undesired side effects. However, getting to the bottom of these dizzy spells with TCM herbs and acupuncture will help prevent them from developing again.
Some commonly seen pathologies associated with dizziness include external wind or heat infiltrating the liver and spleen, among other organs. Buildup of phlegm in the body is another recurrent cause of these symptoms. Our practitioner’s goal is to clear heat and wind from these organs using a combination of acupuncture and TCM herbs–like the GB-20, LI-4, or SJ-5, LI-11, UB-12 acupoints, and the Xiao Chai Hu Tang herbal formula.