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Migraines & Headaches

“Do More in 2024” for Your Health & Your Future

At last, the new year is upon us. Will we live our best lives and manifest our fullest potential? What we do with all that potential, is always up to us.

One way to hone in on our resolutions, our health and wellness goals is to try something new, like acupuncture. Although acupuncture is technically anything but “new” being over 3,000 year old system of medicine originating from China, it may be a new experience for you.

Acupuncture is truly an excellent treatment approach for many ailments for several reasons. First, there are no side effects to acupuncture like there are with medications or surgery. Second, it is actually a very pleasant experience for most people, as most patients fall asleep during their session, and it is considered non-invasive. Third, it can treat multiple health concerns at the same time. Many times a patient will come in for their chronic pain, for example, and also see lasting improvements with their lifelong anxiety or insomnia, digestive issues or migraines. It even helps couples get pregnant who are struggling to start a family, or help with menopausal concerns and reproductive health.

Anything you would consider taking a pill for, you could try acupuncture.

With the New Year, many folks even use acupuncture to quit smoking, or use acupuncture to lose weight.

At Cloud 9 Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine, we take an integrative approach looking at many ways to naturally support your health and wellness, utilizing acupuncture, electro-stim, ATP Resonance BioTherapyTM, O3 Regenerative TherapyTM, and custom nutritional support.

While we specialize in complex, chronic conditions that are difficult to treat such as neuropathy, autoimmune conditions, infertility, migraines, and women’s health, we do treat many other conditions (and all ages) as well.

Interested in seeing what acupuncture can do for you?

Call 410-847-4766 to begin with a consultation with Dr. Laura Parks, our medical director who has over 13 years experience using acupuncture to change lives.

The Best Way to Find the Best Acupuncture Clinic for You

Whether you’re suffering from low back pain, or neuropathy, infertility or headaches, you’ll want to find the best acupuncture clinic that suits your needs the best.

The very best way is to call and speak with the receptionist of your clinic of interest and ask them if they have experience in or specialize in your primary condition you are seeking care for. While most acupuncturists have trained extensively for 3-5 years in graduate level study acupuncture programs, and receive a Master’s degree or a Doctorate (also known as a Acupuncture Physician), it’s still best to work with an acupuncturist or clinic that has experienced success in treating your condition.

 

Some questions you can ask when you phone a prospective acupuncture clinic:

Has the acupuncturist treated my type of condition before?

What is the success rate of treating my condition at this clinic?

How many years of experience does the acupuncturist have?

Do you offer any additional therapies beyond acupuncture to help address my condition?

What can I expect during my first visit? (Is it just a consultation, or will I receive treatment that day?)

 

Most of our patients are referred by word of mouth, from former patients who have also experienced success. Our acupuncturist Dr. Laura Parks does specialize in chronic, complex conditions and has been practicing for over 13 years. She received her acupuncture doctorate from Five Branches University, and acupuncture masters from Maryland University of Integrative Health (formerly Tai Sophia). Dr. Parks has been treating Fertility patients for over 13 years and specializing in neuropathy for over 4 years, with over a 85% success rate.

Becoming Resilient to Stress

I once had to write an essay on the book, “Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers” by Robert Sapolsky and I can summarize it to this day… The sympathetic nervous system elicits the “fight or flight” response. A third response is to freeze in place.

Modern humans often freeze in place, stall. Usually, we do not fight others or run (flight) like zebras run away from lions, but we just sit or stand in place, doing the same exact thing physically we were doing prior to the stress trigger. The cortisol elevates with the stressor, the adrenaline surges… and we sit (or stand) in place instead of using that fuel to launch into a sprint away from a predator (lion, tiger or bear, oh my!) 

Zebras have no choice. They run or they die, or they run and die. Either way, they really must run. In turn, their bodies burn off the adrenaline surge and other stress hormones. This is why they do not get ulcers. 

However, humans do get ulcers,  because their ancient wiring “fight or flight” response designed to keep them alive during times of war with neighboring tribes, or being hunted by predators, simply goes off at very inopportune times… like when we’re stuck in traffic, or getting flack from our boss, or a friend phones with bad news … goes off, constantly, daily, sometimes multiple times per hour. This creates a cascade effect with the nervous system, the neuro-endocrine hormones and creates inflammation, extra body fat, cardiovascular disease, digestive disorders, anxiety, panic attacks, headaches, autoimmune disease, insomnia, and more. Everyone responds to stress differently.

Most people respond very well to acupuncture because it brings the nervous system and endocrine system into balance. Over time, with regular acupuncture treatment, patients become less triggered by stress as the “fight or flight” response becomes much more self-regulated.

 

What’s Our Medical Director Been Up To?

Have you heard? Our Medical Director, Laura Parks, M.Ac., L.Ac. went back to school and will be graduating at the end of April 2023 with her Doctorate in Acupuncture. 13 years after graduating with her Masters degree in Acupuncture, we’ll be calling “Dr. Laura” to the clinic with all her new wisdom on how to help patients. 

Here’s what she had to say about her doctorate experience so far: “It’s been so great studying advanced, complex conditions like Lyme’s disease, advanced fertility and gynecological issues, pediatrics, and autoimmune conditions, weighing in with some of the most brilliant minds in the country. Last semester I got to celebrate getting straight A’s in all my classes while juggling family life and running a very busy clinic, all while completing medical internships, studying modern acupuncture research, and learning from live case studies. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to take my training to the next level and serve thousands of patients in the future with this centuries old medicine.” 

We can’t wait to see what the future holds upon completing her doctorate this April! 

If you’re interested in working with our Medical Director, Laura Parks, this spring, give us a call at 410-847-4766.

Trigeminal Neuralgia… Now there is Hope!

Approximately 15,000 new people are diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia each year. It is most common in people over 50, and more likely to happen to women than men, but is not usually genetic. 

Unfortunately, Trigeminal Neuralgia is described as “insanely painful, severe condition” of the face, caused by the trigeminal nerve. The trigeminal nerve starts near the top of the ear, then splits into three areas: going towards the eye, cheek, and jaw. Usually trigeminal neuralgia presents on only one side of the face. The pain is often described as more painful than giving birth or passing a kidney stone. 

Patients describe the facial pain as:

  • Stabbing
  • Electrical sensation
  • So severe the person cannot eat or drink
  • Comes on within seconds, but can last minutes or longer
  • Can be triggered by anything touching the face or teeth (shaving, applying makeup, brushing teeth, even the wind blowing on the face or water touching the face. 

Trigeminal Neuralgia causes are not easily known, but some believe it can be caused by dental procedures, facial trauma, or a blood vessel pressing against the trigeminal nerve (vascular compression).

In rare cases, trigeminal neuralgia can be related to multiple sclerosis, a tumor, or possibly from postherpetic neuralgia (caused by shingles). 

Traditional treatment for trigeminal neuralgia in western medicine is to use pain medications or invasive surgery, both with many potential side effects. 

Now there is Hope. Cloud 9 Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine specializes in treating Trigeminal Neuralgia with over a 90% success rate in significantly reducing the pain in intensity and frequency, and many patients are able to manage their pain without medications after a series of specialized treatments, living fuller, happier lives without pain. The secret to our success is utilizing acupuncture combined with ATP Resonance BioTherapyTM, and O3 Regenerative TherapyTM. 

To begin, Call 410-847-4766 for a comprehensive consultation to find out if you are a good candidate for treatment. 

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