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Women’s Health

How Acupuncture Can Help You with Your Chronic Pain

By Bradley Stiles, L.Ac.

Can acupuncture help you with your chronic pain?

YES!

The National Institute of Health (NIH) believes so saying “Results from a number of studies suggest that acupuncture may help ease types of pain that are often chronic such as low-back pain, neck pain, and osteoarthritis/knee pain. It also may help reduce the frequency of tension headaches and prevent migraine headaches.  Therefore, acupuncture appears to be a reasonable option for people with chronic pain to consider. “

When I started writing this blog post there were over 700 studies on the relationship between acupuncture and chronic pain on PubMed (short for Public Medical Database, an online resource that complies verified scientific data on all different kinds of research experiments).  This positive relationship is well documented and well known.  The science behind acupuncture and its reductive effect on pain is one of the reasons most insurances cover acupuncture today. (Thank Goodness!)  New scientific research is coming out all of the time!

It is even being used in many hospitals and even in some Emergency Rooms/departments.  Below I’ve linked two studies that have shown positive changes that were statistically significant in Pain management outcomes through the use of acupuncture.  This means that acupuncture performed better than a placebo effect.  Please read the studies below if your interested in knowing more.

With the current opioid epidemic if you know someone that is interested in coming off of their pain meds we at Cloud 9 would love to work together with their doctor to manage the patient’s pain levels with the goal of their doctor either suggesting a reduction in their amount of medication or (with physician supervision and approval) the patient is able to come off medications altogether because symptoms have disappeared by completing a series of acupuncture treatment protocol .

Links Related to This Article:

https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture/introduction

Acupuncture as a Nonpharmacologic Treatment for Pain in a Pediatric Emergency Department- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Acupuncture+as+a+Nonpharmacologic+Treatment+for+Pain+in+a+Pediatric+Emergency+Department&fbclid=IwAR1EeOIxp4nj2AhbHd938KRgYIqokY-9lnLeWaUrX9kS8ktIWszlbZajxlc

Effect of Integrative Medicine Services on Pain for Hospitalized Patients at an Academic Health Center –

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Effect+of+Integrative+Medicine+Services+on+Pain+for+Hospitalized+Patients+at+an+Academic+Health+Center&fbclid=IwAR1ptcXg7lqa_FM3HOWOfiI5g5up2epSRz0h02y15CR-x_1WaSdyAGV8r5o

 

Bradley Stiles, M.Ac., L.Ac.

 

Bradley’s Timonium Hours:

Monday       … 7am – 11am

Tuesday      … 7am – 12pm

Wednesday… 7am – 11am

Brad is ready to see patients with Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Cigna and Aetna plans in Timonium.

 

Bradley’s Kent Island Hours:

Thursday    …10am – 5pm

We do not accept insurance at our Kent Island location.

 

Read more about Brad & Watch Brad’s Video! at https://cloud9acuclinic.com/bradley-stiles-acupuncturist/

Earth Constitutional Factor

By Kelly Ferguson, L.Ac.

 

You may hear your practitioner speaking about your CF or Constitutional Factor, and you are probably asking yourself what that means? In Five Element Acupuncture Theory there are five elements or seasons that we use to help diagnosis and understand our patients. We have each of these elements within us, but we prefer one to two of them over the others. Those elements that we unknowingly prefer or align with are what we would call a person’s Constitutional Factor or CF. Within each CF there are the meridians, colors, odors, sounds, emotions, personality traits, seasons, etc. that go along with it.

earth constitutional factor

One of these Constitutional Factors is called Earth. The season for this element is Late Summer which we are getting ready to head into. This element is very grounding or centering. It allows us to nurture ourselves and those around us. Earth CF’s can sometimes sound like they are singing as they are speaking. They tend to have a yellow complexion to their skin around their eyes, and their odor can be a bit sweet smelling. The meridians that go along with Earth are spleen and stomach meridians.

earth constitutional factor

Kelly sees patients on Tuesdays & Thursdays 12p -8pm, Saturdays 10am-3pm in Timonium, and Wednesdays 12:30pm-7:30pm in White Marsh. Read more about Kelly at https://cloud9acuclinic.com/kelly-ferguson-acupuncturist/

 

 

 

Acupuncture Happy Hour at Cloud 9! Time to Party!

Acupuncture Happy Hour!

 

Join us at Cloud 9 as we show our appreciation

Free Acupuncture & Free TCM Tongue Diagnosis

 Lite refreshments will be served.

OPEN TO ALL PATIENTS & FRIENDS OF CLOUD 9!

 

Wednesday May 9, 2018 from 5-7pm

 at Cloud 9 Acupuncture

With Special Guest Speaker Dr. Pamela Woodward

from First Step Chiropractic!

 

 

RSVP Today Call: 443-521-3583

 

Cloud 9 Acupuncture

22 W. Padonia Rd. Suite B-324

Timonium, MD 21093

 

Springtime, The Wood Element & You

By Kelly Ferguson, M.Ac., L.Ac.

 

Often clients will hear their acupuncturists speaking about the five elements and their characteristics. The five elements are within us all, but we usually identify with one or two more strongly than the other elements. One of these elements is the Wood element. It is connected to the spring time which we are finally starting to see after this long and cold winter.  

The Wood element is identified by its color, sound, odor and emotion which are green, shout, rancid and anger. What does that mean? Well, these are the things your acupuncturist is going to start looking for to see if you identify as a wood element:

We’ll look for things like, does the color green pop up around the client’s corner of the eye?

Does their voice hold a level of command and confidence to it when they speak?

Do they smell rancid like a freshly cut tree or mowed grass? Is there a level of authority, determination, focus or drive within them?

These are some of the questions I ask myself as a practitioner when I am in the room with clients. So, what do you think? Are you a Wood element?

How Can Cupping Help Me?

by Kelly Ferguson, L.Ac.

Cupping is one of the many tools an acupuncturist has in their arsenal. It has been used for thousands of years and by many different cultures. 

How Cupping Works

An acupuncturist or trained professional will take a glass cup and momentarily place a flame within it,  removing the air and creating a vacuum or suction when applied to the skin. The cups will remain on the skin for 5-10 minutes and will either remain in place or be moved around by the practitioner. 

Cupping helps to resolve blood stasis, remove lymph or fluids in the tissue, and relieves muscle tension in the body.  Cupping essentially increases the circulation of blood and lymph in the body. Did you know you have more lymph fluid in your body than blood?  Lymphatic fluid helps remove toxins and muscular waste from your body and is excreted through your sweat, urine and bowel movements. 

When you receive cupping, the lymphatic system is removing the toxins and muscular waste, while fresh oxygenated blood rushes in to the area of cupping to help heal muscle tissue much faster (especially in the case of muscle injuries).

Further, cupping is often used for Allergies, High Blood Pressure, Respiratory Conditions such as a cold or bronchitis, and Musculoskeletal conditions like back, shoulder or neck pain/tension.  Last year when Michael Phelps had cupping marks at the Olympics, we received many questions about cupping.

 

Hopefully this article helps answer some of your questions and perhaps help you form more questions. Please contact us with your new questions and curiosity about cupping if you or your family member is ready to try this awesome modality. 

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