Conditions Treated

Conditions Treated with Acupuncture & East Asian Medicine

The following list of conditions below is compiled from traditional sources of Chinese medicine and from Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trial by World Health Organization (WHO).  Acupuncture and other Chinese medicine modalities can play varying roles at different stages in treatment of the conditions listed below based on ancient alternative Chinese medical concepts and theory.  We do not diagnose, treat, or cure these biomedical conditions and they are provided only as a guide to help you consider adding traditional East Asian medical treatments as part of your overall biomedical treatment plan.  We provide free consults to determine if our services are appropriate on a case by case basis.  The broad categories, with some examples, include:

Pain

Pain related to head and face, musculoskeletal system, gout, biliary or renal colic (gallbladder stones), traumatic or post-operative pain, dental pain, phantom limb pain

Gynecological and Obstetric disorders

Infertility, dysmenorrhea (painful periods), amenorrhea or irregular menstruation, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), poly-cystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), uterine fibroids, pregnancy related nausea, preparation for labor and delivery, breech presentation, promote lactation, menopausal symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats

Neurological disorders

Headaches, migraines, stroke, post-herpetic neuralgia, seizures, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetic neuropathy, restless leg syndrome, Meniere's disease, tinnitus, fibromyalgia

Orthopedic disorders

Osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, bursitis, elbow pain (tennis elbow, golfer's elbow), plantar fasciitis and the foot problems, carpel tunnel syndrome, fractures, hip pain, shoulder pain, neck pain, soft tissue injuries, sports injuries, trigger finger, tendonitis, low back pain

Digestive disorders

Constipation, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, peptic ulcer, gastric spasms, gastritis, gastroparesis, GERD (acid reflux), biliary colic, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease

Infections

Chronic sinusitis, frequent colds and upper respiratory infections, frequent urinary tract infections, shingles, mastitis

Respiratory disorders

Allergic rhinitis (seasonal allergies), tonsillitis, asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, COPD, laryngitis

Urogenital disorders

Urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, decreased libido, chronic prostatitis, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH)

Cardiovascular disorders

Hypertension (high blood pressure), angina pectoris (chest pain), congestive heart failure, coronary heart disease, hyperlipidemia (high cholesterol)

Psychiatric disorders

Stress, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, addiction and detox (nicotine, alcohol, opioids, heroin, etc), insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders

Pediatric disorders

Tourette's Syndrome, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), frequent colds and ear infections

Dermatological disorders

Acne, psoriasis, eczema, pruritus, cosmetic enhancement through facial rejuvenation

 

On Integration of Traditional East Asian Medicine

Traditional East Asian Medicine, based on traditional Chinese medicine, is defined as a type of complementary and alternative medicine that can be integrated with modern biomedical primary care to achieve therapeutic outcomes and reduce healthcare costs.  It includes acupuncture, herbal and dietary medicine, meditative therapeutic exercises, and bodywork that have been in clinical use for at least two thousand years in China and other Asian countries, and for the past few centuries spreading globally.

Above you will find a list of biomedical diseases, symptoms, or conditions that Chinese medicine may be effective at treating.  Please note that this biomedical list is provided only as a guide to some of the possible uses of Chinese medicine for those who are unfamiliar with traditional diagnostic and treatment concepts.   Chinese medicine is an ancient, pre-scientific medical system with its own independent view of physiology, pathology, and treatment strategies that can be successfully integrated into biomedical care provided by other healthcare professionals.  For example, a patient diagnosed, by their medical doctor, with osteoarthritis of the knee can alternatively be diagnosed by an acupuncturist as having 'Bi Syndrome' which means painful obstruction syndrome which can further be clinically differentiated as painful obstruction due to wind, damp, cold or combination of the three.  An acupuncturist does not treat osteoarthritis of the knee but  rather the obstruction of Qi and blood due to pathogenic influences based on ancient medical diagnostic system.  The goals are to eliminate pain, increase range of motion, and improve quality of life based on assessment and treatment which is very different from the way a medical doctor will approach it to meet the same goals.  This is an important concept to understand.  A person identified with pattern of Lung Qi (Chi) deficiency by an acupuncturist may be diagnosed by their medical doctor with seasonal allergies, asthma, chronic bronchitis, etc.  Same disease can present with different patterns of imbalances in different patients and will require different treatment strategies; different diseases can present with similar patterns of imbalances and same or similar treatment strategies will be applied.

There are several ways acupuncture and other modalities of traditional East Asian medicine can be utilized to prevent or treat various aliments based on traditional concepts of health and illness.  We encourage our patients and their physicians to work together with us to improve, manage, and monitor patient's health from multiple medical perspectives in an integrative holistic approach.  With patient and physician consent, we can provide periodic updates and recommendations electronically to other members of patient's healthcare team.  We also refer patients to their primary care providers or emergency room if any red-flags are identified during our assessment before any treatment is provided.

Here are some strategies on how to add integrative holistic healthcare services to your overall modern patient-centered team approach:

  1. Periodic Wellness or Maintenance Consultations:  Prevention based on root imbalances detected from physical exam, assessment & constitutional predispositions.  Seasonal tune ups are also critical for prevention and health maintenance.  We do not diagnose, treat, or cure any biomedical conditions.  We can only provide support from clinical pharmacy perspective and treat specific traditional imbalances from East Asian medical perspective.  This would be similar to wellness visits to the pediatrician, or annual physical with a primary care physician, or regular follow-up visit with your cardiologist or other specialists for specific chronic health conditions, or similar to getting an annual flu shot at your local pharmacy, or seeing a pharmacist for annual medication therapy management consult.
  2. Consults for specific symptoms, diseases, or conditions:  Consider scheduling a consult with us for an evaluation after your physician has diagnosed and prepared a treatment plan for you for new or existing symptoms or conditions.  We can collaborate with your physician(s) and provide complementary and alternative treatments along with Medication Therapy Management services to address your specific needs and enhance the care you are receiving from other healthcare providers.  Some scenarios include: 
    • Adverse drug reactions:  Combination of clinical pharmacy medication therapy consult with East Asian medical consult to address temporary and transient side effects of new medications or on-going and delayed onset adverse drug reactions from chronic medication use.   Some examples include acupuncture use for chemotherapy-induced or pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting refractory to antiemetics; or neuromuscular and skeletal pain with long-term treatment plan with aromatase inhibitors (Femara, Aromasin, or Arimidex) for breast cancer.  We can provide support with many adverse side-effects of prescription medications that may interfere with adherence to medication, therapeutic goals established by your physician, or quality of life.
    • Surgical or medical procedure support:  utilizing acupuncture before and after major or minor surgical procedures for pain and recovery support, or integrating acupuncture for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or other assisted reproductive technologies (ART) as part of infertility treatments.
  3. Lifestyle Enhancement Consults:
    •  Smoking Cessation support
    • Weight loss support
    • Facial rejuvenation with cosmetic acupuncture & individually tailored facial herbal products for topical use
    • Natural sports performance support with acupuncture and herbal medicine for athletes and martial artists.