Acupuncture Services of Central NY

There are many good books on the market for auricular acupuncture and I have several in my reference library, but there is one that is special to me – “Modern Chinese Ear Acupuncture” by Ping Chen. Dr. Chen (though she always insisted that we call her Ping) was one of my professors at the International Institute of Chinese Medicine in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a dedicated teacher and compassionate doctor and I am very grateful to have had her as a mentor.

Ping’s book is thorough in point location and indications with detailed diagrams and case studies. She speaks of many ways to stimulate the auricular points including seed acupressure, needle implantation, plum blossom needling, ear moxibustion, ear massage, medicated plasters, electroacupuncture, magnet therapy, medicine injection and bloodletting.

Bloodletting is commonly done to the ear apex to treat a variety of conditions. The ear apex is located at the top of the ear. If you take the back of the ear and fold it towards the face, the ear apex located at the top of the ear where the crease is formed. First massage the auricle until the ear becomes red and warm. Bloodletting is done with a small three-edged needle after the area is carefully sterilized with alcohol. Prick the apex to draw three to five drops of blood and then stop the bleeding with pressure using a sterile cotton ball.

This procedure discharges heat from the body and is calming for the patient, relaxing tension and alleviating pain. This technique is very effective for reducing fever. Generally, fever will be reduced by 0.8-1.2 degrees centigrade a half hour after bloodletting and will return to normal within three daily treatments. Another common application is the treatment of early stage sty where the eyelid is marked by redness and swelling. Bleeding the ear apex is often the first step in a treatment protocol for treating migraine, acute sore throat, psoriasis, acne, insomnia and hypertension.

When I left Albuquerque, Dr. Chen was treating patients and hosting seminars for both acupuncturists and the general public at her beautiful Yi Ling Medical Center. If you get the opportunity to stop in and meet her, tell her that I remember her words of wisdom every day in my own clinic.

About the Author:

Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist that provides acupuncture therapy in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Posted by Joyce Marley at 06:37 PM | Bleeding the Ear Apex

A local support group for heart and stroke patients asked me recently to give a talk about acupuncture and Chinese medicine at one of their monthly meetings. One gentleman approached me afterwards and said that he had not slept well since his heart bypass surgery, which had been about three years earlier. This did not surprise me, as the Heart in Chinese medicine is said to house the spirit and has a lot to do with the body’s ability to sleep peacefully. Since the problem was becoming really worrisome (he only slept two hours a night), and he did not want to add another medication to his long list of prescriptions, he decided he had nothing to lose by trying acupuncture treatments.

We started weekly treatments. I used points that are well known to calm the mind and nourish the heart to help sleep. For a couple of weeks, he would sleep better for a night or two only to return to the same pattern of two hours a night. After four treatments he was getting discouraged, and even though I did not expect to turn around a three year-old habit overnight, I was searching all of my materials for the best protocol for his constitution.

As so often happens when I return to my well-read reference books, I stumbled across a point that I thought would help my patient. A Master Tung point that is used for poor sleep due to heart disease – 77.17, Tian Huang or Heavenly Emperor. Though most of Master Tung’s acupuncture points are not on the regular meridians, this was one point that is located exactly at Spleen 9. Never in my TCM training was this point emphasized for heart disease. It is a point used for water metabolism – abdominal bloating and edema of the legs. And yet, in Miriam Lee’s book, “Master Tong’s Acupuncture”, she recalls cases where she observed Master Tung use this point for heart disease problems, including poor sleep.

Since purchasing this book, I have been told that there are typographical errors and incorrect point locations and diagrams. So, it may not be the best reference for Master Tung points, but I still find the case examples invaluable. And this is an excellent example.

The next treatment I gave included Du20, Yintang, Ear shenmen and point zero bilaterally to calm the mind, and Tian Huang. That was it. The gentleman slept 6-7 hours a night every night that week! We repeated the treatment another two times. It has now been several weeks since I have seen him, but he called the other day just to wish me a happy New Year and to tell me that he was still sleeping fine.

These are the times that I absolutely love what I do!

About the Author:

Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist with a practice in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Posted by Joyce Marley at 08:49 AM | Insomnia Due to Heart Disease

by Dr. Chen Decheng

I have written before about the power of a single point being able to resolve pain in the body, but here is a book from my library that documents 100 diseases that can be treated with a single point!

Many of the points that Dr. Decheng writes about are well known points either on the regular meridians or extra points that are commonly taught in acupuncture schools around the country. For example, a point on the leg on the stomach meridian (ST38) is commonly used to treat frozen shoulder. The master point of the Du meridian, which runs through the spine, (SI3) is commonly used to treat stiff neck. Moxa (an herb) is burned over the point BL67 (next to the nail on the little toe) to correct a transverse or breech fetal position. And the extra point Er Bai, on the palmer aspect of the forearm, is specifically used to treat hemorrhoids.

But here are a few of the points that I personally was not familiar with until I added this book to my collection.

Morning Sickness: Acupuncture is very effective at alleviating nausea. I would think that all acupuncturists would be familiar with a point on the inner wrist (PC6) that is very famous for treating nausea. (In fact there are now wristbands available in most any drugstore that use acupressure on this point for motion sickness.) But I did not know that a commonly used point on the ear would also alleviate morning sickness. Very small tack needles are placed on the point Shenmen in the triangular fossa of the ear. The patient is instructed to finger press the needles 50 times morning, noon and night. Because this point can stimulate the auricular branch of the vagus nerve, digestive muscles are controlled and regulated. Symptoms are often cured in three treatments.

Hiccup: A point located in the depression behind the earlobe, SJ17, can be pressed by the patient using the tip of the index fingers while breathing deeply. Acupressure alone can be effective for an acute or mild attack. For severe or chronic cases, acupuncture to this point will be necessary.

Diarrhea: There is a diarrhea experience point below the lateral malleolus, on the border of the red and white skin of the foot. For children, this point can be stimulated with a moxa stick for 15 minutes on each side, 1-2 times a day. For acute diarrhea in adults, acupuncture on this point can be very effective.

Ulcerative stomatitis (mouth ulcers): Using a moxa stick over the naval for about 10 minutes daily can be very effective to treat this condition usually within a day or two.

Urticaria: This is an allergic skin disease characterized by a sudden onset of severe burning and itching wheals. Urticaria is due to immune deficiency. Using a cupping technique on the umbilicus can increase the immunity function of the body. Dr. Decheng recommends doing the cupping technique, leaving the cup over the naval for 3 minutes, taking it off and repeating for another 3 minutes. Repeat 2-3 times a day.

Dysfunctional uterine bleeding: Duanhong (an experience point between the knuckles of the second and middle finger) is treated with both acupuncture and moxabustion. A two cun needle is inserted horizontally one to two cun deep and manipulated until the patient feels qi. Then the needle is left for 20 minutes while a moxa stick is used around the needle in a circular motion for 10-15 minutes. Treat daily until bleeding stops.

Retention of urine: Liniao is an experience point on the Ren meridian midway between Ren 2 and Ren 8. Acupressure is used on this point using the tip of the thumb. Press and roll for 15 minutes until the patient feels the desire to pass urine and continue until finishing urination. This is a good technique to teach your patient with urinary problems. I am using this currently with a gentleman who has been diagnosed with “lazy bladder”.

Insomnia: Zudigenbu (an experience point on the heel) is treated with acupuncture daily. One course of treatment is six times.

Weight loss: I ask my weight loss patients to add this simple acupressure routine to their day to help with weight loss. While lying in bed, press and rotate Ren 4 (a point 3 inches below the naval) in a circular motion for 30 minutes once a day for more than 25 days.

What I love about this book is the fact that these techniques can often be given to the patient for “homework” to strengthen the effect of regular acupuncture treatments.

About the Author:

Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist that provides acupuncture therapy in New Hartford, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Posted by Joyce Marley at 08:26 AM | 100 Diseases Treated by Single Point of Acupuncture and Moxibustion

In March of 2006, I attended an excellent weekend seminar at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC entitled Acupuncture for the Cancer Patient. They offer this seminar to licensed acupuncturists and other health care professionals twice a year. This seminar, sponsored by the Integrative Medicine Service, is so popular, I had been on a waiting list for a year.

The Integrative Medicine Service at Sloan-Kettering was established in 1999 and has grown exponentially. They offer many complementary therapies, including acupuncture and massage, on both an inpatient and outpatient basis. They conduct research studies on the effectiveness of acupuncture. And they offer their expertise to other health care facilities around the country on the best way to integrate this adjunctive care into the mainstream protocols.

The weekend seminar that I attended focused on detailed discussions of several types of cancers, including cancer of the lung, breast, prostate, colon and head and neck cancers. For each type, the faculty would discuss risk factors, signs and symptoms, staging criteria, and mainstream interventions such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

The course objective for our audience was to discuss the role of acupuncture as a supportive treatment for symptom management and preventative care. Research shows that acupuncture can affect the whole body, regulating the immune system, digestive, circulatory, endocrine, urinary and nervous systems.

Specific points and protocols were discussed. Pre-surgery, acupuncture is used to promote relaxation and prevent infection and side effects. Post-surgery, acupuncture is used to control pain, improve bowel and urinary functions, decrease swelling and prevent scar tissue. Acupuncture is especially emphasized to alleviate the toxic side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. Symptoms that may be addressed are fatigue, nausea, anemia, low white blood cell counts, diarrhea or constipation, hair loss, neuropathy, hot flashes, dry mouth and pain. Anxiety, insomnia and depression are addressed not only for the cancer patient, but for the whole family that is affected by the cancer experience.

The most memorable part of the seminar for me was when one of their patients, a breast cancer survivor, shared her experience. She described the long painful process of reconstructive surgery and how acupuncture helped her get through it.

I just got a card in the mail the other day from Sloan-Kettering. They now offer an advanced seminar on acupuncture for the cancer patient. I do believe that integrating alternative therapies into our western medical system will give us the best of both worlds in the future. Our goal should be to treat the whole person: body, mind and spirit.

About the Author:


Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist serving the Utica-Rome, NY. She writes alternative health articles about acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).

Posted by Joyce Marley at 08:04 AM | Acupuncture For The Cancer Patient

I often tell my patients that there are many styles of acupuncture and many theories of how to select the points for a treatment. A person could go to three different acupuncturists and potentially have three completely different treatments that all could very well be effective. As a practitioner, I want to have as many tools of the trade at my disposal as possible. Some techniques may be better suited for children or needle phobic patients. Some systems may be better suited to those who are physically unable to lie on a treatment table for any length of time. Sometimes, a patient just doesn’t respond to a particular approach and it is always nice to have a plan ‘B’.

Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture (WAA) is a relatively new branch of the acupuncture field. Dr. Xinshu Zhang brought the system into being in Shanghai, China in the 1970’s. It differs considerably from meridian style acupuncture in both theory and needle technique. The best English text on the subject that I am aware of is “Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture, Methods and Applications” written by He Hon Lao, MD. It is an excellent instructional and reference resource. Enough pictures and diagrams are provided of point location and needling considerations, so that with a little practice any acupuncture practitioner could become proficient in the technique.

In traditional acupuncture, there are 361 standardized acupuncture points along 14 channels. In WAA there are only six points above the wrist and six points above the ankle. The body is divided into six bilateral longitudinal zones, each one corresponding to one of the wrist or ankle points. Horizontally, the body is divided in half at the xiphoid process. If the disease or symptom occurs above that horizontal line, a wrist point is selected. If below, an ankle point is selected.

The WAA method not only treats pain and numbness in the body, but also treats a variety of internal, psychological, neurological and dermatological disorders. Some of the clinical applications and case studies in the book include migraines, tmj, trigeminal neuralgia, sciatica, back pain, Bell’s palsy, and carpal tunnel. Systemically, protocols are given for such ailments as insomnia, anxiety, bedwetting, and hypertension.

Needles are inserted subcutaneously for about an inch and a half without obtaining any deqi sensation. With proper insertion, the patient feels absolutely no sensation. Because the needles are so superficial, they are often left embedded (securely fixed with a sterile adhesive bandage) for severe or chronic conditions. Needles are often retained for as long as 24 hours.

A couple of years ago, I attended a seminar at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC. WAA was one of the techniques that they recommended to treat cancer pain because the technique utilizes distal points and because the patient can take the treatment home with them.

There have been a couple of interesting articles in the Journal of Chinese Medicine that discuss WAA. An excellent article, entitled “ Wrist And Ankle Acupuncture Therapy” in the September 1991 issue, discusses the technique, theory and applications. Another article, in the October 1999 issue, entitled ”The Treatment of Stress Syndromes By Acupuncture” uses WAA in conjunction with traditional acupuncture points to relieve neck and shoulder tension. Another more recent article, in the February 2006 issue, is entitled ”The Treatment of Chronic Shoulder Pain With Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture”. WAA may be a good alternative for treating back and sciatic pain during pregnancy. And I have colleagues who swear by this technique for Restless Leg Syndrome.

I think WAA is a must for both the practitioner and the serious student of acupuncture to have in their bag of tricks!

About the Author:
Joyce Marley is a licensed acupuncturist that provides acupuncture therapy in New Hartford, NY. She writes Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) health articles about acupuncture and Oriental medicine.

Posted by Joyce Marley at 07:57 PM | Wrist-Ankle Acupuncture Methods and Applications