Acupuncture Services of Central NY

Several years ago, before I knew anything about acupuncture or acupressure, I was talked into taking a three day cruise from Miami to the Bahamas. Within an hour of leaving port, the ship was pitching and rolling and I was confined to my cabin so nauseous that I knew this could end up being the longest three days of my life rather than the dream vacation I had hoped for. I recently came across this article written by Dr. Amaro in 1994 and thought I would share it with you. He describes eight very famous acupuncture points that can be stimulated by acupressure to relieve motion sickness and morning sickness. Most ships now have an acupuncturist on board. If you are traveling, bring this article with you. Any acupuncturist can show you the acupuncture points that Dr. Amaro talks about. Nei Guan, P6, on the inner wrist is the acupuncture point that is stimulated by the wrist bands that are now marketed for motion sickness. Don't let your chair be the only empty one on deck!

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Posted by Joyce Marley at 06:41 AM | Acupressure for Motion Sickness and Morning Sickness

Acupuncture can provide relief for both back pain and sciatic pain. I see it every day in my practice. Back strain and sciatic pain are quite common in pregnant women starting in the second trimester. As the baby grows, the weight distribution on the lumbar spine and sacroiliac joints, along with the associated muscles and tissues, changes quickly and drastically. Women may alter their posture to compensate for this change or fall into a habit of poor posture due to fatigue from carrying this new weight. At the same time, hormonal changes in the body are causing the ligaments in the pelvic area to relax and soften in preparation for labor and delivery. This can cause instability of the sacroiliac joints.

Western medicine offers very little help for this condition other than rest and seems to not take it too seriously, since the cause of the problem will go away in a few months. But for those working women who must continue to function until close to their due date, the pain can be quite unbearable. It can affect their ability to do their job and can interfere with getting a good night's sleep. Without relief, these women will be exhausted even before delivering and caring for a new infant. Fortunately, acupuncture is quite safe and effective in treating back pain and sciatic pain during pregnancy.

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Posted by Joyce Marley at 09:51 AM | Acupuncture for Pregnancy Sciatic Pain

Acupuncture treats almost any kind of pain, but I rarely get a patient who comes to me specifically for the treatment of tailbone pain. And this is a very common ailment. Slips and falls can result in fractures and bruises of the tailbone. Sometimes the tailbone can be irritated or injured during pregnancy from the position of the fetus or during a difficult labor and delivery.

So why don't people consider acupuncture for the treatment of tailbone pain? Is it because they are deathly afraid of where they think I will put the needles? Or is it because they have been silently suffering and told by their physicians that only time will heal?

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Posted by Joyce Marley at 08:27 PM | Acupuncture For Tailbone Pain

Anxiety in Chinese medicine is almost always associated with a disturbance of the Heart energy. Chinese medicine believes that the Heart houses the mind. The Heart energy is susceptible to being agitated by heat in the body and may result in anxiety, insomnia and restlessness.

Giovanni Maciocia, author of "Obstetrics & Gynecology in Chinese Medicine", devotes a whole chapter to the explanation and treatment of anxiety during pregnancy. In most cases, anxiety can be explained by Heat in the body during pregnancy.

For a proper diagnosis and treatment, Heat in the body must be identified as excess (or Full Heat), deficient (or Empty Heat), or Phlegm Heat. Anxiety and mental restlessness could be present in all patterns of Heat.

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Posted by Joyce Marley at 06:31 AM | Acupuncture for Anxiety During Pregnancy

Up to 25% of babies at some point in a pregnancy are in a breech position, but by 34 weeks most fetuses turn into a head-down, or vertex, position on their own. This is the normal and safest fetal position for birth. Delivering a baby in a breech position involves several risks to the infant. Most obstetricians in todays world therefore will opt to perform a caesarean section if the fetus has not turned on its own.

Moxibustion, the burning of the herb mugwort over an acupuncture point, in this case Bl-67 on the little toe, has been shown to be very effective to turn the fetus. Here is an excellent video where Dr. Lorne Brown, an acupuncturist from Vancouver Canada, demonstrates the procedure. I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Brown at a seminar in Toronto last year where Jane Lyttleton lectured on Traditional Chinese Medicine in the treatment of infertility.

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Posted by Joyce Marley at 03:51 AM | Moxibustion For Breech Pregnancy

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.

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