One of the few things I really miss about living in Pennsylvania are the leaves changing color in the fall. It is truly spectacular.  If you ever have a chance to go see this, don’t miss it. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the year is broken into five seasons – autumn is the fourth.  With each season, the weather changes and we should be making slight changes in our lifestyle to stay at our optimal healthy state. One of the most beautiful aspects of traditional Chinese medicine is as a tool to live harmoniously with the seasons. Ancient Chinese physicians observed the natural cycles of the seasons and recorded the best everyday practices for staying healthy and harmonizing our own energy with that of our environment. I’ve  posted an article ” Autumn, Acupuncture and TCM” on my website.  To read the full article, click here. . . . . . You’ll learn an acupressure point for autumn as well as foods you should be eating during this season. Tradtional Chinese Medicine or TCM focus is on you staying healthy, not just treating illness.

Traditional Chinese Medicine  or  TCM  has the most fully developed and comprehensive Chinese herbal system in the world.  As people gain awareness of the benefits and safety in using herbs, this ancient tradition of treating health problems with herbal medicine has grown in popularity in the US. Chinese herbs are herbs found all over the world, not just China!    For most of the history of mankind, health problems were treated with herbs by those who were learned in the proper use and application, as acupuncturists are today. These herbs are  grown all over the world.    Remember, in grade school, learning about the middle regions of the US, called the ‘bread basket’;  quite a few Chinese herbs are grown in this region.   In fact, the United States is #1 in the production of ginseng, a renown herb for improving energy and sexual function. The use of herbs is believed to date from the beginnings of mankind and herbal formulas have been found by archeologists on stone and shells from well over 5,000 years ago.  Many of the herbal medicinal formulas currently used today have been well documented for at least one to two thousand years, with practitioners keeping records of their effects on patients. As acupuncturists learn about herbs, and herbal formulas, they also learn best uses, side-effects and what not to use them for.  When these herbs garner media attention as did ephedra did  in weight loss products in the past decade, it’s because of how Western medical practitioners prescribed them, not Oriental medicine practitioners. Now, one of the things with herbs that was discovered many, many years ago is that they almost always work better combined with other herbs.  Very rarely, will your acupuncturist recommend a single herb to you.  There are thousands of herbal formulations tried and tested over hundreds of years for many different health problems. Many herbal medicines seem to be good for the same problem, so you might think it’s ok to just pick something up at the health food store.  However, you really should make sure what you are taking is appropriate for you.  Many formulas  have slight alterations based on someone’s presentation (their symptoms) and you could cause yourself problems by taking the wrong one. For example, there are several herbal formulas for arthritic pain which depend on where the pain is in the body, and what factors affect the pain such as if it’s windy, humid, rainy, hot or cold.  My recommendation is to always have a workup done by a qualified Oriental Medicine Practitioner to determine the best herbal medicine for your health problem. You don’t always have to have acupuncture done when you see your acupuncturist.  I personally have a significant percentage of patients that only take herbs.    I also offer online and phone consultations for herbs, so it doesn’t matter where you are in the country. For more information on my clinic: the Blue Orchid Healing Center, click here. and for more information on receiving just herbal consultations, click here

That’s a tough question because at Blue Orchid Healing Center we treat the whole body. As such, we end up treating not only issues that might prompt you to contact us initially, but also other secondary ailments that are resulting from imbalances in the body. Since the body’s systems are being stimulated and balanced, a wide range of conditions can benefit from treatment. Any pain condition, including musculo-skeletal problems, neurological problems, injuries, women’s health, face lifts, stress reduction, asthma, allergies, colds and flu, difficult cases, wellness and overall health enhancement are just a few of the conditions that can be helped. When you decide that you want to have acupuncture, you’ll need to narrow your focus on only one or two problems.  Most of us have a laundry list of complaints that we’d love to get rid of, however, acupuncture doesn’t work on all sorts of problems at once. The reason for this is that you’ll receive much better results focusing treatment on only one or two complaints.  When you want every single problem you have treated, then treatment will be too scattered and almost worthless – by this I mean you won’t achieve the results you want.  When you see other types of health practitioners, they’ll tell you the same thing. So while you’re thinking about getting acupuncture, start thinking about exactly what problem you need treated. Now, often you’ll have other symptoms that may be helped by your acupuncturist treating your main complaint.  If your acupuncturist thinks this will occur, they’ll mention it to you and tell you what to look for. In future posts, I’ll review whole categories of problems that acupuncture, Oriental Medicine and herbs can help.  Since pain (for any reason) is why most people seek treatment, I’ll start with that one. If you have specific questions on what acupuncture can treat – leave a comment or email me. Please see our comprehensive list of commonly treated ailments.

Not Really!  It depends a lot on where the needles are inserted and your sensitivity. The needles used in acupuncture are finer than a human hair and sometimes could produce very slight pinch. Most sensation is caused by the effect of the needle on your system. This can range from nothing to a sensation of heaviness or pressure. Many of my clients report that they feel nothing.  Yet others are occasionally sensitive when the needles are inserted. Here’s what I experience when I get acupuncture: I can tell that the needle is inserted.   It seems to range from a dull heaviness to a sharp pinch. If it pinches, the sensation goes away almost immediately.  Then none of the needles hurt! Please read the article “About Acupuncture” for more information about Oriental Medicine and acupuncture.