Inger’s Blog

Most patients who come to see me describe their primary complaint as being pain-related: chronic low back pain, cervical pain, headaches, etc. After several treatments and noticeable relief, many patients will then ask, “Can acupuncture help with weight loss?” My response is yes, but I also stress that treating weight loss, just like treatment for smoking cessation, requires a partnership between the practitioner and the patient. I provide an appropriate acupuncture treatment based on the individual’s pattern presentation, taking their entire self into account, and the patient must do what she or he can in aiding the treatments. For example, we all know when it comes to weight loss that exercise is a key component. I like to refer to exercise as a way to “move your body’s qi,” your body’s vital energy that circulates within various channels. By moving your body’s qi, you are increasing your body’s ability to do work, such as metabolize foods more effectively. In addition, it’s important to consider changing the foods you eat and when you eat them. Again, this is a very individual-driven effort. I can help by making some Chinese dietary suggestions. Like Chinese medicine generally, Chinese food therapy is based on balance. Too many damp foods can cause damp accumulation and stagnation. Balance also stems from how and when you eat your food. Do you eat at a table, in a quiet room? Or do you eat in your car or while at the computer? Do you eat in hurry or when you are sad or angry? All of these examples can have a direct effect on your digestive process.

Weight loss can be extremely difficult for some because many people have an emotional and even addictive relationship with food. Some people may eat when they are not physically hungry but because they are “stressed out.” Some people cannot stop thinking about food and find relief only when they have eaten or, most likely, overeaten. And often there are feelings of guilt after such a meal. Acupuncture can be helpful in treating these types of food cravings, by helping to decrease the degree of cravings the patient feels and by helping the patient learn how to relax. Once the cravings decrease, it’s possible to get deeper into the issues of why these eating habits formed in the first place. In these types of cases I may refer the patient to an experienced therapist in this field.

Chinese medicine sees each personal as an individual, with his or her own unique pattern presentation. And when it comes to weight loss, each person has a unique relationship with food. That relationship means an individualized treatment plan based on the pattern presentation at hand is a must. If you have followed my blog (thank you if you have!), you know that individual attention and unique treatments are almost always my focus.

This weekend on “KUOW Presents” in a show called “The Gift Of Secrecy, Race On TV, And The Weight Of War,” there was a segment on the military offering alternative therapies, especially acupuncture, to treat soldiers injured by the weight of combat gear. This segment comes up during the second hour of the news show…worth listening to!

http://www.kuow.org/podcast/KUOWPresents/20110218MaryDispenza.mp3

—Inger

Happy New Year to you! I hope you had a restful holiday. Although we are entering a new year, we are still in the midst of winter. Winter from a Chinese medicine perspective is a time for rest and renewal. Yin energy is predominant, meaning the body’s natural tendency is to be more still: to stay at home, read, regroup, rest. Some people may experience a general lack of a desire to be social or participate in major external activities. Don’t feel guilty or “lazy” about feeling this way. You are living according to nature’s natural cycle. Just wait until spring; you will find you have a surge of newfound energy!

Winter is a good time to start up with regular acupuncture treatments. The external environment and change in the weather patterns, such as wind, rain, and snow, can bring on colds especially if you are feeling run down and exhausted. I’m treating a lot of patients with head colds and the initial onset of cough and fevers lately. As soon as you are feeling symptoms such as headache, body aches, unusual sweating, fever, chills, sore throat, cough, fatigue and/or depression, it means it’s time to schedule an acupuncture appointment. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs are very effective in treating the initial onset of colds. While my patients are resting on the treatment table with their needles, I will then prepare an herbal formula for them to take home. I decipher whether their particular cold is more of a Wind-Cold pattern or a Wind-Heat pattern. The prepared formulas are different based on these patterns presentations.

In Chinese Medicine, a “Wind-Cold” and a “Wind-Heat” are two types of early-stage Cold patterns. For example, a patient with a Wind-Cold pattern will present with the following symptoms: fever and chills, head and body aches, clear or white nasal discharge, and a floating pulse. There are many types of Wind-Cold disorders, but the key treatment strategy is to release the pathogen from the exterior by inducing sweating. Based on the individual patient’s pattern presentation, I will decide the appropriate formula for the patient’s Wind-Cold pattern and prescribe an herbal formula accordingly. Alternatively, a patient with a Wind-Heat pattern will present with the following symptoms: fever, sweating, slight chills or a minor aversion to wind, headache, thirst, and a sore throat. Patients may also have a cough and/or redness surrounding their eyes. The pulse is usually floating or rapid. And the tongue can have a white or slightly yellow coating with slight redness at the tip. Heat moves quickly through the body and therefore herbal formulas for Wind-Heat patterns include herbs that are acrid and cooling, which help to release the pathogenic influence at the exterior level as well as clear heat. Also, pathogenic heat patterns tend to attack the lungs first and “injure the fluids” (causing dehydration). These formulas help to generate fluids and help the lungs to disseminate and descend fluids downwards.

Hopefully this will help you better understand colds from a Chinese medicine perspective. If this is confusing you, that’s okay too! All you need to know is acupuncture and Chinese herbs are a wonderful way to resolve the initial onset of a cold as well as boost your qi (your vital energy) in order to prevent illness in the future.

Here’s to a year of good health!

—Inger

If you are new to acupuncture and are considering getting a treatment, it’s understandable that you will have some questions. After all, acupuncture involves the insertion of needles into the body!  I address some of these questions at my website on my “What To Expect” page.

If you’d like a visual understanding, here are some helpful YouTube videos demonstrating an acupuncture treatment:

Acupuncture New Patient appointment

Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine explanation and treatment

If you have any questions about acupuncture treatments or the conditions I can treat, feel free to contact me and I would be happy to answer them for you!

—Inger

You don’t need to be in pain to get acupuncture and you don’t need to be ill. Because Chinese medicine is preventative medicine, acupuncture as a monthly “tune-up” can be just as helpful. How? Chinese medicine’s focus is on the cultivation of your body’s qi (translated loosely as your body’s “vital energy”).  When your body’s qi is flourishing, it can better handle stresses and strains that may come your way. For example, if you are exposed too much to the elements—sun, wind, or dampness—or to toxins in our environment—molds, polluted air, and so on—you are likely to get sick. If your body’s qi has been supplemented through regular acupuncture treatments, it can better handle these external pressures. 

With the healthcare reform debate continuing, one approach that is widely agreed upon by medical doctors, naturopaths, and Chinese medicine practitioners is that it is far better to prevent illness than to treat it once it has taken root within the body.  Chinese medicine focuses on this preventative approach.  I have stressed on my web page that Chinese medicine is not just about acupuncture.  It includes the five modalities: acupuncture, tui na (Chinese therapeutic massage), dietary therapy, Chinese herbs, and qi gong (exercise). When you come in for a treatment, I may apply tui na (for example, after your acupuncture treatment), as well as prescribe herbs. I am also likely to discuss ways for you to cultivate your qi in your everyday life, through eating balanced meals and exercising regularly. Of course, my recommendations from a Chinese medical perspective are made in response to your unique health status and state of being. Although preventative medicine is good for all, preventative approaches are not the same for all! Write me or make an appointment if you’d like to discuss appropriate preventative medicine for you.   

—Inger