We have treatment space available for a massage therapist or two!
The Salem Whole Health Center, a group practice, has space available in our quiet offices. Currently our group of health professionals includes acupuncture, massage and psychological counseling.
We have shared space available for another massage therapist or two.
Massage room at the Salem Whole Health Center
The office is in a quiet building. Reception area is shared. Rent depends on number of hours/days per week.
The Salem Whole Health Center is a health services boutique for body, mind and spirit. We are located at 19 Front Street in downtown Salem, MA. For more information call Norman Kraft, L.Ac. at 978-394-4490 or email nkraft@myacudoc.com
Fall Massage Special at ACS
Who couldn’t use a bit of pampering as we are all back to school, back to work, back to everything. Book an acupuncture session between now and October 24, 2009 and receive 50% off a massage with Catie of Spirit Wellness. Coupon for discount available when you come for your acupuncture appointment. Don’t miss out!
Your Acupuncturist is Cycling for Cancer Research
Many of my patients know that I am a cyclist, some have even seen me go by on one of my morning rides around the North Shore. On September 13, 2009, I’ll be participating in a 50 mile ride to raise funds for cancer research at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. It’s a good cause, and I’m happy to be part of this ride. If you’d like to help me meet my fundraising goal for this ride, visit my page at the A Reason to Ride site.
At least visit so you can see me in Lycra.
Thanks!
Obesity and Visceral Fat
I know that many people are struggling with weight gain and most recognize the risks of obesity. If a summer of activity hasn’t trimmed your waistline, though, this is the time to do something about it, before the fall and winter holiday seasons begin. Recently we have learned a lot more about the health risks of excess weight, in particular weight around the abdomen. Belly fat comes in two types, the surface fat immediately beneath your skin, and the deep visceral fat that surrounds your organs. Visceral fat is the most dangerous kind of fat for your body. It increases your heart disease risk, and may lead to insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes.
For men, in particular, if you have a hard, solid beer belly, and your waist measurement is more than 40 inches, you’re heading for trouble. The more science understands about the dangerous health risks of excess visceral fat, the more you should want to do something about it. What can you do?
First, reduce stress. Stress increases cortisol, a hormone that plays a role in making you crave food while also increasing fat accumulation (among other effects). That’s two bad things from one hormone, so reducing cortisol will be an important ingredient in getting and staying thinner and healthier. Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, massage, meditation and yoga are all effective ways to reduce stress.
Second, exercise is one of the best ways to help reduce deep belly fat. Even walking will help: just 30 days of walking 30 minutes each day can significantly reduce visceral fat. Having less visceral fat benefits your health even if you don’t lose weight, so forget about the scale and concentrate on reducing your waist measurement.
What’s really important is this: don’t ignore that spare tire. The more we learn about visceral fat and it’s involvement in heart disease, diabetes, cancer and dementia, the more reasons you have to lose that excess belly fat - or help someone else lose theirs.
May is National Arthritis Month
An x-ray of arthritis in the hand
Arthrtis is the most common cause of disability in the U.S.
The Arthritis Foundation notes: “Arthritis is a debilitating disease that profoundly impacts the lives of millions of Americans on a daily basis,” said John H. Klippel, M.D., president and CEO, Arthritis Foundation. “The effects of the 46 million Americans with arthritis on the economy are enormous; the direct and indirect medical costs of this disease are estimated to be $128 billion each year. With the aging of baby boomers, the prevalence of arthritis is expected to rise by 40 percent - that is up to 67 million people - by the year 2030.
Nearly all those suffering with arthritis have pain as a or the major symptom. While acupuncture doesn’t cure arthritis, when combined with Chinese herbs, it is very effective in helping to manage or even eliminate pain.
Arthritis and Chinese Medicine
Arthritis in Chinese medicine is called Bi Zheng, which translates as painful obstruction syndrome. The flow of Qi and Blood is blocked causing pain and joint movement limitations. Most commonly, these conditions are made worse by Wind, Cold and Damp (Chinese pathogens), and many patients complain that these environmental factors worsen their pain.
In China and the U.S., acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine is used widely to help control the pain of arthritis. Treatments are most helpful and long-lasting when arthritis is in the early stages. For those with late stage arthritis and joint deformity, acupuncture can still help manage pain effectively, though it cannot repair the damage done to the joints.
Two recent cases I’ve treated show just some of the ways that acupuncture and Chinese herbs can be helpful in the management of arthritis:
The first is an 82 year-old man. He came to my office with advanced arthritis, significant joint deformity in his toes and fingers, with widespread pain and movement limitations. He could not hold a glass of water without dropping it because of the pain. He began a series of 8 acupuncture treatments, and I prescribed a Chinese herbal limiment to be used externally at home between treatments. By the 6th treatment, though no change was seen in the joint deformitites, the patient had enough reduction in pain that he was not only holding a water glass, but starting to play a little golf in his backyard. Continued treatment will be needed to maintain this progress in such an advanced case, but the patient is very happy with his results.
The second is a 62 year-old woman with early stage arthritis. She had joint aches in her hands, especially during cold or damp weather and during weather changes. She began a series of 6 acupuncture treatments, and took a Chinese herb formula internally. By the end of the six treatment, the aches were gone from her hands, even during weather changes. Her case is now managed with herbs and diet alone, and she has had no recurrence of pain in over four months.
EARTH HOUR lights out
Just a reminder to turn out your lights tonight during EARTH HOUR from 8:30pm -9:30pm. Thank you!
Acupuncture Research Merry-Go-Round
No sooner does a research study confirm that acupuncture is better than pills for chronic headaches, than another shows up proclaiming that acupuncture has no effect on headaches. This reminds me of the early days when the press began widely covering drug and supplement trials. “Research confirms product X is good for you!” “Research denies the Product X does anything!” “Research reconfirms that Product X is effective!” It’s enough to make your head spin.
In this case, the problem is partly the way this most recent study was carried out, and partly the way many journalists have a better eye for controversy than balanced, factual reporting. First, let’s look at a recent article about the acupuncture-doesn’t-work study, this one from the UK’s Daily Mail:
Unfortunately, when I examined the research, it became clear that sticking needles in patients is not as effective as many clinics claim. Indeed, research published last week reinforced the notion that the philosophy of Chinese acupuncture is mumbo-jumbo of the highest quality.
The most recent research was based on looking at several clinical trials in which acupuncturists treated patients with headaches.
According to Chinese philosophy, such complaints are due to imbalances in the flow of Ch’i (a supposed life energy) within meridians (channels that supposedly run through our bodies). Inserting needles at the right points along the meridians is meant to affect the Ch’i and cure the patient.
The recent research reviewed two types of acupuncture, namely real and fake. This means that one set of patients had needles inserted at key points along the meridians, while another set of patients had the needles inserted more or less anywhere.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
The writer goes on to describe a bit more about the study and how it “proved” that Chinese Medicine doesn’t work.
Interesting article, but it has the usual problems with press coverage of scientific trials. First, this was one small meta-study of a selected group of 14 studies, for one symptom. Other trials, just as rigorous (if not more), have shown benefit for headaches for correctly administered acupuncture. Dozens of them. None of these confirm or deny the overall efficacy of acupuncture. Like most studies, they examine one narrow topic.
Also, there are no “headache” points in acupuncture. Headaches fall into many categories, and are all treated differently. Acupuncturists don’t work on patients with a protocol in mind, but treat the patient individually, putting the symptom in the context of the person before choosing points. Did the researchers take that into account when choosing points? They almost never do.
Finally, I’ve noticed from reading about this study that there is little information about where the so-called non-acupuncture points were located. There are hundreds of acupuncture points on the body - how do they know they didn’t inadvertently use points or puncture channels that helped?
More important, the authors of the study aren’t so conclusive as the press likes to be. They summarized their findings as:
Fourteen trials compared true acupuncture with inadequate or fake acupuncture interventions in which needles were either inserted at incorrect points or did not penetrate the skin. In these trials both groups had fewer headaches than before treatment, but there was no difference between the effects of the two treatments. In the four trials in which acupuncture was compared to a proven prophylactic drug treatment, patients receiving acupuncture tended to report more improvement and fewer side effects. Collectively, the studies suggest that migraine patients benefit from acupuncture, although the correct placement of needles seems to be less relevant than is usually thought by acupuncturists.
There are too many problems with studies like these, when they treat acupuncture out of the context of the entire Chinese medical system. What they are really testing is a long way from what acupuncturists do in our clinics every day. Until researchers stop testing acupuncture as if it’s a drug, it’s best to take most Western research into acupuncture, both pro and con, with a grain of salt. It’s a fairly new field of study in the West, and it’s coming along, but it still has a long way to go.
Acupuncture Better Than Pills for Chronic Headaches
In an article in the Providence Journal, it was noted that new meta-studies show that acupuncture works better than pills for chronic headaches. A meta-study is research that reviews many other studies, discovering common findings and results. Headache is one of the most common complaints seen in any acupuncture clinic, and can generally be treated very effectively acupuncture. It looks as if Western research if finally catching up with what TCM practitioners have always known. An excerpt of the article is below:
For chronic headaches, the best treatment may be one of the oldest: acupuncture.
In 1998, the National Institutes of Health accepted acupuncture as a useful alternative treatment for headaches, but warned that there were not enough clinical trials to draw firm conclusions about its efficacy. Now a systematic review of studies through 2007 concludes that acupuncture provides greater relief than either medication or a placebo.
The report, which appears in the December issue of Anesthesia and Analgesia, reviewed 25 randomized controlled trials in adults that lasted more than four weeks. In seven trials comparing acupuncture with medication, researchers found that 62 percent of 479 patients had significant response to acupuncture, and only 45 percent to medicine.
Click here to read the rest of this article.
Acupuncture and Cancer Patients
The ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture can help alleviate symptoms associated with cancer and cancer treatments, as well as conditions not related to cancer.
Answering questions on the topic is Meide Liu, M.D., L.Ac., who treats about six cancer patients a day, five days a week at M. D. Anderson’s Place … of wellness.
What is acupuncture?Acupuncture is part of traditional Chinese medicine and involves inserting thin needles into points on the body to unblock energy, or qi (pronounced “chee”), to balance the yin and yang within the body (opposite forces).
[In traditional Chinese medicine, disease is diagnosed and treated based on the balance of yin and yang, or opposite forces (night and day, dark and light, cold and hot), according to the National Cancer Institute.]
Qi should move like a freeway, the way cars move in a free flow. If one car stops, other cars behind it are backed up. If people have a free flow of qi, they’re fine. If there’s a blockage, then they’re sick or have pain.
To unblock qi, acupuncturists insert needles into acupuncture points, or acupoints, along the body’s 14 major meridians (energy pathways) or 15 minor meridians. There are more than 400 acupoints in the meridian system.
How does acupuncture help cancer patients?
Acupuncture is used to treat the side effects of traditional treatment: chemotherapy, radiation and surgery. Cancer patients need a physician’s referral in order to receive acupuncture. Patients also should check with their insurance company to see if acupuncture is covered.
Side effects that acupuncture addresses:
* Pain
* Nausea
* Neuropathy
* Dry mouth
* Fatigue
* Anxiety
* Depression
* Insomnia
* Hot flashes
* Diarrhea
* ConstipationBefore cancer patients come to see me, I review their history; I check their white blood cell count, their platelet count and see what medicine they’re taking. At their first appointment, I find out what symptoms are bothering them. I then consider a treatment plan for them.
What symptoms do you treat most often?
The most common symptom is pain. It can be pain from cancer treatment or the disease, or pain that’s not related to the cancer. Some pain, like lower back pain, is related to the cancer, but I have treated people for unrelated back pain that they’ve had for a long time, sometimes 40 years.
Another common symptom is neuropathy (tingling, numbness or burning in the hands and feet from nerve damage), which can be caused by chemotherapy. I also see patients with dry mouth from radiation. Acupuncture has helped them a lot.
To read more of this article
Updates
We’re back! After a long cold winter of more work and less time for blogging, the MyAcuDoc blog is back. Jeanie Marie Kraft, who did an excellent job writing most of the blog posts last year, has moved her acupuncture blogging to her own site: www.fourpawsacupuncture.com. I’ll be picking up this blog, and I look forward to contributing more articles, news and updates on acupuncture, Chinese medicine, holistic health care and related environmental issues.
As most of my local patients already know, I’ve moved my practice. I am now located in the Museum Place Mall in Salem, MA (2 East India Square, Ste. 112). This new location has several benefits, and the most important of these (to patients) is parking. There are several lots surrounding the mall, and also a multi-level parking structure. For those interested, I have
pictures of the new practice space here.I’ve also added a new feature to the MyAcuDoc.com website: a calendar. As my clinic hours will change somewhat over the summer, this new calendar has the most up-to-date information about clinic days.
Finally, in concert with Earth Day, the Salem Gazette printed an article of mine, “Green Therapies: How your health care choices impact the environment.” As we become more aware of climate and environmental issues, our health care choices have more influence than we might think on the such basic issues as clean water. Acupuncture is one of the most environmentally friendly health care therapies. It’s good for you, and helps the environment.