Acupuncture to Treat Anxiety Disorders

According to the National Institute of Health, “Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older.” In addition, according to the same source, women are 60% more likely to experience anxiety and the average onset of an anxiety disorder is age 11. However, only 42.2% of those with anxiety seek any kind of treatment, and of that only 33.8% are receiving minimally adequate treatment. The take away is that anxiety is something we all experience at some level and we are not doing enough to treat it.

Anxiety can be caused by many factors. From a specific event like an upcoming test, to an uncomfortable conformation with a loved one, to a more serious trauma, anxiety has many roots. Although the roots of the anxiety vary from person to person and must be identified and treated, the anxiety one experiences needs to be managed. Below are some of the bodily responses of anxiety:

•Physical symptoms such as an irregular heartbeat.
•Cognitive symptoms, which can cause negative thoughts.
•Behavioral symptoms, which may include uncharacteristic aggression or restlessness.
•Emotional symptoms, such as fear.

Acupuncture can be a good way to treat anxiety. According to Psychology Central, “In a comprehensive literature review appearing in a recent edition of CNS Neuroscience and Therapeutics, it was proved that acupuncture is comparable to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which psychologists commonly use to treat anxiety (Errington-Evans, 2011). Another study published in the Journal of Endocrinology in March 2013 discovered stress hormones were lower in rats after receiving electric acupuncture (Eshkevari, Permaul and Mulroney, 2013).” Science clearly agrees that acupuncture is a more than adequate way to help manage anxiety.

To understand how acupuncture helps relieve anxiety is to understand the thoughts behind Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM believes in a force called QI that regulates the body’s overall health. QI, like blood, moves through the body via pathways called meridians. When factors like stress or changes in environment disrupt the flow of QI, health issues follow, according to the University of Miami Health System. When an acupuncturist inserts needles at a specific point in the body, balance is restored to the QI and the body’s overall health, the University of Chicago Medicine states. This might seem hard to grasp, but if you consider that QI is just another way of describing chemical reactions taking place in the body, it makes more sense.

Acupuncture needles can affect the body’s chemicals reactions. For example, needles placed in the correct acupuncture point can cause the nervous system to produce painkilling chemicals. It can also jump start the body’s natural healing process or stimulate the part of the brain that controls emotions, including anxiety, according to Dr. Daniel Hsu, a Doctor of Acupuncture and Eastern Medicine. Specifically referring to how acupuncture helps with anxiety, researchers at Georgetown University led by Eshkevari used lab studies to demonstrate that acupuncture slows the body’s production of stress hormones.

One study, published online in the Journal of Acupuncture and Meridian Studies showed that participants who underwent acupuncture for anxiety saw improvements after just one 20-minute session. This means that after just one session, patients could feel relief from their anxiety, and because acupuncture changes the chemical balance in the brain, which makes the patient feel better, it may mean less medication is needed. As the chemicals in the brain are altered, medication, which does the same thing, may no longer have a role to play.

It is important to note that any acupuncture session comes with general, normal side effects. They include minor bruising and dizziness, both of which are minimal as opposed to psychotherapy drugs, which can have more serious side effects. In this sense, acupuncture is much safer for treating anxiety. Plus, unlike drugs that can lead to dependency, acupuncture is not likely to have the same addictive effect.

When it comes to trying acupuncture for anxiety, you have nothing to lose. With a licensed acupuncturist, the risks are almost non-existent and are outweighed by the potential benefits. After just a few sessions, you may even find yourself sleeping better and enjoying other health benefits. If already on treatment for anxiety, acupuncture can make a good addition to your regimen. If it works, you can speak to your doctor about limiting or reducing medication. It is a win-win situation for your health. Even just trying a treatment will make you feel better because you are taking action to alleviate the anxiety instead of worrying and increasing your anxiety level.

Like many medical diagnoses, there is not always a one-size fits all solution. Depending on the person and the individual diagnosis, treatment may vary. For some people, acupuncture alone may work. For others, a combination of therapy, medication, and acupuncture may be best. Consult with your doctor before starting any treatment and discuss a treatment plan that will work for you.

This article originally appeared on Above & Beyond Acupuncture.

Can I Use Osteopathy To Relieve Pain During Pregnancy?

During pregnancy your body undergoes a great amount of change and development to accommodate a growing fetus. The postural changes and increase in weight are obvious, but other changes may be more subtle like the effects of hormonal softening of ligaments and the position of the growing baby. A combination of the above can put additional pressure on your joints and muscles of your spine and pelvis.

The most common complaints during pregnancy are:

• Lower Back Pain
• Sciatica
• Pelvic Girdle Pain
• Shortness of breath
• Neck, shoulder and upper back pain
• Insomnia
• Swelling
• High blood pressure
• Fatigue

Where Does Osteopathy Fit In During Pregnancy?

The philosophy of Osteopathy is that structure and function are interrelated and interdependent. Our treatments aim to normalize the structure so that it functions as efficiently as possible. Treatments during pregnancy are no different. We aim to assist the natural process of pregnancy and birth by aiding the body to adapt and align as the pregnancy progresses. Osteopathic treatment achieves this by using safe and efficient techniques, while making sure the mother is comfortable at all times.

During birth, a range of factors influences the descent of the baby through the pelvis. The mother's pelvis may be twisted or rigid which can interfere with the baby's passage through the birth canal. Osteopathic treatment can help to align your body so that your pelvis and lower back mechanics are in the best possible position they can be and with as little tension or restriction as possible.

Osteopathic treatment will maximize your body's ability to change and support you and your baby with minimum pain and discomfort.

Is It Safe To Have Osteopathic Treatment During Pregnancy?

Osteopathy is safe and gentle for both the mother and the baby. The techniques used during pregnancy are carefully selected to minimize any risk. These techniques are gentle and the comfort of the mother is always taken into consideration and may be adapted to suit each patient.

Some therapists use specifically designed pregnancy cushions if they need you to lie on your front for certain techniques. Pregnant patients can tell the therapist how comfortable they are in certain positions. An osteopath can accommodate any woman, regardless of size.

Can Osteopathy Help Postnatally?

Depending on the type of labour experienced, women can have a wide range of issues postnatally. Osteopathic care can help to restore and maintain normal pelvic alignment and mobility and therefore, taking away any pain and discomfort they may be feeling. If you have unresolved childbirth stresses from labour, these can contribute not only to ongoing back problems, but also to difficulties with menstruation, stress incontinence, and bowel problems such as constipation.

Osteopathic treatment can also help with aches and pains associated with poor breast-feeding posture, lifting car capsules and prams, carrying your baby and bending over the cot. Overall, postnatal treatment can help with long term preventative care, allowing you to relax and enjoy your new baby.

This article originally appeared on www.bellybelly.com.au

6 Benefits of Massage Therapy

Sure, it can help you relax. But massage therapy can do much more than that. Here are six healthy reasons to book an appointment.
 

1) It counteracts all that sitting you do

“Most individuals are dealing with some kind of postural stress,” says Aaron Tanason, registered massage therapist, kinesiologist and owner at Paleolife Massage Therapy in Toronto. “More often than not [that stress] tends to manifest in the shoulders and neck.”

Desk workers, beware. More advanced forms of postural stress “show up as pain or weakness in the low back and gluteals caused by prolonged periods of sitting.”

Luckily, massage can counteract the imbalance caused from sitting, which means you can keep your desk job-as long as you schedule a regular massage.

2) It eases muscle pain

Got sore muscles? Massage therapy can help. “Massage increases and improves circulation. Just like rubbing your elbow when you knock it on a table helps to relieve the pain,” says Tanason.

A 2011 study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found that massage therapy is as effective as other methods of treatment for chronic back pain.

3) It soothes anxiety and depression

“Human touch, in a context that is safe, friendly and professional, can be incredibly therapeutic and relaxing,” says Tanason.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer who received massage therapy three times a week reported being less depressed and less angry, according to a 2005 study published in the International Journal of Neuroscience.

And, a study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, found that patients who were depressed and anxious were much more relaxed and happy, and had reduced stress levels after massage.

4) It improves sleep

Not only can massage encourage a restful sleep-it also helps those who can’t otherwise comfortably rest.

“Massage promotes relaxation and sleep in those undergoing chemo or radiation therapy,” says Lisa Marie de Miranda, registered massage therapist and kinesiologist at Paleolife Massage Therapy.

Also, massages help infants sleep more, cry less and be less stressed, according to research from the University of Warwick.

“Most RMTs can do infant massage,” says de Miranda. And if parents want to do it themselves, it comes naturally. “There’s not really a particular technique. Whatever parents normally do to soothe their baby will be effective.”

5) It boosts immunity

A 2010 study published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that massage boosts patients’ white blood cell count (which plays a large role in defending the body from disease). Additionally, it also “improves immune function for individuals with HIV,” says de Miranda.

6) It relieves headaches

Next time a headache hits, try booking a last-minute massage. “Massage decreases frequency and severity of tension headaches,” says de Miranda.

Research from Granada University in Spain found that a single session of massage therapy immediately effects perceived pain in patients with chronic tension headaches.

This article originally appeared on Best Health & was written by Katharine Watts.

Does Acupuncture Work by Re-Mapping The Brain?

Acupuncture is a form of traditional medical therapy that originated in China several thousand years ago. It was developed at a time bereft of tools such as genetic testing or even a modern understanding of anatomy, so medical philosophers did the best they could with what was available – herbs, animal products and rudimentary needles. In the process, perhaps, they stumbled on an effective medical approach.

In the past century, some modernisation has taken place. For instance, acupuncture has been paired with electrical currents, allowing for stimulation to be more continuous and to penetrate deeper into the body. This approach was termed electro-acupuncture and represents a convergence between the ancient practice of acupuncture therapy and modern forays into targeted electrostimulation delivered to the skin or nerves. Such approaches have attracted the attention of the pharmaceutical industry and are part of a growing class of neuromodulatory therapies.

So why all the rancour against acupuncture from some corners of the internet (and academia)? Shouldn’t we apply our modern research methods to see which classical acupuncture techniques have solid physiological backing?

It’s not as easy as it seems. Let’s look at the clinical research. A recent landmark meta-analysis threw together data from thousands of chronic-pain patients enrolled in prior clinical trials, finding that acupuncture might be just marginally better than sham acupuncture (in which non-inserted needles are used as a placebo control). The differences were statistically significant, but lack of a larger difference could be due to the clinical outcome measure that the researchers studied. Symptoms such as pain (along with fatigue, nausea and itch) are notoriously difficult for different people to rate in a consistent manner. Conventional wisdom says that these kinds of symptoms are improved by placebo, but what about improvements in the body’s physiology? For instance, in a recent study that assigned an albuterol inhaler for asthma to some patients and sham acupuncture to others, patients reported both as effective. But objective physiological measures demonstrated significant improvement only for albuterol. It’s clear that in evaluations of acupuncture, research should explicitly hunt for potential physiological improvements, in addition to patient reports.

While most chronic-pain disorders lack such established, objective outcomes of disease, this is not true for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a neuropathic pain disorder that can be validated by measuring electrical conduction across the median nerve, which passes through the wrist. Interestingly, the slowing of nerve conduction at the wrist does not occur in isolation – it’s not just the nerve in the wrist that’s affected in CTS. My own department’s research and others’ has clearly demonstrated that the brain, and particularly a part of the brain called the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), is re-mapped by CTS. Specifically, in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) brain scans, the representation of fingers innervated by the median nerve are blurred in S1. We then showed that both real and placebo acupuncture improved CTS symptoms. Does this mean that acupuncture is a placebo? Maybe not. While symptom relief was the same immediately following therapy, real acupuncture was linked to long-term improvement while sham acupuncture was not. And better S1 re-mapping immediately following therapy was linked with better long-term symptom reduction. Thus, sham acupuncture might work through an alternative route, by modulating known placebo circuitry in the brain, while real acupuncture rewires brain regions such as S1, along with modulating local blood flow to the median nerve in the wrist.

Where you stick the needle might matter as well. While site-specificity is one of the key features of acupuncture therapy, it has been controversial. Interestingly, in the S1 region of the brain, different body areas are represented in different spatial areas – this is how we localise the mosquito that’s biting us, and swat it. Different S1 areas might also pass along information to a diverse set of other areas that affect different bodily systems such as the immune, autonomic and other internal motor systems. As far as acupuncture is concerned, the body-specific map in S1 could serve as the basis for a crude form of point specificity. In our study, we compared patients receiving real acupuncture locally to the wrist with patients receiving real acupuncture far from the wrist, in the opposite ankle. Our results suggested that both local and distal acupuncture improved median nerve function at the wrist. This suggests that the brain changes resulting from acupuncture might not just be a reflection of changes at the wrist, but could also drive the improved median nerve function directly by linking to autonomic brain regions that control blood vessel diameter and blood flow to the median nerve.

This new research clearly demonstrates that bodily response is not the only means by which acupuncture works; response within the brain might be the most critical part. Once we better understand how acupuncture works to relieve pain, we can optimise this therapy to provide effective, non-pharmacological care for many more chronic-pain patients.

This article originally appeared on Aeon & written by Vitaly Napadow.