What Can Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine Treat?
Chinese Medicine is a comprehensive medical system that treats a wide variety of symptoms associated with health issues. It is especially useful in alleviating symptoms that do not respond well to conventional medical approaches. Below is a sample of conditions in which acupuncture and Chinese Medicine may be useful for symptom management:
Fertility and Women's Health:
infertility and pregnancy problems
menstrual cramps, pms, endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS
IVF support
menopause symptoms
Pre- and post-natal health
Breech babies* and helping with labour naturally
Breast feeding problems: little or no milk flow, mastitis, cessation of lactation
Cancer Support:
management of chemotheraphy and radiotherapy side-effects
pre and post-surgical support
strengthening immune system
ongoing support following remission
Mental and Emotional:
Stress
Anxiety, depression, bi-polar, panic attacks
Insomnia, excessive dreaming, exhaustion upon waking
Respiratory diseases:
asthma, allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia
sinusitis, post-nasal drip
coughs, colds, sore throat, flus
Energy:
fatigue, insomnia, low immunity
chronic fatigue syndrome
glandular fever
Pain:
chronic pain, joint pain, back pain, sciatica, tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow
frozen shoulder, tendonitis, bursitis
arthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis
fibromyalgia
nerve pain
Migraine Conditions:
migraines, headaches, dizziness, vertigo
auras, visual disturbances
Auto-Immune Diseases:
Rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis
Crohn’s, inflammatory bowel disease
diabetes, Graves' disease, , multiple sclerosis,
psoriasis, sclerodoma
systemic lupus erythematosus
Celiac disease - sprue (gluten-sensitive enteropathy)
Skin Problems:
eczema, dermatitis, rosacea
hives, shingles, vasculitis
psoriasis
acne
Digestive Complaints:
irritable bowel, gastric ulcers, acid reflux, indigestion
constipation, diarrhea, poor digestion, GERD
Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis
weight loss, eating disorders, addictions
bloating, stomach pain & discomfort
weight issues, obesity, anorexia
Other:
paralysis, stroke, Bell’s Palsy
numbness and tingling
hypertension (high blood pressure)
high cholesterol
Thyroid diseases: hyper-thyroidism & hypo-thyroidism
autoimmune diseases
cancer support
*For research on breach presentation and acupuncture see:
Acupuncture plus moxibustion to resolve breech presentation: a randomized controlled study. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2004 Apr;15(4):247-52.
Cardini F. & Weixin H. (1998). Moxibustion for correction of breech presentation: A randomized controlled trial. JAMA 280(18), 1580-1584. Free full text: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=188144
Coyle ME, Smith CA, & Peat B. 2012. Cephalic version by moxibustion for breech presentation. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 5. Art. No: CD003928. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22592693
Vas J, Aranda-Regules JM, Modesto M, et al. (2013). Acupuncture Medicine 31: 31-38. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23249535
Li X1, Hu J, Wang X, Zhang H, Liu J. Moxibustion and other acupuncture point stimulation methods to treat breech presentation: a systematic review of clinical trials. Chin Med. 2009 Feb 27;4:4. doi: 10.1186/1749-8546-4-4.