For thousands of years, Traditional East Asian Medicine has been used to treat and prevent illness. It incorporates Acupuncture, Herbology, nutrition, and lifestyle counseling to achieve and maintain optimum health. In addition, other modalities are available to further enhance the healing process, including moxibustion, cupping, electroacupuncture, and bodywork techniques.
Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine is effective, safe and compatible with all other medical systems of health care. In the State of Kentucky, Licensed Acupuncturists are required to have graduated from an accredited school of Acupuncture and be Nationally board certified through NCCAOM. Licensure is gained through the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure and maintained every two years with required continuing education.
Traditional East Asian Medicine looks at the patient as a “whole” being to assess and diagnose the state of health in the body. It acknowledges that the human body is a complex organism and that the root of a condition can be deeper than the presenting symptoms. Careful examination and assessment can allow the practitioner to treat a variety of physical and musculoskeletal imbalances as well as emotional issues.
The practice of Acupuncture uses very small, sterile, filiform needles to stimulate specific acupuncture points or myofascial trigger points on the body. These points are used to activate the body’s own innate intelligence to facilitate healing. Both the root cause, as well as the symptoms of the condition are addressed to restore homeostasis and self-healing to the body.
Acupuncture is most widely known to alleviate the perception of pain. The insertion of Acupuncture needles has been demonstrated to activate several of the body’s own opioids as well as improve the brain’s sensitivity to opioids. A number of other biochemicals involved in pain reduction have been found to be released and regulated by acupuncture stimulation, including ATP, adenosine, GABA and substance P. Acupuncture has also been demonstrated to reduce activity in the parts of the brain associated with the perception of pain and increase activity in brain areas associated with improved self-regulation. With Acupuncture, circulation of lymph and blood is increased into the area of pain. This circulation allows an anti-inflammatory reaction to take place, which speeds the healing process to eliminate pain.
Acupuncture has also demonstrated that it stimulates the release of several naturally occurring substances that are known to improve the body’s response to stress, increase circulation to affected areas of the body, and produce anti-inflammatory responses to aid in healing damaged tissues.
Patients generally experience a heightened sense of well-being, the capacity to manage stress more efficiently, decreased disturbances in sleep, increased cognition skills, and an overall improvement in the health of organs, muscles and tissues.
