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Common Misconceptions about Acupuncture
Some Acupuncture Myths Debunked!
As an acupuncturist, I do a lot of myth debunking. It’s understandable. After all, acupuncture speaks an entirely different language from the one through which most Westerners learned to see the world. However, with acupuncture continuing to grow in popularity and gain acceptance by mainstream medicine, it’s important to clarify a few myths and misconceptions that have a strong hold on our collective psyche.
Here are the five most common myths and misconceptions I hear about acupuncture.
“Acupuncture is only for pain.”
Ask most people what acupuncture helps with and the overwhelming majority will say pain. It is true that acupuncture can work wonders for back pain, headaches, neck pain, shoulder pain, leg pain, postoperative pain, and pretty much any other kind of pain you can think of. However, pain is just one of many ailments for which acupuncture can provide relief.
Acupuncture alleviates digestive problems, menstrual irregularities, allergies, insomnia, stress and anxiety, asthma, and several other conditions. While many acupuncturists are generalists who treat a wide range of ailments, some specialize. So do a little homework before booking an appointment to find out whether an acupuncturist has experience treating whatever you need help with.
“Acupuncture doesn’t work because I’ve had it once and nothing changed.”
I hear this one a lot. It’s a myth that is easily debunked by thinking about your car. If you go for years without getting your car checked, when you take it to the mechanic it’s going to require more work than if you had come in for regular tune-ups. Similarly, if you’ve been experiencing back pain for six months, it will probably take more than one acupuncture treatment before you notice results.
After your first treatment, an acupuncturist usually will provide an estimate for how many treatments you’re likely to need. This is always an estimate because response times to acupuncture can vary widely, but it’s a good guideline.
Acupuncture is a cumulative process, much like going to the gym: You don’t start running faster or lifting heavier weights after just one trip. That said, most people notice at least some changes after 10 acupuncture treatments. If you haven’t seen any improvement after giving it 10 appointments, I suggest trying another acupuncturist.
“Acupuncture hurts.”
I disagree with acupuncturists who say that acupuncture needles are so thin you can’t even feel them. In my experience, most people feel acupuncture.
When needles are inserted in the right places, they often produce a feeling of heaviness, like a dull ache. Since this sensation is unfamiliar for most people who have never had acupuncture before, it’s commonly interpreted as pain.
If I describe this dull-achy feeling to people before beginning a treatment, they are less likely to experience the sensation as pain. They are prepared, which means their bodies are less tense. Often the “hurt” associated with acupuncture can be attributed to anxiety about the unknown.
I also make a point of telling my patients that acupuncture—rarely, but on occasion—can cause pain after a treatment. Sometimes needles in certain acupuncture points, after they’re removed, can cause a residual feeling of ache, almost like a bruise. When people understand ahead of time that this is a completely normal outcome, their perception of acupuncture as something that hurts seems to shift.
If you’re wondering whether any other ideas about acupuncture are true, check out Chiropractic first and wellness centre, and contact Sara ( registered Acupuncturist) to help debunk common myths about acupuncture.
With the Sun finally shining in our beautiful city, everyone knows he or she “should” be doing regular exercise, but most people have not exercised in so many years that they don’t know where to begin. As a result, people start and stop various training programs and routines. They join gyms, buy workout clothes, spend hard-earned income, and ultimately fail to follow-through because they don’t have a clear idea of how to exercise effectively.
One of the issues relates to the many choices available. You can lift weights, swim, ride a bicycle, run, take Pilates classes, take yoga classes, or play tennis. But the challenge lies in selecting the form of exercise that’s best for you, and then having the specific knowledge to begin training in a way that will be beneficial and not harmful.
It’s actually easy to hurt yourself if you’re returning to exercise after an absence of many years or, for some people, of decades. Doing too much too soon is a typical cause of an exercise-related injury. Doing the wrong type of exercise for your level of preparation is another major cause of these injuries. Getting hurt doing exercise is a real deal-breaker for people who didn’t really want to exercise in the first place. If you haven’t exercised in years, finally work up the motivation to start doing something, and hurt yourself after a few days or weeks of your new program, quitting and never going back becomes a very attractive option.
But exercise is a key factor in maintaining overall health and wellness. If you’re committed to the long-term health and well-being of yourself and your family, regular vigorous exercise is critical. The solution, at least in the initial phases of returning to fitness, is walking for exercise. Walking avoids the vast majority of pitfalls associated with other types of exercise. Walking is low-impact, requires minimal equipment, and no gym memberships are needed. Walking is done outside in fresh air and sunshine, providing many additional benefits beyond those gained by exercise as such.
Walking is excellent exercise, and yet it’s important to follow some basic guidelines. Starting slowly is the main consideration. If you haven’t done any vigorous physical activity for months or years, 10 minutes of walking at a modest pace should be sufficient for your first day of walking. Five minutes out and five minutes back. Make 10 minutes your limit even if that amount feels like too little. It’s always better to do a little less exercise than a little too much. Add approximately a minute a day, until you’re doing a 30-minute walk at a modest pace. With this quantity of comfortable walking, you can now begin to increase your pace. Ultimately, 30 minutes of walking at a brisk pace will provide sufficient health benefits for most people, based on the principle of five or six vigorous exercise sessions per week.
The long-term results of such a program are profound. Consistent vigorous exercise helps to lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease, reduce the incidence of stroke, reduce the incidence of diabetes and obesity, and improve outcomes in patients with cancer. Walking for exercise is an efficient, enjoyable, and easy way to enable you and your family to begin obtaining these long-term health benefits.
Call your Burnaby Chiropractor at 604-294-BONE(2663) and get your body ready for tackling those beautiful walks.
Sleep is essential for every living being. Resting during the night is imperative to help the body recover from the day’s activities. On average, humans sleep 6-8 hours everyday- spending approximately 2,820 hours a year sleeping in a bed!
Most neck and back pain caused by poor sleeping habits is the result of an improper sleeping position, type of bed or pillow used. There are various sleeping positions that can provide better overall alignment for your spine which decreases the chances of waking up to pain in the morning.
A general rule to follow is you want your spine in a neutral position. To achieve this, the best position for sleeping is on your back. Sleeping on your back allows your head, neck and spine to maintain a neutral position. While sleeping on your back, you should place a pillow under your knees or a rolled towel under the small curvature of your lower back to maintain the spine’s general curve.
Sleeping on your side is another good sleep position, which complements the natural curvature of the spine while keeping the spine elongated. As it turns out, sleeping on your side is the most popular sleeping position. According to a nationwide survey of more than 2,000 people by Tempur-pedic, 57% of people start in this position. While sleeping in the side position, it is ideal to keep your knees slightly bent and a pillow between your legs.
This position will reduce stress on the hips. In addition, if you have shoulder pain, be sure to avoid sleep on the side with the painful shoulder, as this this will aggravate the injured area. Keeping your arms in front of you and not under your head or pillow will prevent your hands from going numb from nerve irritation and reduce the stress on your neck and shoulder.
Laying on your stomach is the worst sleeping position for your back and neck. Sleeping on your stomach creates the most strain and pressure against curvature of your neck and lower back. As it flattens the natural curve of the spine, lower back pain can result.
Ideally, you want to find a sleeping position where your joints are not being excessively compressed or muscles are placed in an abnormally shortened or stretched position. Consistently compressing the body on one side over time can create a postural imbalance and result in soreness or pain in an area.
It is important to choose a mattress that is most suited for your body. Ideally, you should purchase a new mattress every seven to ten years. Choosing to sleep on a mattress that is comfortable for you with the least amount of pressure or compression can allow you to fall asleep faster, stay asleep, and get an overall restful nights sleep.
Shoulder pain can be caused by a whole host of reasons. That is why it is important to receive a comprehensive exam before starting any treatment protocol. Many injuries are caused by a bio-mechanical dysfunction that pre-disposes that person to injury. With an acute injury or trauma it is important to distinguish which structure has been damaged, and to what extent it has been damaged. With a rotator cuff or labrum tear there is usually a need for advanced imaging such as MRI to assess the extent of and location of the tear. But many people suffer from shoulder pain that seems to come out of nowhere. When pain gradually occurs and slowly gets worse it is almost always caused by either a postural or bio-mechanical faulty movement pattern. This occurs when the arm (head of the humerus) doesn’t sit properly in the shoulder socket (gleno-humeral joint). This is generally caused by muscular imbalances that have developed and been reinforced neurologically over time. It is important to get a full Chiropractic assessment to establish what the primary cause of your shoulder pain is, and how most effectively to be treated.
What is Sciatica? People often come into our Burnaby Wellness Centre and want a ‘sciatica cure’ in the form of ‘stretches for sciatica’ although they don’t know whether they have sciatica. Some people even think they have to have surgery for sciatica. Practice members often have low back pain that radiates into the buttock area as sciatic pain.
True Sciatica is described as pain that radiates from low back pain, into the buttocks area and continues down into the lower leg. Sciatica can be very painful. In fact, the most common cause of sciatica is when the vertebrae in your lower back area become misaligned and create direct pressure on the nerve roots that feed into the sciatic nerve. This condition is known as a vertebral subluxation. These subluxations can be caused by any one of these stressors: physical, chemical or emotional.
Let me explain how this pain starts and how to avoid surgery for sciatica. The Sciatic Nerve is actually comprised of several nerves that come together in the lower lumbar area to form one bigger nerve that goes under the piriformis muscle located in the middle of the buttocks. If that muscle is strained or inflamed, it can put pressure on the sciatic nerve causing significant pain know as Sciatica. As an example, sciatica during pregnancy is very common as the body becomes physically stressed due to the natural weight gain of the woman in later term.
Exercises and stretching for sciatic are very important, however the most effective way to address this condition and get relief from sciatica is through Chiropractic Care. A Chiropractor who is an expert in sciatic pain and correcting vertebral subluxations can help relieve Sciatica. Even though people want an easy answer to the question ‘how do I cure sciatica,’ the most effective way to get relief from sciatic pain is to take the pressure off the nerve.
There are many exercises for Sciatica such as; stretches for sciatica, yoga for sciatica, and even icing the piriformis muscle directly may help elevate the pain. Again, the most effective tool is getting pressure off the sciatic nerve by making sure your vertebrae is moving properly. If you are in the Burnaby/Vancouver area, please visit www.burnabywellness.com, we would love to be of service to anyone suffering from sciatic pain. There are many great doctors of Chiropractic all over the world who have been trained in the detection and correction of the vertebral subluxation waiting to help you.