Acupuncture Health Insights » Health Conditions

Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 09:54:27 +0000

As an acupuncturist, I regularly see people in pain; people with arthritis, blown out backs, sprained ankles, sciatica, headaches, and those recovering from surgery. If you’ve ever suffered from a painful condition, you know that your particular pain is unique. It can be dull and achy, sharp and stabbing, throbbing, burning, or it can feel electric. The pain may come and go or be ever-present. It may wake you at night or change with the weather.

What causes pain? There are actually a number . . . → Read More: Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Depression, Bupleurum, and Your Chinese Liver

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 21:38:31 +0000

In my acupuncture practice, I see a number of people who struggle with emotional symptoms, such as stress, depression, anxiety, or irritability. Jolene* is one of those people. She works long hours at her sales job, takes care of unappreciative ailing parents, and struggles to make ends meet. Essentially, her life is not going how she would like, and it makes her depressed and irritable.

Jolene comes in for acupuncture every couple of weeks, and she feels better for a while. However, the circumstances . . . → Read More: Depression, Bupleurum, and Your Chinese Liver

Acupuncture for Dizziness

Lynn Jaffee — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:32:39 +0000

Dizziness can make your life a living hell. If you suffer from dizziness or vertigo, you’re no stranger to the feeling of the world whirling around you, unsteadiness, and even nausea associated with this miserable condition. Several years ago while traveling through Europe, my husband had a bout of vertigo with nausea that literally left him crawling from the bed to the bathroom on his hands and knees for the better part of a week.

The symptoms of mild dizziness can include feeling lightheaded, . . . → Read More: Acupuncture for Dizziness

The Food Stagnation Blues

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 09:43:16 +0000

In Chinese medicine, they have this condition called food stagnation, in which the food you have eaten just doesn’t move. I have had food food stagnation only once, but it was memorable. It happened after a long and difficult airline flight with my children when they were small, and all the food I had eaten during that day just sat. It was like my stomach was closed for business, and the food wasn’t moving. I went out and ran a little, thinking I’d get . . . → Read More: The Food Stagnation Blues

The Need to Heal

Lynn Jaffee — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 17:27:47 +0000

About a month ago, I pulled a muscle in a big way. I had just finished a really good (hard!) weight workout and was cooling off and stretching. Suddenly, boom! A muscle between my hip and lower back had me on the floor barely able to move.

In the weeks since that initial pull, I’ve been nursing it back to health with stretching, gentle strengthening, acupuncture, and physical therapy. However, it’s not healing as quickly as I would like, and I’m beginning to get . . . → Read More: The Need to Heal

Lump in Your Throat?

Lynn Jaffee — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 13:56:04 +0000

One of the things I love most about Chinese medicine is the poetic names they have for funky conditions and illnesses. Shingles are called Snake Cinnabar Toxin, cystic zits are Clove Sores, simultaneous vomiting and diarrhea is Sudden Turmoil, and a yeast infection is called Fire in the Valley or Damp Heat in the Lower Burner. One of their most descriptive and poetic names is something called Plum Pit Qi, which is a term to describe the sensation of a chronic lump in your . . . → Read More: Lump in Your Throat?

Why Acupuncture Works for Stress

Lynn Jaffee — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 17:36:49 +0000

Jessica is a self-described desk monkey who works in a cubicle farm. Her job is boring, but it pays well. Jessica has to put up with a really annoying co-worker and a very demanding boss who doesn’t appreciate her talent or hard work. She’s been looking for another job, but in this economy, Jessica isn’t optimistic about finding her dream position, so she plugs away at a job she can barely tolerate.

Meg is an elementary school teacher. She’s been a single mom for . . . → Read More: Why Acupuncture Works for Stress

Eleven Ways to Have More Energy

Lynn Jaffee — Thu, 19 May 2011 21:06:37 +0000

If you feel like Dorothy in the poppy field on her way to Oz, you’re not alone. People who struggle with fatigue describe it in many ways. Some can’t get out of bed in the morning, but once they get going, they’re okay. Others say their energy sinks as the day goes on until they’re almost lifeless by dinnertime. Still others feel tired only after they eat a meal. And there are those people who are exhausted all day long.

In western medicine, there . . . → Read More: Eleven Ways to Have More Energy

Treating Urinary Tract Infections with Chinese Medicine

Lynn Jaffee — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:52:49 +0000

If you’ve ever had a bladder infection, you’re no stranger to the lightening bolt of pain you feel every time you hit the ole’ litter box to pee. You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t; it’s going to hurt if you go, but holding it hurts, too.

While what’s going on may seem like a simple bladder infection, in Chinese medicine they’re anything but simple. Like headaches, colds, or back pain, bladder infections (or UTI’s) have a distinct personality. Symptoms can . . . → Read More: Treating Urinary Tract Infections with Chinese Medicine

The Color Purple

Lynn Jaffee — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 22:44:09 +0000

A few weeks ago, one of my regular patients came to me because her back was really acting up. In her early seventies, I had treated this woman for a number of aches and pains, but had not spent much time treating her lower back. This particular patient is one of strong opinions, and on this particular day she was clear; her back needed attention.

When I got her onto my treatment table, I took a look at her lower back and saw that . . . → Read More: The Color Purple