research

Best Books for Learning About Acupuncture

Best Books for Learning About Acupuncture

Whether you’re a patient or another medical provider, you’ve heard the benefits of acupuncture, maybe even experienced them yourself, and want to learn more. You don’t have to spend four years in a masters program the way an acupuncturist does and you don’t have to dig deep into the theory, though that may interest you as well. This collection is in response to one of the most common questions I’m asked: “What can I read to better understand acupuncture and Chinese medicine?”

Here are four very different book options (with a few bonus suggestions) that I recommend to anyone who wants to explore this beautiful and effective medical system as it works in and beyond the treatment room.

Closing Office End of February 2020

Closing Office End of February 2020

It is with mixed emotions that I am announcing the closure of my acupuncture practice, Shawna Seth, L.Ac. After Friday February 21, 2020 I will no longer be seeing patients at my current office. It has been an honor and great pleasure providing for your health and wellness needs. My wish is that my departure be as easy on you as possible.

Why? I am so proud of what we've built together. I set out to create a space and experience that anticipated your needs and gave you a place to feel heard, relaxed, empowered, and restored so you could heal and understand why so you were more in charge of your own health. I believe we achieved that. And I have genuinely loved being your acupuncturist. The truth is that running a business is challenging and for that reason I have decided to take my career in a different direction.

Trying to Conceive: Is Your Lube Getting In Your Way?

Trying to Conceive: Is Your Lube Getting In Your Way?

When you’re trying to conceive (TTC) there are already so many things you’re told you can’t do. And things no one tells you that could be getting in your way. And then on top of that you’re not supposed to stress out about it!

If you’ve been diagnosed with unexplained infertility, you’re trying to figure out what you could do to improve your chances of conceiving. Whether you’re continuing to try naturally or as you add in assisted reproductive technologies like medicated cycles with Clomid or Letrozole, IUI, or IVF, make sure these simple tips are on your list:

Chronic Stress and How Acupuncture Can Help

Chronic Stress and How Acupuncture Can Help

A NOTE FROM SHAWNA: When I find a good article I would like to share with you, I will (if the rights of the source allow it), reprint it here for you to enjoy. This does not necessarily indicate a relationship with the source and is not paid content. This post was written by acupuncturist Sai Jurawanichkul, originally posted on Medium, and is reposted here with her permission.

Is stress good or bad? How does it affect our minds and bodies? How can acupuncture and lifestyle / nutritional modifications help?

GOOD STRESS

When we are exposed to an acute, distressful situation, our sympathetic system amps up — what is famously called “fight or flight.” Our adrenal glands release corticosteroids that make our blood vessels constrict and our heart rate increase. Cortisol also increases our blood glucose level. Glucose is the main source of energy that powers our overactive cells during stressful events. This is called “good stress” because it empowers us to handle an acute situation.

BAD STRESS

But, more often than not, our stress lasts longer than a few minutes or a few hours. It extends to days, weeks, months, and even years. This has very detrimental physical and emotional effects.

Contact Needle Treatment for Cancer Pain

Contact Needle Treatment for Cancer Pain

The week before Thanksgiving I attended a lecture and demonstration on using contact needles for cancer treatment related pain by Dr. Keiko Ogawa of Kanazawa, Japan. Dr. Ogawa published a study in 2013 on using contact needles to treat chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). I was excited to see research on contact needles available in English and to learn this was the first time she was teaching in the US. There is a wealth of research on contact needle therapy in Japanese, but most of it has not been translated for a Western audience.

I often use a specialized silver contact needle tool in my treatments. Dr. Ogawa performed her study using disposable silver needles more similar to the stainless steel needles we use for insertion needling. Regardless of the tool, the method is to settle the needle on the relevant acupuncture point rather than inserting the needle into the skin. This is a painless form of treatment that has the added benefit of reducing infection risk, a key feature in treating cancer patients who may have weakened immune systems due to their cancer and/or their Western treatment (chemotherapy, radiation, etc).

Acupuncture Better Than Morphine for Acute Pain in Recent ER Study

Originally posted as Acupuncture Beats Injected Morphine for Pain: Groundbreaking Study by Sayer Ji

An amazing new study has found that acupuncture, the ancient practice of using needles to stimulate bodily self healing, is more effective than intravenous morphine for pain. 

A truly groundbreaking study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine titled, “Acupuncture vs intravenous morphine in the management of acute pain in the ED,” reveals that acupuncture -- one of the oldest techniques to treat pain -- is more effective, faster in relieving pain, and with less adverse effects, than intravenous morphine.