A patient can expect noticeable improvements with each treatment and recovery of specific daily life abilities in the longer term.

A frozen shoulder can severely handicap a person's lifestyle. A patient came in with very limited range of movement in the right shoulder. He was otherwise of good health and robust constitution. There was mild discomfort but he was tough so it didn't bother him. What did bother him was that he had to give up bicycling which was his passion. He responded to treatments well. He was happily surprised one night to find that he was able to reach back with his right arm to fetch an object. Within a few weeks he was back on his bicycle. Over the year he had gone on bicycling trips to Italy and Vietnam. His next destination is New Zealand. He continues to receive treatments every week and his shoulder continues to improve.

A patient may say that she has a disease such as hypertension, asthma, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or obesity, and that it’s genetic. There is a feeling of destiny and resignation. Many diseases run in the family over generations. With some, genetic abnormalities have been identified. Does this mean that a patient is condemned to live out this disease and pass it on to her offsprings. Is destiny written in our DNA, or can it be changed? According to Charles Darwin, evolution through natural selection occurs over vast expanses of time: numerous generations and millions of years. Quick changes are not possible. However, in recent decades scientists have found that there are chemicals that sit over the genes, hence called ‘epigenetic marks’, that give instructions to them, telling them to switch on or off. Furthermore, environmental conditions can alter epigenetic functioning, causing changes to DNA strands, and the results may affect what is passed down to offsprings. In short, epigenetics may effect changes even within a lifetime. In the 1980’s, Dr. Lars Olov Bygren (now a preventive-health specialist at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm) conducted a study of the children growing up in the 19th century in Norrbotten, the northernmost county in the kingdom of Sweden. In those times Norrbotten was an isolated place and everything depended on the harvest. It was either feast, or famine. When the harvest was bad, people starved. When the harvest was good, people gorged themselves for months. Bygren found that kids who grew up in the fat years produced offsprings who lived far shorter lives than those whose grandparents grew up in the lean years. The conclusion was that even short term environmental factors may cause changes in genetic traits that may be passed down to future generations. Our own experience confirms this.

An H1N1 Swine Flu Prevention Program is available. It includes diagnostic consultation, preventive treatment, and herbs. This is similar to the approach used in China. No acupuncture is required. Both parents and children will find it educational and fun. It will get you ready for the flu season. Children enjoy reduced rates. Please make an appointment for your family.

Last week I treated three new patients with elbow pain. In all three cases the pain went away during the first treatment.

I used acupuncture together with manual manipulation. Acupuncture involved few needles - three to six - on the side opposite to the affected limb, far away from the affected site. Manual work was a combination of acupressure, tui na, and sotai.

What is unique about my approach is that instead of thinking about protocols for the condition, lateral or medial epicondylitis in this case, I rely on palpation to guide my treatment. I just listen and respond. The patient’s body tells me exactly where and what the problem is and also what to do about it. I find this approach to musculoskeletal problems to be the simplest, and yet the most accurate and effective.

Migraine headache is a very treatable condition. I have treated many severe & chronic cases with only one to three treatments to get rid of the problem with no relapse. Here are three examples:

36-year old female with chronic migraines for four years was taking Treximet with little relief. The migraines stopped after the first treatment. She received two more treatments in subsequent weeks. I did not hear from her until six months later when she called to make an appointment for an unrelated problem. She never had another migraine since her treatments.

53-year old female was brought in by her husband for an emergency treatment of a severe migraine attack that started the previous evening. The pain was so bad that she was not able to function at all. She usually had two episodes a week but seldom as horrible as this one. The pain started to subside as soon as treatment began and was completely gone at the end of the session. She continues to receive acupuncture treatment weekly for floaters and other issues. She has not had another migraine episode since.

As a consequence of undergoing chemo for lymphatic leukemia a 58 year old male suffered from gout pain in both feet and especially the big toes. Acupuncture and herbal treatments were given to address both the pain and the high uric acid levels in the blood. When he came in for the second treatment two weeks later the there was only mild swelling and pain left in the ankle of his right foot.