Acupuncture is effective for treating lymphedema. Improvements in alleviating discomfort, softening tissues, increasing mobility and reducing the size of the affected limb are usually evident from the first treatment on. There are no negative side-effects and the gains are long-lasting. It enables the patient to return to suitable exercises in comfort. Herbs that open and promote flow in the small vessels are helpful. Treatment aims at restoring the functioning of the circulatory system to absorb and get rid of the stuck fluids. One of my most dramatic cases is a young woman named Ashley. I will let her tell her story herself:

"Seven months later, my lymphedema has gone down by at least 45%."
http://www.energymedicinechicago.com/testimonials/ashley-garcia

Here are some studies on the treatment of lymphedema with acupuncture:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Study Shows Acupuncture May Relieve Chronic Lymphedema after Breast Cancer Treatment:
http://www.mskcc.org/blog/study-shows-acupuncture-may-relieve-chronic-ly...

Acupuncture in the Treatment of Upper-Limb Lymphedema: http://www.energymedicinechicago.com/files/Acupuncture%20in%20the%20Trea...

Using Acupuncture in the Management of Lymphoedema:
http://www.lymphoedema.org/Menu3/6Research%20and%20clinical%20trials.asp
 

I treated with this protocol five times now, every one was successful with effects lasting up to a year. A similar protocol treats dry eyes and dry mouth. Amazingly, the protocol only calls for two back-to-back treatments. Sometimes I did three. Here's testimonial from one of the patients:
 
"I received a three session protocol from Lok Kwan Cheng to restore my sense of taste which was much impaired for many years. Long a 'happy' eater, I was missing the tastes I'd grown up with. The acupuncture worked for me, and mealtime is once again 'happy'." - Jim Hanzel

Two daughters brought their 88 years old mother to see me. The mother suffered from postherpetic neuralgia. She had shingles two months ago and was treated by anti-viral medication. The blisters went away but not the debilitating pain. She could not sleep well or move around. She had been bed-bound, weakened, and was beginning to lose muscle tone and mass. After three acupuncture treatments the pain was under control. Her sleep improved and she was able to exercise by walking. The pain continued to improve and her energy level returned with subsequent treatments. Every time she came in she would make a few jokes with me: her own personality reemerged.

Oriental medicine does not see body and mind as different and is therefore comfortable in understanding and treating many problems that do not fit into rigid categories.This is the story of how a mass disappeared with one single acupuncture treatment.

Patient was a female who had made huge progress over four months of weekly treatments for emotional issues. She reported that two nights before she experienced sharp pains in her left inguinal region that lasted all night. This was an isolated episode and the pain had since disappeared. Palpation revealed a finger-like mass, over an inch long, in her left inguinal groove. Patient just had cancerous tissues removed from her breasts less than a year before and she was visibly saddened and disappointed with this discovery despite being told that the presentation of her inguinal mass did not resemble a cancerous tumor. More likely it was an insubstantial Qi mass that would not even show up in imaging.
Acupuncture was given. Palpation after treatment showed that the mass had disappeared.

Voluntary movements of the body in space are initiated from the lower back. Every time we get off a chair to do something the lower back is engaged. Energetically every time we mentally approach a task the lower back is called into action. The prevalence of lower back pain is symptomatic of a culture and lifestyle that continuously strives for accomplishments. It is a problem of overuse rather than unavoidable degeneration due to aging. Evidence is that there are many younger patients with the problem.

A patient may come in with a diagnosed spine or disc condition or just muscle strain. There are also many cases where biomedicine found no cause for the pain. I get excellent results with acupuncture or bodywork and especially when the two are combined.

Picture shows the vertebral column of a patient with spondylolisthesis. Treatments quickly relieved the pain and she was able to resume many activities including yoga. Even more important was her emotional recovery. She continues to receive treatments every other week as part of her health maintenance regime.

Scars hold memories of trauma and may play an important role in diseases. Scar tissues and adhesions resulting from injury or surgical operation may cause contracture and disturb the flow in the body's energy system. This in turn leads to structural deformity or internal pathology and compromises the body's immune abilities. Treating scars, therefore, can have profound healing effects.

Acupuncture brings nutrients to scar tissues to give them new life. They become more elastic and vascular, thinner and flatter, more like the normal tissues around them. Cosmetically they also look better.

Both hypertrophic and keloid scars respond well. Early treatment brings the best results but even old scars can show improvements. Pictured is a 30 year old scar resulting from surgical excision of melanoma and skin graft being treated with the 'Surround the Dragon' technique. Immediately after the treatment the scar became softer and more level with surrounding tissues. Patient reported that it continued to improve between treatments.

Neck and shoulder pain and stiffness are very prevalent in our goal-oriented culture. The first treatment usually brings 80% to 90% relief. Three treatments can bring complete resolution. Learning to become aware of posture and movements, doing exercises that help realign body structures, balancing the psychological and emotional elements are all important parts of the treatment.

"Stiff neck" is an expression in Chinese that means stubbornness, a fixation on an opinion, a goal or an emotional experience that constricts our movements and blinders our vision. Painful experiences also may lead to emotional and physical rigidity. We begin to lose sight of the choices and beauty in the world we live in. Healing restores us to a state of relaxation and openness.