Can we call it "chiropuncture"? It just rolls off the tongue.

Chiropractic and acupuncture are the peanut butter and jelly sandwich of integrative medicine.

Chiropractic treatments focus on adjusting the spine to correct vertebral misalignments based within the nervous system.  If a vertebra is impinging on a nerve, it can cause disorders much further than just numbness or tingling. Think digestive issues, chronic headaches, even sinus issues. A chiropractor is able to adjust the spine and alleviate these obstructions.

Acupuncture comes in to help in two ways. First, acupuncture easily manipulates the soft tissues surrounding the spine to allow for an easier and longer lasting chiropractic adjustment. Secondly, it improves the function of the nerves that are now working properly after an adjustment. 

In other words, the acupuncturist gets the muscles to release their grip on the affected bones and joints. Once there’s room for the bone to go back to its proper place, the chiropractor places it there. Now that the nerve is able to function again, the needles get it to do so quickly.

That’s just the most basic of care that we can provide you. There’s also gua sha/graston and fire cupping which further releases the soft tissues and breaks up stagnation. Active Release Technique is a movement based massage that treats problems of muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, and nerves. Electrical stimulation attaches to an acupuncture needle inserted into a muscle’s trigger point, which acts as a defibrillator (of sorts) for the muscle, getting it to “restart” and stop causing discomfort. Herbal medicine is personalized to each patient’s constitution and continues the healing while between treatments.

And this is why I am so excited to be seeing patients at Grow Chiropractic every Monday, Wednesday through Friday in Rancho Bernardo. I’m able to work alongside both Dr. Marc Grow and Dr. Ian Cooke to provide my patients with the most thorough treatments for their optimal health. Call (858) 433-5588 to schedule your appointments today!

Magic Points Monday: Pericardium 6

That bandaid in the middle of the tattoo is a tack!

This point is an absolute favorite of mine. People who suffer from panic disorders respond so unbelievably well to acupuncture, Pericardium 6 has become a magic point for me. 

I like to say I have a bag of magic acupuncture points. They're the quick and easy points that give a patient instant relief. They're the 'Aha! This works!' of Chinese medicine. Pericardium 6 is definitely in my bag of tricks. A patient who suffers from chronic anxiety or frequent panic attacks benefits greatly from Pc 6.

First let's discuss what a pericardium is really quick. The pericardium encases and protects the heart (literally, in Western medicine. Not a figurative Chinese thing... this time). The Pericardium channel travels to the chest, right over the heart. Anxiety is (usually) seen as an imbalance with the Heart's Qi or Blood and possibly Yin- it's ok if that went over your head, it took years of school for that sentence to not make me want to quit trying to understand TCM. Long story short is that the Pericardium deals with the Heart and thus deals with anxiety like a pro. 

So what happens when you have chronic anxiety or you're in the middle of a panic attack? Your palms get sweaty. Your heart races and pounds and palpitates. You get tunnel vision or that sensation of looking through the bottom of an empty glass.You get nauseated or as I coined it, "anxiety tummy" that cramps up and makes it impossible to eat. You get dizzy. Your chest gets tight. And you can't think straight. Phew, this paragraph makes me anxious!

This handsome fellow is courtesy of meridiatech.com

Pericardium 6 goes to the chest- opening it up and allowing you to breathe, stopping the racing heart and thumping palpitations. This point stops vertigo and dizziness. It is an empirical point for nausea and vomiting, they even sell wristbands that put pressure on Pc 6 for motion sickness. Your spirit or 'Shen' is housed in the heart and is going crazy all over the place during an attack, which is what causes the racing and fragmented thoughts. Guess which point calms the Shen? Yep. Pericardium 6. 

So how do I employ this magical acupuncture point in my practice? Well when a patient is on the table I combine it with Yin Tang which is smack-dab in the middle of the eyebrows. These two points combined stops a panic attack dead in its tracks. I not only needle it in conjunction with other points to work on your constitution (such as that Heart Blood or Heart Qi I mentioned up above), but I put tacks in there. A tack is a small bandaid with a teeny tiny eentsy weentsy needle in it measuring only .02 millimeters. This tack constantly stimulates the point, working on that anxiety and panic around the clock. I use these on myself when I have something stressful planned for the day- a job interview, an important test, dental work, even while I'm working on my budget. 

If you or someone you know suffers from a pretty debilitating disorder, let them know that acupuncture can work wonders for them. And a treatment will include this amazing point, but is so much more than that.

Magic Points Monday: Gall Bladder 41

My entire family is prone to headaches and migraines. If we smell something strong, look at too bright of a light, or have something planned for the day- we are definitely going to end up with a migraine. I’m not talking about any ol’ headache. These migraines take us down. Needless to say, I know pain and suffering. And these migraines used to mean spending the rest of the day in a dark, cool, quiet room and almost overdosing on ibuprofen. At least, until I found the sweetest spot: Gall Bladder 41.

I like to say I have a bag of magic acupuncture points. They’re the quick and easy points that give a patient instant relief. They’re the ‘Aha! This works!’ of Chinese medicine. Gall Bladder 41 is in my bag of tricks. A patient will come to me when they currently have a headache and I stick this little puppy in their foot and they’re headache free by the time they get off of my table. To anyone who has had a severe headache or a migraine, that’s pure magic.

Why does Gall Bladder 41 work so well? Migraines are typically a combination of Liver Qi stagnation as well as stuck Qi and ‘Blood’. (Please keep in mind this is Chinese medicine speak- you don’t have a literal embolism every time you have a headache). GB 41 is aces at moving stuck Qi, especially in the Liver meridian. The Gall Bladder channel traverses all over the head- temples, side of the head, forehead right above the eyebrow, and surrounding your ear. Migraines are typically right in these areas and they usually wrap around the entire head.

The Gall Bladder channel on the head. Photo courtesy of: naturecuresclinic.com

Speaking of wrapping! Anytime you have a ‘wrapping’ pain in your body, it’s best to treat the Dai channel as it’s the only channel that wraps around the body. Guess what point is used to open up the Dai channel? Mhm. Gall Bladder 41.

But why would you stick a needle in the foot when the pain is in the head?! Qi follows the needle wherever it is inserted. If you already have a blockage and excess of Qi in your head, you don’t want to call attention to more Qi in that area. Gall Bladder 41 gets that excess Qi to drain down the channel and flow properly. When I sit with the needles in my feet I literally feel a draining of the pressure from the top of my head, to behind my eye sockets, even in my dang earlobes. All the pain and pressure simply drains. Heaven.

Next time you have a headache or a migraine, press on your Gall Bladder 41, most likely it’s really tender. It’s the sweet spot between the tendon and the bone of your fifth metatarsal.

Photo courtesy of Chinese Acupuncture and Moxibustion

Now the very best thing to rid yourself of migraines is regular acupuncture treatments. The best kind of medicine is prevention! And there is even an article about the efficacy of acupuncture on migraines and longer relief, even better than migraine meds (spoiler alert Gall Bladder 41 is mentioned):  http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1332-migraine-vanishes-with-acupuncture-and-tuina

And for even more science-y western medical research:  http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1422-acupuncture-migraine-relief-achievement 

Last week in Chinese Medicine - Youyou Tu

Photo courtesy of NobelPrize.org

Eighty-four year old Youyou Tu was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for her discovery of the anti-malarial drug Artemisinin. This discovery is badass for a multitude of reasons:

1. She is the first Chinese woman to win this award. And this isn’t her first award! She’s been winning since 1980.

2. She is trained and educated in both Traditional Chinese Medicine and pharmacology and is NOW the Chief Professor at the Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. This means she’s not only a scientist and a researcher but a Chinese medicine practitioner as well.

3. She spent decades combing through thousand year old texts (ones still used in acupuncture schools today) and testing hundreds of herbal formulas before discovering that Qing Hao – Artemisia Annua or Wormwood- holds the chemical compound that 100% kills the malaria parasite.

4. Her father named her Youyou after the Chinese saying “The deer bleat ‘youyou’ while they are eating the wild hao”. Her dad literally named her after the herb. Awesome coincidence.

5. A panel of 50 scientists voted that this researcher’s herbal discovery was worth a Nobel Prize.

6. She reminds me of my old supervisor, Dr. Wei. A tough cookie with a plethora of knowledge.

7. This discovery has saved millions of lives.

So if anyone ever says that Chinese herbal medicine isn’t legit like pharmaceuticals, I dare you- say that to Youyou’s face. 

The Acupuncturist

Brittany Plummer

Licensed Acupuncturist and Herbalist