Accelerate Health on Fox News

It is a common practice especially among many endurance athletes to take Ibuprofen before, during, and after events to help stave off soreness and pain. This is a very risky practice and can cause very serious damage to the body. There are many ways to help your body make it through pain events including Acupuncture, Active Release Techniques, Chiropractic, and Yoga. Using any of these methods regularly during training and after events can greatly reduce the wear and tear on your body in a far healthier manner.

Remember, pain is your body's way of telling you that something is wrong. Covering up pain can lead you to cause more damage. Pain killers are a short-term 'band-aid' to help you while you address the real issue. In most cases pain killers are NOT acceptable for long term therapy.

Follow this link to see Dr. Michelle Clark of Accelerate Health and Martin Lavine of PUSH Gym featured on Fox KDVR Denver.

As always I do free consults here at Accelerate Health so stop by or call anytime!
~Mike Allen L.Ac.

Acupuncture Helping in the Fight Against Cancer

A two-part story airing on NBC Nightly News is highlighting the benefit of Acupuncture in the fight against Cancer.

Here are some excerpts from the article:

"The reason complementary therapies have moved into the mainstream, particularly with regard to cancer care, is that they can help patients deal with pain and treatment side effects, explains Dr. Barrie Cassileth, a pioneer in the field of complementary medicine
who heads up the integrative medicine service at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. "

“'Acupuncture does not cure cancer, but it is extremely helpful in a cancer setting because it can control multiple symptoms, some of which are not treatable with mainstream means,' Cassileth told NBC’s chief medical editor Dr. Nancy Snyderman."

 Many of us in the Complimentary/Alternative medicine (CAM) world have know these things for some time but have had trouble 'convincing' the mainstream. Hopefully now that more people are searching for better answers and additional options for helathcare, Acupuncture and other CAM therapies will become available to those in need. Please take a moment and follow the link to the story or watch it tonight. This could benefit someone close to you~

Facial Paralysis & Bell's Palsy

On three occasions this past year I have seen clinical presentations of Facial Paralysis. Each time, the patient arrived having a western medical diagnosis of "Bell's Palsy". Chinese Medicine views Facial Paralysis as an invasion of Wind Cold disrupting the Qi and Blood of the channels. The treatment plan is to Disperse Qi and expel Wind.

The first case was in the later stages of the condition with the patient suffering from: significant loss of facial continuity (droop), diminished sensitivity to a majority of the left side, diminished ability to taste, and excessive tearing. The clinical goal in this case was to attempt to reverse the symptoms of the condition through acupuncture, electro-acupuncture, and moxibustion.

Both the second and third cases arrived very soon after diagnosis (within 72hrs) and both manifested similarly with: dull occipital headache, mild tinnitus, mild loss of facial continuity. One case reported a sense of dizzyness or lack of balance. The clinical goal in these cases was to eliminate wind and disperse the qi of the channels coursing the head and face (Primarily Gall Bladder and Stomach).

Acupuncture point selection for these cases was very similar regardless of the stage or symptoms presenting. My preference for needling pathogenic wind cases is a very shallow insertion on the head and face with empirical depths on the distal points.

Primary Acu-Points Chosen:

1. Gall Bladder 20 (Fengchi)
2. Gall Bladder 14 (Yangbai)
3. Stomach 4 (Dicang)
4. Stomach 2 (Sibai)
5. Large Intestine 4 (Hegu)

Secondary Acu-Points Chosen:

1. DU 20
2. Stomach 6 (Jiache)
3. Stomach 36 (Zusanli)
4. Stomach 44 (Neiting)

*  Distal points needled bilateral
**Points on the head and face all needled Ipsilateral

For the more chronic case electro-acupuncture was used. Selection of points for this method can vary depending on practitioner style and patient tolerance. For this case leads were attached to Stomach 6 and Large Intestine 4 at 7Hz for a duration of 20 minutes. Electro-acupuncture is not typically employed during the acute stages of Facial Paralysis (Bell's Palsy). Electro-acupuncture should always be used cautiously on the head and face. If the patient does not have a western medical diagnosis of Bell's Palsy and presents with facial paralysis I will refer them to their primary care physician immediately to rule out any cerebro-vascular possibilities.

For each of the three cases moxibustion was used via Tigertherm. This technique is designed to assist in dispelling cold and moving local qi and blood. In this application Tigertherm is used in two "routes". One route beginning at Stomach 3 and following the Stomach meridian to Stomach 8 and the second,  sweeping the eyebrow from Urinary Bladder 2 across to extra-point Taiyang. I begin this technique on the unaffected side so the patient can feel the proper sensation and so I can gauge the warmth of the Tigertherm. Caution is used on the affected side due to loss of sensitivity; for which I use a lighter, faster technique.

Sessions for the acute cases were twice per week for three weeks. Sessions for the chronic case was twice the first week and once per week for the following four weeks. Acupuncture was always performed with other modalities incorporated accordingly.

The results of these treatments were all noticeably positive, all within six visits. In the acute cases, both reported no occipital headache and facial continuity perceived as 'normal' within the first four treatments. In a report of findings following the sixth treatment, the case with the dizzyness/lack of balance reported lower frequency and intensity of this sensation. The tinnitus remained relatively unchanged in this case. The second case reported improvement of the tinnitus to only occasional and very light.

The chronic case noticed an improvement of sensation and movement of the mouth and cheek within the first three treatments. With improved sensation the perceived facial continuity also improved. Within the first six treatments improvement was also made with the excessive tearing. The tearing was initially persistent throughout the day. Improvement in this case was: occasional tearing in the morning, easy to tear during the day, and less tearing over night. Results relating to loss of taste were inconclusive. The patient reported that she thought she could taste some things more than others but with no definitive way to measure, this change is considered negligible.

There are many factors that go into treating any patient. As such, results are often inconsistent. This approach may work very well in most cases and not at all in others. The beauty of Traditional Chinese Medicine is that you have many modalities at your disposal.

If you have any questions I am always available for a free 15-minute consult. Call or come by our downtown location at Accelerate Health~ Mike Allen, L.Ac.

What's In Your Mouth

Ever since preservatives were introduced into foods in the 1950's there has been a continuum of food exploration that may finally be out of control.
Dr. George Wald a Nobel Laureate in Medicine in 1967 and a Higgins Professor of Biology at Harvard University said:

"Recombinant DNA technology faces our society with problems unprecedented not only in the history of science, but of life on Earth. It places in human hands the capacity to redesign living organisms, the products of three billion years of evolution. Such intervention must not be confused with previous intrusions upon the natural order of living organisms: animal and plant breeding...All the earlier procedures worked within single or closely related species...Our morality up to now has been to go ahead without restriction to learn all that we can about nature. Restructuring nature was not part of the bargain...this direction may be not only unwise, but dangerous. Potentially, it could breed new animal and plant diseases, new sources of cancer, novel epidemics."

As a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, the impact of foods on the body plays a big part in how I assess the main complaint of each patient.
The quality of foods we eat can directly impact our bodies in many ways. Food itself can have medicinal value but, too frequently, the quality of available foods is poor. A poor nutritional diet can be a key factor in contributing to chronic aches/pains/injuries.
The five branches of TCM are: Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine, Physical Therapy, Nutrition, and Exercise/Breathing. As a TCM practitioner I want to take into account all of the things that impact the body and then filter it through the five branches. It's much more than just acupuncture. It's comprehensive care and lifestyle evaluation.
There is a great article in Acupuncture today discussing The Implications of GMO's, Epigenetics and Chinese Medicine on Performance Enhancement.
Performance enhancement is often misconstrued as needing 'something extra' to out perform your opponent. Performance enhancement does not have to directly relate to a sport. I want to make your work performance better, your sleep better, your sex life better... Through acupuncture and TCM I want to enhance the body to be able to operate at peak efficiency, without needing that 3rdy party substance to function at a high level no matter what it is called to do.

As always, if you have any questions about TCM or acupuncture, Contact Us to set up a free 15-minute consult with our acupuncturist, Mike Allen L.Ac., Dipl. OM
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Acupuncture Study Brings Hope for Parkinsons Disease Patients

The world around us is changing fast. 'Old world' medicine is starting to become new. One of the problems that the Western Medical community has had with Acupuncture is that so many of the studies published in the past did not meet the 'proper' standards. For decades it has been said that the long history of Acupuncture benefits reached in China have all been fabricated. It is now becoming more difficult for people to continue to believe that Acupuncture gets results. Modern research, along with major institutions like the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Health are confirming that this ancient medicine has a place in our modern world.

Read This story and find out how Acupuncture is currently being studied for treatment of patients with Parkinson's Disease.

If you have any questions about Acupuncture or want to take advantage of my free consult, Contact Me, Mike Allen L.Ac., at Accelerate Health in downtown Denver to schedule some time to chat ~