Apr 9, 2024
I get a lot of calls from people suffering with sciatica. They experience tingling and burning in their lower backs and the discomfort often goes down the path of the sciatic nerve into the leg. They report numbness and pain and often experience muscle weakness resulting from interrupted nerve signals. They want to know if acupuncture can help them. Acupuncture can indeed be effective in treating sciatica. It works by stimulating the body’s own ability to release anti-inflammatories and painkillers to reduce inflammation and pain in the lower back. It targets the muscles and nerves involved in the problem area to release tightness, decreasing muscular spasm around the sciatic nerve. In this way it increases the range of motion in the back and restores muscle tissue and nerve function, facilitating healing.
A course of acupuncture treatment would aim to reduce the frequency and intensity of the pain and restore normal function. The number of treatments needed would depend on various factors such whether the sciatica had an acute onset or was chronic in nature. A young person with acute onset might need six treatments over three weeks. A chronic case might need more, typically sixteen treatments over eight weeks to really resolve the issue.
Do you suffer with sciatica? Why not give me a call and arrange a consultation today?
Feb 7, 2024
I’ve recently been contacted by a number of people asking if acupuncture can help them with sleep issues. Sleep is problematic for many people. It has been estimated that as many as one in three people in the UK find it difficult to achieve good quality refreshing sleep.
There are many different patterns of poor sleep. Some people find it hard to fall asleep. Some get to sleep quickly but can’t stay asleep. Some are disturbed by vivid dreams. Some are kept awake by pain, or by worry, or by low mood. Sometimes the issue is hormonal imbalance, for example during the menopause.
If you come for treatment, I will ask you many questions to make a thorough diagnosis in order to identify the pattern of what is going on with you. Every person is different. Very often, if the underlying cause of the sleep dysfunction is identified and treated, relaxation and overall wellbeing can be optimised and sleep improved. Acupuncture can stimulate the nervous system to release neurochemical messengers to reduce stress and pain and anxiety.
Of course, environmental factors and sleep routine may also need to be discussed and addressed. All of this is taken into account when building a treatment plan.
I would recommend looking at the insomnia fact sheet on the British Acupuncture Council website for those interested in clinical research into acupuncture treatment for sleep issues. https://acupuncture.org.uk/fact-sheets/insomnia/
If you are finding sleep to be a problem, why not book in for a free consultation with Joe Stevens Acupuncture to discuss it?
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio: https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-gray-tank-top-lying-on-bed-3807982/
Nov 15, 2023
There are two contrasting theories as to why people get sick – germ theory and terrain theory.
Germ theory suggests that there is usually a specific cause for any disorder, for example a bacterial infection. The cause is bacteria. A physician thinking in this way would use anti-biotics as a first line of treatment. Whether it is bacteria or a fungus or a virus, the doctor diagnoses a specific agent as the cause and the treatment plan would be to deal with that agent.
Terrain theory on the other hand argues that it is the health of the body’s internal environment that is the fundamental cause of disease, and that pathogens such as bacteria or viruses are opportunists. In other words, the bacteria or viruses are symptoms not causes. A physician thinking in this way would be more likely to think of lifestyle or diet changes to improve health and enable the body to heal itself. A body in balance is able to fight off infection and, even if it is infected, is more able to deal with it without serious illness.
While germ theory and terrain theory are not directly related to acupuncture theory, they are useful ideas to bear in mind when talking about how acupuncture can work. If a patient goes to the doctor with mild low mood and anxiety for example, the problem could be framed as a deficiency of serotonin in the brain. Such a deficiency could be addressed by prescribing antidepressants. The cause of the low mood is a lack of a certain hormone.
This is not the way an acupuncturist would approach such a problem. The acupuncturist would try to figure out why the patient feels low. Low mood can be the symptom of many different imbalances in the body. By questioning and observing, feeling the pulse and looking at the tongue the acupuncturist seeks to work out what is going on. It could be that the problem starts in the gut and with difficult digestion, leading to fatigue and lack of sleep. This is quite commonly the case. There is more and more evidence in western medical research showing that there is an intimate link between our gut health and our mood. Acupuncture in this case would be working to improve the patient’s digestion to fundamentally improve general well-being. The cause of the low mood may indeed be the lack of serotonin in the brain but instead of prescribing a pill, acupuncture supports the body’s resources so that it can function naturally and produce its own hormones appropriately.
This approach is useful for cases when western allopathic medicine fails to prevent a chronic condition from recurring and necessitating the use of harsh drugs over extended periods. In these cases, improving the body’s “terrain” can be very beneficial. I would add a caveat here. If you have sepsis for example, you need immediate strong anti-biotic medication. If you have a serious mental health condition, you need specialist medical help. I always tell my patients that if they get hit by a bus, they do not need to call an acupuncturist!
Sep 25, 2023
This is a question I get asked by almost all my new patients, and I can certainly understand why! Most people only experience a needle insertion as an injection at the dentist’s or when giving a blood sample at the doctor’s surgery. People associate needles with disagreeable sensations.
I would stress that acupuncture is very different. Acupuncture needles are very fine and are usually painless on insertion. There can be a quick sting or a tingling sensation, but any discomfort is fleeting. Sometimes there can be a dull ache where the needles are. Many of my patients find an acupuncture session extremely relaxing and it is a daily occurrence for people to fall asleep on the couch.
My patients are the bosses in my clinic. If rarely the needles cause discomfort, they tell me and I adjust or remove the needles immediately. There may also be parts of the body that people fear being needled. I have a patient who feels this way about her feet. She does not mind me using points on her hands, arms or legs, but really can not bear the idea of treating her feet. This is not a problem at all. There is almost always more than one way to approach an acupuncture treatment and I can find other points to use very effectively.
Aug 18, 2023
How does acupuncture work? I get asked this question all the time, and very often what people really want to know how does it help their pain. How can needles really help with musculoskeletal problems and pain? This is the question. An acupuncturist might say that these issues are usually caused by qi and blood stagnation and that a treatment would aim to restore a normal flow of energy in the body and thus facilitate healing. Language like ‘qi and blood stagnation’ can come across as jargon. What does it really mean?
One way to explain it would be to imagine that you have a rubber band wound tightly around your little finger. The finger would very quickly become uncomfortable. This represents the stagnation Chinese Medicine talks about. You could take an aspirin tablet. It would not really help. You could have surgery on your finger. Again, it would be of no help. The thing you need to do is remove the rubber band. You need to open up the area of pain and let the blood flow in.
The body has an incredible inner wisdom and almost always knows how to remove the rubber band. But things can get stuck. It just needs the right nudge. Acupuncture is a way of giving the body that nudge. Once the body opens up, homeostasis is restored and self-healing can take place. The needles create a stimulus that results in a cascade of signalling through the body’s nerves and connective tissues, affecting both the central and peripheral nervous systems. This influences not only the nervous system itself, but also the cardiovascular system and the endocrine system. Suddenly the affected tissue, whether it is muscle or tendon or bone, will have a good blood supply, flushing out waste and supplying nutrients, reducing inflammation and pain and allowing the whole system to heal.
Oct 31, 2020
A lot of people come to me with what is called a frozen shoulder. It is a common complaint in people as they get into their late forties and early fifties, though sometimes it can present in younger people. A frozen shoulder is miserable. The pain can make it difficult to find a comfortable sleep position. The lack of mobility in the joint makes it difficult to exercise. Even everyday activities like showering or brushing your hair can become troublesome.
Causes of frozen shoulder
From a traditional acupuncture point of view a frozen shoulder is the result of a lack of circulation in the shoulder. There are various causes. It could be environmental – cold and damp getting into the joint. If the neck and shoulder are exposed to a cold wind or left uncovered by the duvet at night it can cause a problem. It could be scarring from an old injury or overuse that impairs the circulation. It might be chronic stress creating tension in the area. If there is poor circulation the blood cannot carry nutrients needed for healing to the area. Even more importantly, poor circulation means toxins are not flushed from the tissues since all living tissues create waste products. The result is inflammation and pain.
Symptoms of frozen shoulder
Frozen shoulder typically presents with pain in the shoulder, especially during activity. The pain can be at the back, on top or in front of the joint. Mobility in the joint is restricted in any or all directions. Every case is slightly different. For some, the pain is restricted to the shoulder joint, for others the whole or part of the arm can be painful or numb. Traditional acupuncture diagnosis works out which channels are affected and therefore how to restore circulation to the shoulder.
Treatment of frozen shoulder
I have treated many people with shoulder pain. My job is to get the blood circulation flowing again. As soon as this happens the pain can reduce very quickly and the mobility of the joint can improve. I use acupuncture and moxa to achieve this. With frozen shoulder, I tell my patients they should see a significant improvement in the first two sessions, though a complete course of treatment may take weekly or bi-weekly 45-minute treatments over a longer period, depending on how long the problem has been in place and how severe the imbalance. If we do not see an improvement in the first couple of treatments, this can be a useful diagnostic insight that it is not a simple frozen shoulder. There might be a structural problem for example. In such a case I would reconsider my diagnosis and perhaps suggest a different type of treatment.
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