by Andrew Greenberg, LAc. MSAc
All machines, all systems—unless energy is added—eventually wear down and fall apart, whether it’s your car, your cell phone, your toaster, the company you work for, or you. Unless energy is added, chaos takes over. Acupuncture, is the source of energy to your body. I actually am offering you, the patient, a gift. The gift of life’s energy, the gift of feeling better, the gift of reducing your pain, the gift of healing.
Acupuncture, or more generally, Chinese Medicine, is based on a simple principle, “Illness cannot live where there is good Qi”. Qi, according to ancient Chinese, is the energy that sustains us all. Good Qi comes and occupies the body, thus protecting the body from illness moving in. Chinese Medicine makes room for the Qi to move in. The core of Chinese Medicine is when there is flow you have health, if no flow, you have pain and illness.
Acupuncture has become as commonplace in Boston as in Beijing. People assume that current Western medicine has a unique handle on the Truth and that all else is superstition. But many other people are looking for alternatives to the pill pushing Dr’s of America. Chinese medicine is not hocus-pocus. It is the result of extensive clinical observation and testing over thousands of years. In fact it is now covered by major medical insurance companies, some of which allow for unlimited acupuncture treatments! What this tells me is that there is enough scientific evidence out there that tells insurance company’s that this works in helping people heal, thus possibly saving them thousands of dollars of long arduous treatments of western medicine.
A couple of the reasons for the rise of Chinese Medicine. One is that many patients have had conditions that have not responded or improved with western modalities but have found astonishing results using acupuncture. It has been established that patients have seen chronic conditions subside with amazing speed. Secondly, people are tired of being treated like cattle at typical western medicine clinics by being rushed in and out, spending less than 5 minutes with their doctors.
An acupuncturist spends time with each and every patient, trying to understand what is currently going on in the patients body. This means asking patient’s questions regarding sleep, digestion, pain, eating habits, emotion and energy levels. When was the last time a patient was asked those types of questions in a dr’s office. If there is time, a patient could get a light massage, called Tui Nai, at the acupuncturists office. Again, something that you would never see at a doctors office.
In general, the difference between us and our western cohorts is that in the west, they start with a symptom and than search for the underlying cause. With a Chinese physician, we direct our attention to the whole person. This questioning allows us to see what is going on in the persons life. Is their job stressful, how about their home life, spouse, kids, etc. This leads us to discover a “pattern of disharmony”. Which in turn guides my treatment protocol in order to bring harmony back. We may find that stress is leading to the headaches or digestive issues. This is where the needles come in. We don’t just address the physical pain, i.e. Headaches, but the fact that stress may be leading to those headaches. As you can see, we almost become like a trusted friend in the treatment room, one who cares about the whole you, not just your bank account.
Of course we have acupuncture points that address both the headache AND the stress. Once we’ve determined the pattern of disharmony, we than come up with a treatment plan of where the needles are to be inserted in order to stimulate and move the Qi. This elicits an immune response, and circulation improves. The body than distributes those responses to the rest of the body and organs.
By the way, Memorial Sloan Kettering, one of the worlds top hospitals, just advertised they are now offering an acupuncture treatment center in their Basking Ridge office. When one of the worlds most famous hospitals introduces Acupuncture what does that tell you? That it works. One other thing they mentioned in their ad is that the treatment protocol is a minimum of 8-10 treatments. Thus you’ll need to see me over the course of a few weeks to address your concerns.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is almost “spa like” in it’s effect on the human condition. You’ll feel at peace in the room. Give it a try, it just may change your life. Call 732-503-4079 to schedule your no-cost, no-obligation, consultation.
