Chinese Medicine is somewhat unique in that it places great emphasis on the prevention of disease. In ancient China, Chinese doctors were paid to keep their patients well. If the patient fell ill, the payment ceased until the patient got better. The emphasis on preventive health is still very much a feature of Chinese Medicine today. Chinese Medicine also stresses the interaction between the mental, emotional and physical health of the patient, in both diagnosis and treatment of illness.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is the most widely accepted form of treatment associated with Chinese Medicine in the Western world.
Other forms of acupuncture practiced include:
- Needle-Free Acupuncture
- Electro-acupuncture
- Laser acupuncture
Herbal Medicine
Bayside Acupuncture & Natural Therapies stocks a full range of both Chinese herbal extracts and Western herbal extracts.
From a Western perspective research has demonstrated that acupuncture stimulates the brain to produce natural opiates called endorphins. Further investigation has demonstrated that acupuncture not only affects pain but also regulates a wide variety of body systems.
- The relaxed feeling one gets from acupuncture comes from sedation of the sympathetic nervous system, or the “flight or fight response”. This helps de-stress, and physiologically improves blood circulation, muscle tightness and digestion, just to name a few.
- Acupuncture has also been shown to affect a wide variety of hormones including those that control ovulation and menstruation due to its effect on the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis (HPOA)
- Acupuncture affects neurochemicals such as serotonin that, among other things, affect mood and mental states.
No. When the needles are inserted you may experience a sensation of tingling or warmth. Many are pleasantly surprised to find that treatments are relaxing. The acupuncture needles are horse-hair thin, and nothing is injected or fluid withdrawn. Needles are placed for approximately 20-30 minutes.
Acupuncture is a very safe medical procedure when administered by a qualified practitioner. The National Institue of Health, (NIH) Consensus statement on Acupuncture states “One of the advantage of acupuncture is that the incidence of adverse effects is substantially lower than that of many drugs or other accepted medical procedures used for the same condition”. Other large scale studies (British Medical Journal 2001;323:486-487, 1 September) have demonstrated extremely low incidence of injury as a result of acupuncture.
The first visit consists of a thorough exam. This includes an analysis of your health history, a physical exam and an observation of tongue and pulse qualities unique to Chinese Medicine. We also evaluate diet, lifestyle, blood, urine and saliva when appropriate to create a program tailored for you.
Chinese herbal medicine is one of the most sophisticated professional systems. There are more than 10,000 medicinal substances published by the Chinese Ministry of Health. Most herbs come from plant sources and have been found through hundreds of generations of experimentation to be effective for a wide variety of conditions.
Chinese herbs are not limited just to barks and roots; this simple term has been broadened to include many other medicinal agents and includes animal as well as mineral products. The development of the TCM “materials for medicine” has gone from an original 364 entries when it was first formally compiled around the fourth century AD, to almost 6,000 items today.Chinese medicinal plants have played an important role in disease prevention and in the treatment of the Chinese people for thousands of years,. Currently, their importance and significance have been recognized by the Western world and are now openly received by the general public.
Herbs are a powerful way to rebalance and nourish the body with very few side-effects. Herbs can be used to fight infection, improve immunity, help digestion, enhance liver function, relieve anxiety, help depression, and improve sleep to name a few. We take into account drug-herb interactions when prescribing.
The diagnostic system recognizes patterns of imbalance – groups of signs and symptoms categorized into patterns, not just diseases. Because of this specificity to the individual two patients that may have the same condition in conventional medicine may have different patterns in Chinese Medicine and receive their own herbal formulas.
The synergy of herb combinations is a key component of Chinese herbal medicine. Just like a meal contains a combination of flavors to create a taste greater than the sum of the individual parts, the same is true for herbal formulas. A typical formula will contain 4 to 20 herbs.
Tonics are a special category of Chinese herbs that have been used for centuries to rebuild the body’s vital energy. They can be used to:
• Strengthen the immune system
• Increase energy
• Balance hormones
• Improve athletic performance
• Strengthen libido
Some of the best known and researched herbs in the Chinese pharmacopeia are tonic herbs such as ginseng, reishi mushroom, cordyceps and dang gui.
We use only herbs from reputable suppliers that have been manufactured to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards, tested for heavy metals, adulterants and toxins. At Bayside Acupuncture and Natural Therapies, our clinic herbs are dispensed as custom-made formulas in granulated herbal teas, capsules, tablets and raw herbs.