Currently, as the end of Summer approaches, many of us will be pulled in many more directions as our various duties and responsibilities return. Acupuncturists view this time of year and name it "Duo Yuo", a time of change generally moving from one season to another. Greater amounts of opportunity are available during times of transition. It is important to clarify parts of life that add vital energy, and the aspects that deplete the best parts of our mind, spirit or body. Simply put, what adds to your bucket and what aspect of life drains from your bucket and, are they in balance?
Jade's Co-Owner Lets His Heart Do the Talking
Summer is less than a month away marked by the Summer Solstice that follows a full moon. That is by far the happiest sentence I’ve written so far this year. Summer is the time of year where temperature, culture, traditions and we as individuals exhibit the most Yang type activities in the most Yang of environments.
Enhancing Immunity, Reducing Stress and Disease
Why is it difficult to gain traction toward your goals with “simple”? Because you're stressed so everything seems more difficult and the time you have to devote to yourself may appear not to exist. That is fertile ground for your “Stress Cycle”, to continue, perhaps freshly enhanced. Time to take a step back and get your power back.
Heart Strong: Acupuncture & Balancing the Heart
Anticipating what is to come is a very human thing to do. Early in human existence, avoiding great consequences with the use of tactical thinking meant the difference between life and death. Frequent high intensity use of this survival skill can damage your state of balance within the heart dynamic of emotion, thought and the ability to be at rest.
Prepare for Spring with Traditional Chinese Medicine
Spring marks a time of metamorphosis and enlightenment. During this time, we make several changes to our lifestyle to help us transition from the heavy winter to the light, airy spring. Cleanses are a very popular undertaking for this time of year. We are entering a lighter season and we want our bodies to feel that way too.
Acupuncture Helps People with Cancer
Why We Integrate
How Acupuncture Can Reduce Your Pain Medication
For some time now I have been practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine. Many times I wondered what the greatest impact I could possibly make as a Licensed Acupuncturist in the State of Maine. Katie Thomas’ article in The New York Times, Patients Prescribed Narcotic Painkillers Use More of Them for Longer, Study Finds, brought that need to a crisp reality. Maine was #1 in the country for Opiate pain medication prescribing three years ago and Ms. Thomas’ article gave stunning facts of what those prescriptions make possible in the lives of Mainers. In The Times article, it is said that nearly half of the people who used their pain med prescription for thirty days are still using their meds three years later. Conversely, my fifteen years of experience with reducing pain, few see me in terms of years and acupuncture is not habit forming. Prescription med overdose is the leading accidental cause of death with 16,000 deaths nationwide in 2012. In chronic situations, one third of those prescribed pain meds had concurrent prescriptions for anti-anxiety drugs & muscle relaxants. If susceptible, addiction seems likely for those just trying to get beyond their injury or surgery. Other tools to reduce pain medicine prescriptions must be used.
America’s National Institute for Health support the use of acupuncture for the relief of pain. At Jade Integrated Health we ask doctors directly if there is a way to integrate the use of acupuncture to reduce pain and minimize the use of potentially addictive meds. Much of the time the visits are from folks in the chronic pain med use category and have additional sleep problems, anxiety or depression. All those additional symptoms are treatable with acupuncture, often times providing an opportunity to reduce or eliminate prescriptions for those additional imbalances.
Our dream here at Jade is providing Physicians a choice for their patients chronic or acute pain. We offer a well balance array of services provided by expert level clinicians. Pain will always be a part of living and currently medications are the most common solution used. When offered that solution please consider potential consequence for addiction as mentioned above. Ask your Medical Provider for non-addictive choices like Acupuncture, Yoga, Massage and Meditation.
John