Gua sha is a traditional form of bodywork used throughout Asia and in many other cultures. It involves using a rounded-edged instrument to rub the skin and muscles and produce a beneficial effect. Gua sha literally means “scraping sand”—- after a gua sha treatment, the skin is usually reddened with small dots (the “sand”).

Gua sha is great for all types of muscle stiffness and aches. It can also treat lung and respiratory conditions, including the symptoms of the common cold.

You do not have to be an acupuncturist or an expert to learn how to practice gua sha safely and effectively on yourself and your loved ones. Come to our class and learn everything you need to know to get started!

Date: Saturday, November 3
Time: 2:15-3:15 pm
Cost: $2.13 for a gua sha spoon (per person)

You must bring a partner to this class in order to practice the techniques. Advance registration is required. Sign up by calling the office at (508) 890-8899. A maximum of 5 couples (10 people) can fit in the class, a minimum of 3 couples is required for the class to run.

Moxa, short for moxabustion, is a Chinese herb that is used externally to warm acupuncture points and channels. It’s a treatment that you can take home to use on yourself for a number of different conditions, such as joint and muscle pain and stiffness, fertility and menstrual issues, weak immune system, skin disorders, and fatigue.

Winter is the perfect time to do moxa treatments (though it can be used at any time of year). Come to our class to learn about moxa and how to use it to improve your health.

Date: Saturday, January 21, 2012 (snow date January 28)
Time: 9:00-9:45am
Location: River Valley Acupuncture
Cost: Free
Optional materials fee (1 moxa stick): $2.13

Registration is required in advance and is limited to 10 people. Register by calling the office at (508) 890-8899.

Emily’s article about how to find a holistic health practitioner on a budget was recently featured on MassMoms.com. Read the full text here.

Chances are, you are familiar with the term sciatica— leg pain along the pathway of the sciatic nerve– maybe you or someone you know suffers from it. Sciatica is a very common symptom seen in acupuncture practices, sometimes accompanied by low back pain, sometimes on its own.

Sciatica can be caused by many different underlying conditions, including muscle spasm, herniated discs, and narrowing of the spinal column. It also has many varied presentations. Some people feel pain, which can be aching, stabbing, or burning. Other people only feel tingling or numbness in the area. The sensation can be in the hip or buttocks and can radiate down the leg into the thigh or even all the way down to the toes. It can go down the back, side, or front of the leg, and it can even skip one part of the leg and reappear in another part.

Most acupuncturists will be familiar with treating sciatica in its many presentations. If you are coming in for treatment, it is important for you to describe the exact location of the pain/sensation, so that the acupuncturist knows what pathways are involved.

While some acupuncturists will treat sciatica by directly inserting a needle into the low back, buttocks, or other area of pain, in community acupuncture practices we usually treat sciatica using points on the hands, arms, legs, and feet. This allows you to remain clothed and relaxed during the treatment.

This distal (away from the site of the pain) treatment can produce some really great results. So, if you know someone who is suffering from sciatica, please send them over. I love to help people get out of pain!

Each month, I put out an email newsletter that includes office events, health news, and health tips. It is my goal to fill the newsletter with useful information that will be interesting to you and your friends.

While some of this information is also posted on our website or facebook page, much of it is only found in the newsletter. How do you know if it would be worth your while to subscribe? Here is a summary of some of the contents:

· Find out about office events before anyone else knows. For example, I have a free acupuncture day coming up in October. I haven’t publicized it anywhere except my newsletter, so newsletter subscribers can get first choice of appointment times.
· Get more in-depth information about acupuncture and other healing modalities like massage, tai chi, etc.
· Learn about vitamins & herbal supplements, food & recipes, and stretching & exercises.

The newsletter is short and easy to skim if you are looking for a particular topic. And if you decide you don’t want to keep receiving it, you can unsubscribe any time.

To sign up, go to home page of our website. Enter your information in the box on the bottom of the right hand menu bar. Or, contact us and I will put you in the database. All I need is your first name and email address. I hope you enjoy it!

Fall is the beginning of cold season. It’s also when people with allergies to weeds (ragweed, goldenrod, etc.) tend to have the worst symptoms. So, how do you know if you are coming down with a cold or if you have allergies?

This chart from WebMD does a great job of breaking down the common symptoms associated with colds and allergies. Even if you are not sure what is causing your symptoms, there are many natural remedies that can be helpful for both conditions. A neti pot can help with a stuffy and runny nose, and also helps by physically rinsing out the allergen or virus. Vitamin C has also been used to treat both colds and allergies.

In Chinese medicine, there are often similar treatments for both colds and allergies. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can both provide relief.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine are two tools that can help to increase your chance of success with quitting smoking. My patients tell me that they experience fewer cravings and less stress and irritability as they quit. Many discover that they no longer find smoking or tobacco to be enjoyable. Several of my patients who began acupuncture for other main complaints (such as back pain or anxiety) have also decided to stop smoking during the course of their acupuncture treatment.

Your mindset will play a major role in how easy or difficult it is for you to quit smoking. Quitting smoking is more likely to be effective if you want to quit for your own reasons, not because of social pressure from those around you. If you are at all ambivalent about quitting– whether because you enjoy the social aspect or worry about gaining weight– it will be much harder.

Here are a few more tips to get you started:
Find your motivation- Make a list of your reasons for quitting and keep them close to you so that you can remind yourself whenever things get tough.
Make a plan- Some people like to try a few acupuncture treatments and see how they feel before committing to a quit date. While this is fine in the short term, ultimately it is better to hold yourself accountable with a plan. That plan can either be a set quit date, or a resolve to cut down the amount you smoke by half each week.
Know your triggers- Avoid situations where you are likely to smoke and avoid other smokers whenever possible. Have a plan in advance of how you will deal with cravings. Create a support network of people who will encourage you in your goal.
Stay healthy- Get plenty of sleep, stay hydrated by drinking enough water, and eat a balanced diet. This will help you to feel better overall and to manage stress. Avoid caffeine and sugar, which may stimulate nicotine cravings.
Get help from local and national organizations
Some great sites to get you started:
American Cancer Society
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Try to Stop

Quitting smoking with acupuncture
Depending on the severity of your withdrawal symptoms, you probably need to come in at least two or three times a week within the first few weeks of quitting. At this stage, there is no such thing as getting acupuncture too frequently—if you need it, feel free to come in every day for treatment. You will be able to taper off the number of treatments you need as the weeks progress.

Most people find acupuncture to be extremely relaxing, both during the treatment and for a time afterwards. This helps with stress management, and specific acupuncture treatments can also help to target cravings.

Quitting smoking with herbal medicine
There are also several Chinese herbal formulas that can help with irritability, anxiety, and stress. Not everyone will choose to use herbal medicine as they quit smoking, but it can be a helpful adjunct to acupuncture treatment.

Since Chinese medicine seeks to restore balance to the body as a whole, you may discover other health benefits from acupuncture and herbal medicine as well. Remember, quitting smoking is a process and acupuncture is most effective when you can commit to a series of regular treatments. Don’t give up, even if you “slip” or have a bad day. Good luck!

Dietary therapy is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM theory believes that foods have either a warming or cooling nature. In summer, we can take advantage of cooling foods to help beat the heat.

One of the best foods for summer heat is something you probably gravitate towards naturally during this time—watermelon. You can read more about its nutritional properties here. Other members of the melon family, including cucumber, can also be helpful.

Mung beans, while not a common food here in the U.S., are a traditional Chinese remedy for overheating. And for drinking, lemonade, chrysanthemum tea, and mint tea all have cooling properties.

If you are interested in finding out more about Chinese dietary therapy, two good books are Healing with Whole Foods and The Tao of Healthy Eating.

Here is an interesting study from researchers in Hong Kong. They found that acupuncture, when combined with eyeglasses, improved the vision of children with amblyopia (“lazy eye”) better than glasses alone.

The results were better in children under 6 years old than in children between 7-12 years. This suggests that it is more effective to start treatment early.

At River Valley Acupuncture, we offer pediatric treatments for children under 13 years old for a low flat rate of $15 per treatment.

For more suggestions on improving eye health, read this article from Acupuncture.com. You may also want to consult with a Behavioral Optometrist about further resources.

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be helpful for weight loss and other digestive issues, like acid reflux, irritable bowel, or stomach pain. This article offers suggestions on how to get the most out of your acupuncture treatments for digestive disorders.

Pay attention to timing: Spring and summer are the best time to start a weight-loss plan* because we naturally eat less and eat lighter foods during this time (once the fall season arrives, your needs to store energy for winter, so it is best to give your body a rest from trying to lose weight). Any time of year is appropriate to address other digestive issues, and your acupuncturist can help guide you towards the foods that are most helpful for each season.

Keep a food journal: A food journal will help you to identify which foods are triggering your symptoms or cravings, so that you can avoid them.

Clarify the issue: If weight loss has been a problem for you, do you know why? Do you face severe food cravings, is your energy level too low to exercise, does your metabolism seemed to have slowed down? Each of these complaints will need a different treatment strategy, so tell your acupuncturist what issues you are facing. If you are suffering from other digestive disorders, make sure that you have had a complete medical checkup so that you know the root cause of your symptoms.

Be careful of dietary supplements: Most over the counter weight-loss supplements contain laxatives and caffeine, which can be hard on your digestive system. There are much more gentle traditional Chinese herbal formulas that can both encourage weight loss as well as strengthen the digestive system. There are also Chinese herbs and over-the-counter supplements for other digestive complaints; ask your acupuncturist for suggestions.

Be realistic: Many of my patients succeed in losing weight; they realize that to be effective, acupuncture must be combined with a healthy diet and some form of exercise. Acupuncture and Chinese herbs should be seen as another tool in your weight-loss toolbox, but are by no means miracle cures. Similarly, if you have digestive problems but you continue to eat foods that trigger your symptoms, acupuncture will be a band-aid solution at best. In either case, acupuncture can take several weeks to see a difference, so be patient—your acupuncturist will consult with you about the number of treatments necessary for your condition.

*Disclaimer: check with your doctor first