Acupuncture

• Broader spectrum healing which treats the total body; physical and energetic

• It is the ultimate vehicle to retain, maintain and enhance your overall health

• Provides even greater harmony and balance than traditional acupuncture

• Enhances your conscious awareness

• Provides a greater connection to the higher spiritual realms

Acupuncture Benefits: An Overview

Acupuncture is an ancient medical practice where needles are used in problem areas to help balance the Qi (pronounced as “chi”) of the body. The Qi is a life energy that flows through one’s body which helps to make sure that all of its parts are working harmoniously together. If there is a blockage of the energy flowing through the body freely, then illness tends to happen. Acupuncture can help an individual to re-balance their Qi and improve their overall wellbeing. Many find that this therapy helps them manage a large range of ailments. The illness one is seeking to treat could be emotional or physical.

what is “qi?”

The ancient Chinese believed that Qi, a powerful “life force,” permeated everything and joined their surroundings together. They also believed that this energy flowed through the human body as well. The literal translation of Qi is “breath” or “air”. They felt if they could learn to understand the rhythm and natural flow of this energy they could create treatments to increase longevity. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) incorporates various methods of correcting the circulation of qi for general health; acupuncture is one of these methods.

History

TCM has been practiced for thousands of years. During war time in ancient China, they used very basic weapons such as spears and rocks, and later, knives and swords. Those that had been hit with these weapons had begun noticing, quite commonly, that ailments unrelated to the area that had by hit had either been cured or relieved temporarily. This is when this practice was started being formulated.

Acupuncture therapy as practiced today involves needles, but they are nothing like hypodermic needles. They do not push or pull fluids out of the body. They are much smaller in length and width. It is easy to be nervous, especially when hearing the word “needles”, but these needles are not painful like hypodermic or even tattoo needles. In fact, they are designed for comfort. It just takes getting over the nervousness and giving it a try. Then you will see that they really do help much more than hurt.

needle therapy in western medicine

Acupuncture is gaining more ground in the United States as a truly beneficial means of medical treatment. Insurance coverage varies from state to state, but in California most insurance carriers offer coverage. In the US, there is a slow but steady movement towards more preventative and alternative health care policies. Acupuncture is usually grouped under the “alternative health care” banner with chiropractic, but it has become more main-stream both in terms of use and as a matured and licensed means of medical care.

There are over 20,000 licensed acupuncturists in the US with an estimated 12,000 actively in practice. The World Health Organization has acknowledged after looking over various official studies that acupuncture has worked better than placebo alternatives. They have accepted acupuncture as a worthy alternative to medications for pain relief and other physical issues. Those that are still cynical about this ancient medical treatment can have added peace of mind knowing acupuncture in the US is very widely practiced.

Additionally, acupuncture is an excellent compliment to western medicine when these treatments are necessary. Dr. Csoka reminds her patients that it is important to remember that you do not have to choose between one or the other. Rather, it is important for patients to consider their best interests and keep a focus on their overall health benefiting from both sides.

Acupunture offers many benefits to the body. Some of the most common conditions treated with acupuncture by Dr. Csoka in Orange County include the diseases or disorders for which acupuncture therapy has been tested in controlled clinical trials reported in the recent literature. They can be classified into different categories as shown below.

1. diseases, symptoms or conditions for which acupuncture has been proved-through controlled trials-to be an effective treatment:

Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy
Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)
Biliary colic
Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
Dysentery, acute bacillary
Dysmenorrhoea, primary
Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm)
Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders)
Headache
Hypertension, essential
Hypotension, primary
Induction of labour
Knee pain
Leukopenia
Low back pain
Malposition of fetus, correction of
Morning sickness
Nausea and vomiting
Neck pain
Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction)
Periarthritis of shoulder
Postoperative pain
Renal colic
Rheumatoid arthritis
Sciatica
Sprain
Stroke
Tennis elbow

2. diseases, symptoms or conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which further proof is needed:

Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)
Acne vulgaris
Alcohol dependence and detoxification
Bell’s palsy
Bronchial asthma
Cancer pain
Cardiac neurosis
Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation
Cholelithiasis
Competition stress syndrome
Craniocerebral injury, closed
Diabetes mellitus, non-insulin-dependent
Earache
Epidemic haemorrhagic fever
Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease)
Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection
Female infertility
Facial spasm
Female urethral syndrome
Fibromyalgia and fasciitis
Gastrokinetic disturbance
Gouty arthritis
Hepatitis B virus carrier status
Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)
Hyperlipaemia
Hypo-ovarianism
Insomnia
Labour pain
Lactation, deficiency
Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic
Ménière disease
Neuralgia, post-herpetic
Neurodermatitis
Obesity
Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence
Osteoarthritis
Pain due to endoscopic examination
Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans
Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)
Postextubation in children
Postoperative convalescence
Premenstrual syndrome
Prostatitis, chronic
Pruritus
Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome
Raynaud syndrome, primary
Recurrent lower urinary-tract infection
Reflex sympathetic dystrophy
Retention of urine, traumatic
Schizophrenia
Sialism, drug-induced
Sjögren syndrome
Sore throat (including tonsillitis)
Spine pain, acute
Stiff neck
Temporomandibular joint dysfunction
Tietze syndrome
Tobacco dependence
Tourette syndrome
Ulcerative colitis, chronic
Urolithiasis
Vascular dementia
Whooping cough (pertussis)

3. diseases, symptoms or conditions for which there are only individual controlled trials reporting some therapeutic effects, but for which acupuncture is worth trying because treatment by conventional and other therapies is difficult:

Chloasma
Choroidopathy, central serous
Colour blindness
Deafness
Hypophrenia
Irritable colon syndrome
Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury
Pulmonary heart disease, chronic
Small airway obstruction

how many visits are required?

The number of treatments that will are required to see a positive change will vary from person to person and will also depend on the condition being treated. It is important to remember that acupuncture is a process and it is quite rare to completely cure a condition in one visit (with the exception of acute sport injury).

things to remember before and after your treatment

You will undergo an extensive medical history assessment (including your laboratory tests results) with Dr. Csoka on your first visit. She will make you comfortable in a private and zen-like treatment room and will go through a process of examining certain visible areas of your body including your face, eyes and ears, and she will ask you questions on your well-being as well as take your pulse and analyze your heart rhythm. This is so she can assess where the problem areas are and draw up the best course of treatment for you. Each patient is different, and this is an important part of treatment. Dr. Csoka will put you at ease and will make the process fun, and most importantly share many different tips and ideas that will benefit for your health.

Before going to your acupuncture appointment in Orange County, make sure that you have eaten something light a few hours or so before. It is important to remember not to eat anything heavy, but do not skip eating altogether. Make sure that you do not drink coffee or anything with caffeine in it before the appointment, as it is a stimulant. Also, do not drink alcohol or do drugs before an appointment. Aim to cut out as many stressors as possible beforehand and the body will respond easier and faster.

After the appointment, take it easy. Avoid stress and do not do anything too physically intense. Also, avoid using ice as it counteracts with the needle therapy.

Acupuncture is a very safe and effective means of healing the body in a natural way. There are no side effects in comparison to many of the powerful medications/pharmaceuticals and treatments used in western medicine. This is the primary reason that so many people turn to this method to treat their condition. As an attempt to create a lifestyle balance, Dr. Csoka may suggest dietary and lifestyle changes as well that will benefit your healing process. It is important to listen to your body closely during this time, and always.

Dr. Csoka, Orange County acupuncturist and founder of Biorient Integrative Clinic has been extremely successful in treating a wide variety of conditions and also in using acupuncture as a maintenance tool for general health. She will be happy to answer your questions and provide additional information and detail specific treatment options