Definition of the week....

acu·pres·sure

noun \ˈa-kyə-ˌpre-shər, ˈa-kə-\

  Acupressure is an ancient healing art that uses the fingers to press key points on the surface of the skin to stimulate the body’s natural self-curative abilities. 

 When these points are pressed, they release muscular tension and promote the circulation of blood and the body’s life force (sometimes known as qi pronounced chi) to aid healing. Acupuncture and acupressure use the same points, but acupuncture employs needles, while acupressure uses the gentle, but firm pressure of hands and feet. 

  Acupressure, continues to be the most effective method for treatment of tension-related ailments by using the power and sensitivity of the human hand. Acupressure can be effective in helping relieve headaches, eye strain, sinus problems, neck pain, backaches, arthritis, muscle aches, tension due to stress, ulcer pain, menstrual cramps, lower backaches, constipation, and indigestion. 

  Acupressure can also be used to relieve anxiety and improve sleep. There are also great advantages to using acupressure as a way to balance the body and maintain good health. The healing touch of acupressure reduces tension, increases circulation, and enables the body to relax deeply. 

  By relieving stress, acupressure strengthens resistance to disease and promotes wellness. In acupressure, local symptoms are considered an expression of the condition of the body as a whole. A tension headache, for instance, may be rooted in the shoulder and neck area. Thus, acupressure focuses on relieving pain and discomfort, as well as responding to tension, before it develops into a disease—before the constrictions and imbalances can do further damage. 

  The origins of acupressure are as ancient as the instinctive impulse to hold your forehead or temples when you have a headache. Everyone at one time or another has used their hands spontaneously to hold tense or painful places on the body. More than five thousand years ago, the Chinese discovered that pressing certain points on the body relieved pain where it occurred and also benefited other parts of the body more remote from the pain and the pressure point. Gradually, they found other locations that not only alleviated pain, but also influenced the functioning of certain internal organs. (Definition, in part, from the book Acupressure’s Potent Points, by Michael Reed Gach, director of the Acupressure Institute, Bantam, 1990.) 

Definition credit - http://www.massagetherapy.com/glossary/

Traditional Chinese Medicine VS. Western Medicine

Traditional Chinese Medicine VS. Western Medicine

As you may be aware, our acupuncturist, Richard, practices Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM). He has spent time learning and practicing in Asian and Chinese countries.  Not only does this aid in his ability to practice TCM, but it gives him an in depth approach to helping you overcome your health and wellness obstacles. He will use ancient methods to identify and treat the root cause or imbalance. A patient does not have to feel ill in order to benefit from treatment. Richard works to detect and correct existing imbalances in the body to help find relief and to reduce symptoms, for a healthier and more balanced self. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) sees the body as an integrated whole. All parts of the body and organ systems are linked in obvious or subtle ways. Disease may originate locally or be caused by an imbalance in the whole system. In TCM a patient’s complaint is considered only as one of the symptoms of the underling imbalance. When this imbalance is resolved the patient should expect significant improvement or complete disappearance of the original complaint. The principal aim of TCM is to restore equilibrium between the physical, emotional and spiritual aspects of the individual; between yin and yang.  One does not have to feel ill in order to benefit from TCM. In our clinic the Practitioner, by using TCM principles, works to detect and to correct the existing imbalance in the body long before it becomes a serious problem.  "Western [allopathic] medicine focuses on removing the symptoms using direct methods, so-called “fix the head when the head hurts; fix the foot when the foot aches.” Yet Chinese medicine emphasizes a dialectical analysis of the human body as a whole, where it is viewed as a collection of interconnected and interrelated systems." Traditional Chinese Medicine Overview Traditional Chinese Medicine, also known as TCM, includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medical system in much of the Western world. TCM practices include such treatments as Chinese herbal medicine, acupuncture, dietary therapy, and both Tui Na and Shiatsu massage. Qigong and Taijiquan are also closely associated with TCM. TCM is more than 4,000 years old and is rooted in meticulous observation of nature, the cosmos, and the human body. Major TCM theories include those of Yin-yang, the Five Phases, the human body Meridian/Channel system, Zang Fu organ theory, six confirmations, four layers, etc. Theory The foundation principles of Chinese Medicine are not uniform, and are based on several schools of thought. TCM have been influenced by Taoism, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism. Since 1200 BC, Chinese academics of various schools have focused on the observable natural laws of the universe and their implications for the practical characterization of human body and mind place in the universe. In the I Ching and other Chinese literary and philosophical classics, Chinese writers described general principles and their applications to health and healing. Western Medicine versus Chinese Medicine There are some principle differences between Western Medicine and Chinese Medicine Philosophies. For example, Western man with his/her two thousand years of intellectual tradition will try to find straightforward, visible, scientifically provable relationships between cause and effect. TCM philosophy, on the other hand, does not see such a straight forward relationship between cause and effect. Cause can easily become an effect, and effect can become the cause. TCM look at the body holistically. State of general health determines how severe and/or how chronic an original complaint is. So the treatment always addresses both: the whole body and the specific complaint. If the treatment addresses the complaint only it would be considerably less effective. Western Medicine is better then Chinese Medicine in addressing life threatening and very acute health problems such as stroke, heart attack, broken limb, etc. The main strength of Chinese Medicine lies in addressing of non-life threatening and chronic problems. It happens that most of the health complaint people have are exactly of this nature (non-life threatening and chronic). Western and Chinese Medicines do not conflict, or contradict, or compromise each other. They look at the body from very different frameworks. When two approaches are combined they have complimentary, synergetic effect and therefore quicker and better results. TCM Terminology Unlike the Western anatomical model which divides the physical body into parts, the Chinese model is more concerned with function. Thus, the TCM spleen is not a specific piece of flesh, but an aspect of function related to transformation and transportation within the body, and of the mental functions of thinking and studying. Terms Chinese Medicine practitioner would use might sound strange to the “western” ear (i.e. Yin, Yang, Essence, Qi, Blood, Wind, Dampness, Heart organ-system, Lung organ-system, etc.) These do not represent specific organs or substances but rather functions of different organs and pathologies of these functions. TCM has specific acupuncture points and specific herbal formulas which address a dysfunction determined by TCM diagnostic procedure and expressed in Chinese Medical terminology . "  Thank you to the websites and clinics that have composed information onto the web to help patient's learn about their health. The Scollard Street TCM & Acupuncture Clinic The Epoch Times Carolyn Dew- Mandala Centre for Health and Wellness