Acupuncture and Treatment

What is Acupuncture?

For over 3000 years, acupuncture has been used to treat an endless number of conditions. Acupuncture is the practice of inserting very thin needles into points located throughout the body.

From an Eastern medical perspective, these needles allow the movement of qi (pronounced chee), or energy, through highways (called meridians) that transverse the body. By directing the movement of qi through meridians, acupuncture can help the body find balance and relieve a vast array of conditions.

From a Western medical perspective, the needles act as a conductor of electricity through the body promoting the release of biochemicals that allow the body to come into homeostasis.

Do you perform traditional TCM?

While I am traditionally trained at Bastyr University, I have completed my post-graduate training in sports medicine and orthopedics. My practice focuses on sports injury and performance. Most of my treatments, are considered “medical acupuncture”, focusing on treatments that repair injury and reactivate neuromuscular firing to ensure proper muscular function. I do, however, employ traditional acupuncture techniques to combat stress and anxiety.

What is the mechanism of electroacupuncture medicine (EAM)?

The beauty of EAM is that different frequencies of electricity release specific biochemicals from the brain. Optimized treatment with electroacupuncture promotes the release of the following biomolecules:

beta-endorphins (dynorphins and enkephalins)=your on-board pain killers

ACTH (the precursor of cortisol)=decreases inflammation

seratonin (your feel good molecule)=improves mood and kills pain

norepinipherine=improves local circulation and stimulates adrenal glands

I’ve had “dry needling”. Is acupuncture the same thing?

Dry needling is a form of acupuncture used in orthopedic and pain conditions that involves the use of needles to release “trigger points” or local adhesions in soft tissue.

Acupuncture can release trigger points in a similar manner, albeit less painfully than “dry needling”. Orthopedic acupuncture can go further by activating "motor points”, where the nerve innervates a muscle to reset muscle function. In addition, these medical acupuncture treatments can be combined with traditional acupuncture and electroacupuncture to address pain, mental health, stress, and internal medical conditions.