We strive to provide high-quality, easily accessible, cost-effective health care. We are committed to working with you to help you build the knowledge and skills you need to develop healthy attitudes and behaviors that will promote a high-level of overall wellness.
What Acupuncture Treats
Clinical studies support that acupuncture is an effective modality in the treatment of almost all kinds of pain conditions, including, but not limited to, the following: migraines, neuralgia, neck pain, back pain, herniated disc, TMJ, tennis elbow, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, frozen shoulder, shoulder pain, fibromyalgia, dysmenorrhea, osteoporosis, sports and other injuries, surgical pain and even cancer pain. Researchers have discovered beneficial immune and endocrine alterations following acupuncture treatment. Acupuncture may actually help prevent pain by acting on the sympathetic nervous system and by stimulating the body to produce biochemical substances, such as endorphins, to help reduce pain.
In addition to acute and chronic pain, acupuncture also treats:
- Fertility
- Dermatological issues
- Digestive issues
- Bronchital issues (asthma and bronchitis)
- Sinus issues
- Stress and emotional disorders (anxiety, depression, panic attacks)
- Smoking addiction
- Women's health issues (menopausal symptoms, menstrual issues, hot flashes)
Acupuncture Therapy
Thousands of years ago, the ancient Chinese believed that there is a universal life force (energy) called Qi present in every living creature. This energy is said to circulate throughout the body along specific channels that are called meridians. As long as this energy flows freely throughout the meridians, health is maintained, but once the flow of energy is blocked, the system is disrupted and pain and illness occur. Imagine rivers that flood and cause disasters or an electrical grid short-circuiting that causes blackouts. Acupuncture works to “re-program” and restore normal functions by stimulating certain points on the meridians in order to free up the Qi energy and restore health.
Chinese Herbal Therapy
After diagnosing a pattern of disharmony and administering acupuncture treatments, a practitioner of TCM often recommends an herbal formula from over a thousand common herbal formulas. Herbal medicine has a long history in the Orient. The first Chinese material, the Shen-Nung Herbal Classic, was begun during the Stone Age and completed in the later part of the 5th century B.C., from which some important formulas originated.
Chinese herbal medicine treats the underlying or root cause of illness, unlike Western drugs which often times just mask symptoms.
Chinese herbal therapy works in concert with acupuncture by providing the nourishing support for the energetic “re-programming” and “re-balancing” efforts of acupuncture.
Additional Therapies
Among our acupuncture and herbal therapies, we also offer:
- Reiki
- Energy Balancing
Fertility Treatment
Acupuncture in conjunction with Chinese medicine can reduce FSH levels and improve egg quality by ensuring optimum health, increasing blood flow, and balancing reproductive hormones, as well as reducing stress—another common factor in infertility. Therefore, many of Deborah’s patients are becoming pregnant naturally and healthily after treatment, including those undergoing ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology).
The quality of the egg to be fertilized is highly dependent upon the health of the body and hormonal balance. Acupuncture can help a woman move gently and naturally to a state of overall health and well–being, which will ensure that her egg-bearing follicles are nourished with a constant, uninterrupted supply of hormones and nutrients, so they will flourish and be of the best quality.
Deborah’s clinical opinion, based on her extensive clinical experience, is that poor egg quality reflects an imbalance in the body, rather than the inability to conceive. A healthy more balanced body will conceive more naturally, and be able to carry a healthy baby to term.
Acupuncture and Chinese herbs can build strong, nutrient-rich blood and promote a healthy flow of that enriched blood to the ovaries. This same blood flows throughout the body sending nutrients to every cell and supplying the woman’s menstrual cycle. More enriched blood flow means more oxygen and nutrients available to nourish the ovaries, making them more capable of producing better quality eggs and strong healthy embryos.
Studies showed that acupuncture influences ovulation and fertility by normalizing the function of the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian Axis. (Fertility and Sterility vol.78, No.6, Dec. 2002). This improves ovarian function creating more follicles, and better egg production. Acupuncture does not directly alter female hormones or falsely repress FSH levels, but rather it gently regulates and improves hormonal balance. As a result, the body becomes more sensitive to its own hormone secretions, and improvement in hormonal status can occur over time.
Our body will not conceive under high levels of stress. Stress and other negative emotions disrupt hormonal communication between the brain, the pituitary and the ovaries, which causes an imbalance in hormonal function. Such imbalances can lead to irregular cycles, lack of ovulation and high FSH. In addition, stress over stimulates the sympathetic nervous system, which causes constriction of ovarian arteries and shifts blood flow away from reproductive organs, and results in a shutdown of egg production in the ovaries.
Studies indicate that electro-acupuncture stimulates the sensory nerve fibers and may inhibit the sympathetic outflow at the spinal level (Fertility and Sterility vol.77. no.4, April 2002). Additionally, acupuncture increases the production of beta-endorphin, which is a natural chemical in our body that helps reduce anxiety and tension, improve sleep and increase resistance to stress. So the patient becomes calmer and more at ease.
In order to build a healthy, naturally fertile body and balance deeper underlying causes, Deborah highly recommends that her patients commit to at least 3 months of acupuncture and herbal treatment, allowing her to bring your system back to its optimal function. Since follicular development takes three cycles to be mature, and in order to ensure good egg quality, it is better to start treatment at the primary stage. Remember, nature cannot be forcibly rushed into balance, having enough preparation time is essential for the body to adjust and for conception to succeed.