Phoenix Integrative and Natural Medicine Blog

Phoenix acupuncture for back pain

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Back pain can be a debilitating condition. Both acute and chronic back pain account for some of the most common reasons people seek medical care. Acupuncture for back pain is receiving lots of attention because of its well documented effectiveness. This article will focus on acupuncture for back pain and how it works. 

Acupuncture for back pain: the treatment

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine look at back pain and pain in general from a different perspective than western medicine. We cannot deny the benefits and advances of western medical science but such analytical views can cloud other obvious treatment options. As an example let look a some common known statistics about back pain. Did you know that approximately 50% of people with back pain have no anatomical changes on MRI? Conversely about 50% with no back pain have many abnormalities on their MRI. Such narrow anatomical viewpoints to back pain create blinders to other obvious treatment options available, like acupuncture for back pain.

Acupuncture is recognized by western science as an effective treatment option for many conditions, including back pain. However it has not yet made it into the core of western medicine.

Phoenix acupuncture for back pain: How it works.

From a scientific perspective acupuncture for back pain works by: increasing local blood flow to the area, release of endogenous opiates (endorphins), and activation of healing and repair mechanisms in the collagen and connective tissue. However acupuncture for back pain works beyond the parameters of these western medicine view points too. 

There is a subtle energy pulsing through your body and it takes on many different properties and functions. This energy is called Qi. With back pain the particular Qi disturbance is usually in the Kidney or Bladder Qi. In the case of acute pain, the role of acupuncture for back pain is simply to move or increase flow of the stagnant bladder Qi. In chronic back pain your phoenix acupuncture doctor will also seek to build the deficient Kidney Qi. 

Acupuncture for back pain: low risk, high benefit

If you've tried other treatments for back pain, whether conventional or alternative, acupuncture might be a great option for you. Acupuncture for back pain has a distinct benefit of having very little side effects and outstanding benefits. Outside of physical therapy conventional back pain treatments are often risky. For example, pain medications can leave many people dependent and in some cases with more generalized pain than before. Steroid injections (also known as epidurals) can leave the connective tissue more week and instable than before you started. Of coarse, epidurals and pain medications have their place but neither have the risk reward ratio of acupuncture. 

Acupuncture for back pain is virtually risk-free with the potential of decreasing your back pain significantly after only one to three treatments. With that being said acupuncture for back pain should be looked at in a more global sense where the treatments are done on a weekly basis for several weeks. For instance, in China a minimum acupuncture treatment schedule for a single condition is 10 treatments.

If you would like to find out more on acupuncture for back pain and our phoenix acupuncture clinic, click on the link below for a free consult with one of our acupuncture phoenix doctors.

Part I: 3 Reasons Most Pain Management Fails

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Pain management in its most conventional sense (and how I am referring to it here) refers to the management of pain using medications typically of the opioid class (oxycodone, hydrocodone, morphine, etc). This form of treatment, while initially helpful, typically offers no longterm solution. The fallacy is that, your level of pain will be less with these opioid medications than without. We will point out why this is not always true and why pain management often fails at resolving or keeping pain under control. 

Pain Management Background 

Generally speaking the goal of pain management is to reduce pain to a level that it does not interfere with your daily activities. This can create problems when the medications effect your ability to think, drive, and function normally. If you are currently using phoenix pain management services, you know this to be true. Still many feel they have exhausted their treatment options and have no other choice until they explore holistic pain management and acupuncture phoenix treatment options. Now, let's explore how traditional pain management often fails and what you can do about it.  

Pain Management: Opiate-induced Hyperalgesia

The amount of people that have to resort to opiate based medication for pain, is staggering. Yet I know from treating addiction and pain, that this does not have to be the case. Similarly, I also know that some people need these medications to treat their pain. The later is more of the exception than the rule. Yet from the amount of people taking these medications, it would appear that the opposite were true. Let's look at the some of the physiological problems that arise from these medications and what it means for treating your pain. 

Many start on opiate based medications to deal with the immediate pain and find that their dose of medication keeps escalating higher and higher. Often times the original injury or trauma the medications were prescribed for will be resolved. The pain you are left with is called opiate induced hyperalgesia. Not knowing this many will continue to take the medication to deal with this pain, not knowing that it is causing their pain.

Opiate-induced hyperalgesia is a phenomenon or condition that develops from taking opiate medications for an extended period of time (typically 2-3 months but as little as 2-4 weeks). Overtime people on pain management with opiates develop a heightened sense of pain and awareness to otherwise normal (non-painful) stimuli. It can sometimes leave the person with pain in different areas outside the original problem. The symptoms can present similar to a fibromyalgia like pattern (pain all over the body).

The exact mechanism of how or why this occurs in the body is poorly understood. It seems to involve pathways in the brain, at the spinal cord, and pathways from the body to the brain as well.  The important thing to note is that if you are receiving pain management with opiate medication, be aware of escalating doses. The increased dose may be warranted but your increased pain may also be a result of heightened sensitivity in your nervous system (opiate-induced hyperalgesia). This is of great importance since increasing the dose will likely only make matters worse over time. It can increase the pain but also increase your tolerance and physical dependency. 

In Part II we will explore 2 other reason pain management often fails those suffering from pain. We will also look at some holistic pain management treatment options for those in Phoenix and Scottsdale. 

To learn more about some of these holistic medical options from a naturopathic doctor Scottsdale like acupuncture in Phoenix or Scottsdale, give us a call or click on the free consult link below. 

Bioidentical Hormone Doctors Look Beyond Menopause

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Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (bHRT) is usually a topic of conversation amongst women anticipating the advent of menopause.  Bioidentical hormones are synthesized hormone molecules that share the exact same shape as the hormone molecules produced by the human body. This makes them much easier for the body to process as they are absorbed directly and require no additional processing by the liver.  

Contrary to what many people believe, bioidentical hormones are not just for the use of menopausal women.  The best bioidentical hormone doctors look beyond menopause symptoms and also identify other common hormone imbalance syptoms  in their patients by following a thorough evaluation.

Bioidentical Hormone Doctors Use Bioidentical Hormones To Promote Balance

While it's true that BHRT is traditionally used for hormone imbalance symptoms caused by menopause, it can also be used to treat a variety of other conditions unrelated to menopause.  It is also important to note that hormone imbalance symptoms are not a condition unique to women.  Both women and men can experience hormone imbalance. In fact, hormone imbalances in men are often overlooked by the mainstream medical community but they too can benefit from bioidentical hormones.

Common symptoms of hormone imbalance are:

• Unusual fatigue or lethargy
• Abnormal weight loss or gain
• Lack of libido
• Erectile dysfunction
• Headaches
• Heat flashes
• Irritability or mood swings
• Insomnia
• Irregular periods
• High levels of pain or discomfort during menstruation
• Infertility

Acupuncture for Shoulder Pain

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Shoulder pain is no stranger to anyone who leads an active life.  The anatomy allowing the shoulder to dexterously maneuver - up, down, side-to-side, and all around - also makes it susceptible to injury. Tendons, ligaments, and muscles cross paths, in order to anchor the upper-arm bone (humerus) to the scapula, while allowing the range of motion required by the shoulder joint. This intersection is a common place of shoulder pain and injury. 

Once an injury occurs in the shoulder, it is important to treat it immediately to keep the condition from becoming chronic. Acupuncture for shoulder pain
can treat a variety of shoulder ailments and provide pain relief and healing of the underlying damage tissue.

Acupuncture Scottsdale - Acupuncture For Shoulder Pain Promotes Healing

Not only does acupuncture help with pain management, it also promotes and stimulates circulation, which helps to restore crucial nutrients.  When an area becomes inflamed from repetitive motion and/or an injury, blood vessels can become restricted.  This prevents healthy blood flow and denies the tissues of much needed oxygen and nutrients. Once healthy circulation is restored, unhealthy inflammatory responses recede and both muscle and connective tissues can begin to heal. 

Acupuncture is also very effective in promoting relaxation. The body often overcompensates when there is an injury.  This throws off the body's balance. Even after an injury has been healed, the body may hold itself in unnatural positions which creates tension, pockets of blocked toxins and poor posture patterns.  Acupuncture for shoulder pain can help to release blockages and promote relaxation so that the body can be restored to a relaxed and balanced state.

To learn more about Acupuncture for shoulder pain or to visit our acupuncture Scottsdale or acupuncture Phoenix clinic, click on the link below for a free consult.

Advantages of Physician Weight Loss Programs

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Phoenix Weight Loss Provides Internal Balance

A physician weight loss program will begin with a thorough examination of a patient's internal physiological processes that relate to weight gain. Some common physiological causes of weight gain stem from:

Hormonal imbalances - Hormones are instrumental in maintaining the body's physiological balance.  Excess estrogen, thyroid hormones, high cortisol, or low testosterone, can sabotage even the best laid out phoenix weight loss plans. 

Poor diet / exercise plan- In some cases, excess exercise and too low calories can actually exacerbate an already sluggish metabolic function. It also send the wrong messages to the brain and can trigger hormonal imbalances.

Thyroid Issues - Thyroid hormones that are out of balance, benign or cancerous Thyroid tumors, and lack of iodine are all contributing factors in thyroid malfunctions.  When the thyroid under performs - hypothyroidism - patients usually experience weight gain.

Insulin/blood sugar imbalance - Healthy blood sugar levels are dependent on the efficiency of the pancreas and its ability to produce insulin.  High and low levels of blood sugar can effect energy levels and food cravings. This has a direct correlation to weight gain/loss.

Once a Phoenix weight loss physician has identified a patient's imbalances, s/he can create a weight loss program that is sustainable and will work to maintain the patient's target weight.

Benefits of a Natural Physician Weight Loss Program

 

Physician Weight Loss: Longterm results 

A physician weight loss program is more likely to give long term results. for the reasons mentioned above and their desire to improve your health overall. Excess weight is one key aspect of many health conditions from Diabetes to digestive issues. Make sure your phoenix weight loss program has a plan for the long term, what you do after the diet, how to incorporate the current plan into your old lifestyle. These tow have to merge for lasting results. 

For more information on our Phoenix weight loss programs click on the link below for a free consult with a naturopathic physician and learn about holistic weight loss.

5 Ways to get Fibromyalgia Relief

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The term "Fibromyalgia Relief" can seem like an oxymoron.  Fibromyalgia is a condition that predominantly affects soft tissue layers: muscles, joints, tendons and connective tissues.  As a result, people who suffer from fibromyalgia experience chronic pain and tenderness among other things.  Associated symptoms can also include fatigue, insomnia, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), depression, and anxiety.  The medical world hasn't identified a true cause for fibromyalgia cause, leaving patient's frustrated and fibromyalgia relief limited.  

Fortunately, fibromyalgia relief is available through holistic medicine.  Holistic doctors evaluate a patient's lifestyle and associated symptoms to identify the most appropriate therapies/treatments to reduce discomfort and prevent flare-ups.

Five Ways to Get Fibromyalgia Relief

1.  Intravenous (IV) Nutrient Therapy.  IV nutrient therapy ensures the body is sufficiently nourished. By ensuring the body has healthy levels of key nutrients such as B Vitamins, calcium, magnesium, Vitamin C, folic acid, etc., a naturopathic doctor provides a patient with a good foundation for healing.  Evidence shows that chronic inflammation, which has been linked to fibromyalgia pain, can be reduced with adequate vitamin absorption.

2.  Hormone Balancing.  Fibromyalgia is most common in women between the ages of 20 - 50.  Hormone imbalance symptoms have been associated with the side effects of fibromyalgia. Many symptoms of fibromyalgia and hormone imbalance are shared, such as headaches and migraines, insomnia, fatigue, heart palpitations, and memory and/or concentration problems.  A homeopathic doctor can use bio-identical hormone replacement therapy (bHRT) to maintain healthy hormone balances and prevent fibromyalgia flare ups. 

3. Examining the Diet. A person's diet is often overlooked in mainstream medical evaluations.  However, dietary sensitivities to wheat, dairy, and red meat can have significant health effects. Things like caffeine and alcohol are also shown to increase the body's inflammatory response.  People often become so acclimated to chronic discomfort that they do not make the connection between what they eat and direct physical side effects.

4.  Acupuncture.  Many symptoms of fibromyalgia are already proven to be relieved by acupuncture: insomnia, fatigue, inflammation, and chronic pain to name a few.  Pain is known to disrupt energy flow. Acupuncture for fibromyalgia pain promotes balance, and stimulates the circulation of energy. Body tissues become energized and your body can facilitate healthy day-to-day function.

5. Stress Relief & Relaxation. Any instability in the body will be triggered when illness or stress sets in.  The ability to remain centered and to diffuse stress can work wonders to maintain health.  Stress can cause sleeplessness, sleep deprivation prevents healing, and the cycle continues. Naturopathic doctors can demonstrate relaxation techniques, which can be easily incorporated into daily life.

For more information on our holistic pain management options click on the link below for a free consultation with one of our holistic doctors. 

Hormone Imbalance Symptoms in Women

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Hormone imbalances can be categorized into three phases:  premenstrual symptoms (PMS), menopausal symptoms, and the imbalances that occur in between. They are most common as women age, which is why menopause can be a challenging time for women.

 

Hormone Imbalance Symptoms

The most typical symptoms of hormone imbalance are:

Treatments For Hormone Imbalance Symptoms

1)  PMS affects approximately 85% of menstruating women, with 3%-8% of those women experiencing debilitating symptoms.  These hormone imbalance symptoms typically occurs 1-2 weeks before a woman begins to bleed. Once a woman has identified her rhythm, she can mitigate the affects of PMS by avoiding foods/beverages high in salt, caffeine and alcohol.  A visit to a naturopathic physician can provide nutraceuticals or IV Vitamin therapies to promote health and balance from within.  Acupuncture can also help to promote energy flow and balance at this depleting time.

2)  Menopause is one of the most challenging phases for women.  The fluctuating hormones are an intense physiologic process. It is imperative that women find the right menopause doctors to alleviate their symptoms.  Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (bHRT) has produced dramatic results for many women during this time of hormone imbalance.

3)  General hormone imbalances can cause all of the above symptoms, with weight gain being one of the most frustrating.  Irregular weight gain should always be looked into.  Vitamin therapies, bHRT, and natural medicine for thyroid, can often reverse undesirable symptoms.

Hormone imbalance symptoms can be difficult to categorize because the symptoms are common to many other health conditions. Many times the symptoms come on slowly and women can experience hormone imbalance symptoms without ever realizing it. Once identified and treated, the symptoms will disappear quickly and a woman will feel that she has a new perspective on life.

For more information on hormone imbalance symptoms or for a free consult with our menopause doctors, click on the link for a free consultation with a naturopathic physician. 

4 Allergy Treatments from a Holistic Doctor

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1. Acupuncture.  Working with the body's Qi, a holistic doctor uses small needles to stimulate meridians in the body.  This process provides relaxation, quells inflammatory response, and assists the immune system in returning to a balanced place.  Once the inflammatory response is slowed down, the immune system can begin to function properly again.
   
   
2. Intravenous (IV)Vitamin C.  A vitamin is only as good as the body's ability to absorb it.  There are many foods and drugs that block certain vitamins, while others help absorption. Vitamin C is important for a healthy immune system. While it is helpful to stimulate immune function for colds and flu, it also stabilizes the cells that produces histamine and decrease the release. A natural doctor can administer IV vitamin C so it can be absorbed directly into the blood stream, and the immune response will benefit immediately.
   
   
3. Lifestyle Changes.  Sometimes the simplest changes in day-to-day life can help to alleviate ailments. When it comes to allergies you have to look at the global response of the body. Small allergic responses cumulate to result in a large response which you feel as allergies. Start by identifying allergies to diet, pets, fragrances, dyes, etc. A naturopathic doctor will evaluate a patient's lifestyle and work with the patient to make the small changes that result in big relief.
   
   
4. Nutraceuticals.  That is a technical term for isolated forms of plant/food-based materials that naturally promote health and prevent disease naturally, free of lab-produced chemicals.  Vitamins are one example.  Herbal supplements are another. Holistic doctors are well versed in Nutraceuticals and can find the combination that will be helpful to reduce allergy symptoms without using strong medications. 

Learn About Holistic Pain Management

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Holistic pain management deals with the body as a whole rather than only focusing on the area of pain. There are many aspects of your health that contribute to the pain you experience on a day to day basis. Many sufferes of chronic pain don't realize that they have options outside the standard treatments. These natural pain relief treatments are effective regardless of what your MRI results show because they address the basic physiological process of the body. We will explore some of these holistic pain management approaches in this article.

Holistic pain management | How your diet effects it.  

You know the old saying, you are what you eat? As you will see below, this is of particular importance when it comes to pain management. The cells of your body have membranes that seperate the cell from the sourounding environment. This cell membrane is made up of fatty acids. When damaged these fatty acids are broken and become messangers to other cells in the body like the immune cells. For example, if you twist your ankle the ligaments can get stretched and damaged. The cell membranes of the cells that make-up the ligaments are damaged. These damaged cells send signals to the immune system which create a cascade of inflammation, leading to swelling, pain, redness, and heat around the effected area. This is the immune systems way of walling off and imobolizing the damage. It gives the body time to repair the underlying damaged tissue. This is normal and good but something problematic occurs when these signals are sent to the immune system on an ongoing basis.

With chronic tissue damage like that seen with chronic back pain, knee pain, and others, the damaged tissue is under chronic repair. To decrease the pain you have to minimize the tissue damage and repair process. It tunrs out that there are two types of fatty acids that can send signals to the immune cells. The type will determine how much inflammation, damage, and repair occurs. Omega 3 fatty acids actually have an antiinflammatory effect and the omega 6 (like arachadonic acid) have a proinflammaroy effect. By increasing your omega 3 consumption, you can reduce the day-to-day inflammation in your body and thereby acheive a more holistic pain management. 

It also turns out that most people in america (and throughout the world) are defficent in omega 3 fatty acids. The Standard Amarican Diet (SAD) consists of less than a 6/1 ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids. The optimal for the human body is 3/1. So by changing what you eat, you can change the amount of pain you have from day-to-day. Consuming things like cold water fish, grass fed beef or bison, seafood, flax and other omaga rich foods will give you holistic pain management and natural pain relief. As the omega 3 fats replace the omega 6, you will notice less pain. 

Holistic pain management | How your brain effects it.

Your brain plays a big role in your perceptions from happiness, to pain, to pleasure. The thing that is interesting is your brain has the ability to amplify or dampen painful events based on how it interprets the event. You may have experiecned this yourself. If you hit your toe and you are in a sad or frustrated mood already, that toe is going to hurt more than if you are in a good mood. This pain level has to do with your brain's ability to focus on events. With this focus it can amplify or subdue the signals it gets creating increased or decreased pain. The area of your brain that percives the pain is the cerebra cortex. This is the area of critical thinking. Before the pain signal gets to the cerebral cortex the signal passes through the limbic system for emotional processing. 

When neurotransmitter levels in the limbic system are not balanced the signals traveling through there to the cortex will be amplified. The more out of balance the neurotransmitters, the more amplified the pain signal to the cortex. When the neurotransmitters are in balance the signals can be dampened. This amplification and dampening effect accounts for the subjectiveness of pain. A holisitc pain managemtent technique is to use meditation, acupuncture, and neutracuticals to balance your neurotransmitters and dampen the pain signal for natural pain relief. 

For more information on holistic pain management and natural pain relief, click on the link for a free consultation with one of our naturopathic physicians. 

Acupuncture for TMJ

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Temporomandibular Joint Disorder, referred to as TMJ, affects approximately 35 million people in the United States.  Anyone suffering from TMJ understands how debilitating it can be. Acupuncture for TMJ relieves pain and encourages movement in the jaw and surrounding tissues.  It's an affordable alternative for those seeking to avoid intrusive medical interventions such as surgery or prescription pain medications.

TMJ can be difficult for traditional medical practitioners to treat, as the causes are not completely understood. New research indicates that TMJ often occurs in conjunction with other medical conditions, which has created confusion in terms of treatment.  Acupuncture for TMJ is an ideal solution to facilitate healing and relieve accompanying discomfort and other medical conditions.

What Is Temporomandibular Joint Disorder?

TMJ is a condition that can inhibit movement in the jaw and cause pain in the jaw joint, as well as surrounding muscle and connective tissues in the jaw and head.  Symptoms of TMJ include:

• a bite that feels off center
• headaches
• pain in the jaw joint
• ear pain or pressure
• a stiff or locked jaw
• stiff/painful neck and/or shoulders
• a popping, clicking, or crackly noise when opening/closing the jaw
• pain or difficulty chewing

• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Infections
• Autoimmune disorders
• Irritable bowel-syndrome
• Sleep disorders

It is also more common in women of childbearing age, which suggests that hormone imbalances may play a role as well. These inconsistencies in TMJ and related health conditions are exemplary of how different areas of the body are connected. Many times when one part of the body is unwell, there are often manifestations of imbalance elsewhere. TMJ is a good example of this and acupuncture for TMJ helps restore balance, in addition to relieving acute symptoms.

Acupuncture For TMJ

A holistic health practitioner recognize the interconnectedness of the body's systems. Naturopathic doctors are not surprised that hormonal imbalances, or certain diseases and deficiencies, are linked to TMJ.  They understand that these symptoms are interrelated and customize treatment to incorporate the whole, rather than isolated parts. Naturopathic physicians use a combination of treatments, including Acupuncture for TMJ, to promote healing.

Acupuncture for TMJ works to balance the body, stimulating circulation, and the energetic life force, called Qi.  The main way that acupuncture works for TMJ is by promoting relaxation in the jaw and recharging the neural pathways. Neural pathways are the signal routes for pain signals to travel to the brain. With TMJ these neural pathways become habituated forming chronic pain signal patterns from the jaw back to the brain. Reseting these pathways decreases the pain over time. Acupuncture phoenix will also reduce the chronic inflammation which is partially responsible for the source of pain. Acupuncture for TMJ can begin the path to relaxation and healing. 

If you would like to learn more about acupuncture for TMJ or other treatments from our acupuncture phoenix clinic, click on the link below for a free consultation.