acupuncture, inflammation and you

One of the things I love most about acupuncture and herbs is the fact that it treats the root cause of an issue. I don’t approach treatment as a one size fits all method. I don’t subscribe to quick fixes (though some things are resolved quite quickly with treatment). What I focus on, instead, is digging deep into what sits behind the symptoms. Most often, that cause is some sort of inflammation. 

Whether it's muscle dysfunction causing pain with movement, inflammation in the joints leading to arthritis or other movement issues, inflammation in the gut leading to pain, poor digestion or malabsorption, the list of what people suffer from is varied. But the manifestation of most of it is inflammation. 

So, what does acupuncture actually do to treat inflammation? Simply: it’s very good at regulating systems that are out of balance.

If we dive a bit more into it, acupuncture can work on the brain’s and body’s inflammatory responses to stimulus in the body. Most of the time, the body won’t be inflamed for no reason. But sometimes, the body doesn’t realize that it doesn’t need to be inflamed anymore and it just carries on being inflamed when that is not necessary. 

Let’s say you hurt your shoulder pulling weeds because you tried to do it all in one day. The shoulder is inflamed from overuse, poor posture, repetitive movements, unusual movements, probably a bit of dehydration since you were out in the sun all day working (hypothetically, of course). Under normal circumstances, it may take 3 days or so for the body to calm down and heal the pain and inflammation from overuse. But sometimes, the body doesn’t realize it’s all better. The system is so enthusiastic about dealing with the inflammation it just doesn’t stop. Cue acupuncture. I’ll use points to calm down that particular system. I may do some points into some of the shoulder muscles to help them relax and recuperate. I may do some points in the body in general to help with relaxation, sleep, or energy because those will all be affected by the body’s overzealous response.  And typically, as long as you don’t go pulling weeds again for an entire day, the body will regulate itself.

What if your inflammation is due to something chronic? Say, arthritis or an old injury?  Then I look at treating longer term dysfunctions that have developed. I use acupuncture to treat muscles that have adapted to working in improper ways, body systems that have shifted to accommodate different types of movements as well as working on the protective measures the body has taken over the years to help “protect” the bones or muscles, tendons and ligaments. Treating chronic conditions is most often a longer term process as we work to correct not only the inflammation, but the adaptations the body has made to accommodate the inflammation.

What if the inflammation isn’t because of musculoskeletal issues? Treating internal problems is something that I love. It requires a bit more investigation, takes a bit more time, but the results can be so life changing. Dealing with gut dysfunctions, migraines, auto-immune diseases, menstrual issues, fertility issues, these are things that respond well to consistent acupuncture treatment. They take time to respond, but they often respond beautifully. Why does it take so long to respond?  Mainly because there are so many interconnected systems that feed into each issue. When I treat gut issues, I’m also treating the stress response, I'm looking into why your body is responding the way it is and what other systems it’s messing with in the process. With fertility and menstrual issues, there are a plethora of systems and reasons and hormones that are all connected that all need to be identified and addressed. Correcting dysfunction takes time and effort. But it can be done.

This is just a little taste of acupuncture as it relates to inflammation. If you have specific questions, feel free to reach out. 

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