ACUPUNCTURE
Kiiko Matsumoto Style
KM style acupuncture combines Classical Chinese medical principles with modern western understanding of disease and injury in a way that facilitates understanding and brings out the best in both. Palpation gathers information through touch, finding active reflexes in the abdomen (hara) and elsewhere in the body to both establish a diagnosis and evaluate treatment progress. This allows for any structural and constitutional issues that may underlie the symptomatic complaint to be picked up on, that might otherwise be missed. The needling methods are generally shallow and virtually painless, using the smallest gauge needles. When needling is contraindicated, there are numerous non-invasive techniques that are highly effective, such as moxa, diodes, and magnets.
Acupuncture Physical Medicine (APM)
is a fusion of Classics-based French-meridian acupuncture with Western physical medicine techniques, most notably trigger point dry needling. Using palpation to identify areas of constraint due to physical or emotional origin. Well suited to musculoskeletal problems.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
is the most common form of East Asian medicine taught in the United States. TCM uses an analytical diagnostic methodology and is very well suited to the practice of internal medicine and combining with herbal medicine.
You can read more about acupuncture here.
COMPLIMENTARY MODALITIES
Moxibustion
or Moxa involves the burning of the herb mugwort, chosen for it’s therapeutic qualities. It is used either guadirectly or indirectly on acupuncture points or over broad areas. The warmth can help to flush out cold, improve circulation, relieve pain, and bring focus to a point or bodily area.
CUPPING
is the method of creating a vacuum over the skin in order to relieve stagnation in muscles and soft tissue, improving circulation in the area. Therapeutic bruising may remain for several days.
Gua Sha
is often referred to as “scraping” and consists of friction applied in repeated even strokes to the skin with a tool of some sort so that sha surfaces as small red bumps (similar to bruising) which may also last for several days. The color and rate of fading are both diagnostic and prognostic indicators. Gua sha is typically used to move “stuck” blood, promoting normal circulation to the muscles, tissues, and organs directly beneath the surface treated.
I will ask your permission before using this modality it can be a slightly more intense treatment in a ‘hurts good’ kind of way, but you will normally experience immediate changes in stiffness, pain and mobility. After a session, it is advised to keep the area covered, avoid wind and exposure to the sun or sudden change in temperature until the marks have faded.
BODYWORK
Tui Na
is a sophisticated medical massage and manipulation technique used to relieve pain and swelling, relax muscle spasms, stimulate circulation, and disperse accumulations of qi, blood and fluids. The technique is very specific in order to both correct and prevent disorders at the level of bone,
fascia and muscle.
Craniosacral therapy
originates from the osteopathic tradition and involves subtle holding techniques to release restrictions in the connective tissues that surround the spine, hips, and head
CHINESE HERBS
Internal formulas
are devised from a combination of herbs designed to address both the symptoms and the root cause, and therefore only need to be taken until the issue has resolved or is under control. There should be no side effects
External applications
such as poultices, liniments and soaks, are frequently used for musculoskeletal injuries and skin conditions, either in the office or as something to be used at home in between treatments.
No endangered species are used and herbs are only prescribed through reputable suppliers who rigorously test for microbes, heavy metals and pesticide residues.
Diet and Lifestyle
Along with sleep, diet is the most fundamental way we can keep ourselves healthy, but it is frequently something that we lose touch with. Many New Yorkers are relatively health conscious but it may be that there is something present or absent in our diet, or in our daily habits, that is impeding our ability to recover. Simple changes have the potential to make an enormous difference.
Corrective Exercises
Specific qi gong or stretching exercises can assist and consolidate recovery, and keep you feeling better in between treatments.
