Study: Traditional Chinese, Western Treatments Combo Can Boost Fertility

Combining traditional Chinese medicine and a Western treatment results in a significant increase in fertility in women hoping to become pregnant according to study results from Tel Aviv University.

Traditional Chinese medicine included weekly sessions of acupuncture and a regime of powdered or raw Chinese herbs. Lead researcher Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari of TAU's Sackler Faculty of Medicine followed the progress of 29 women who received the combined therapy, and 94 women who underwent IUI treatment alone. 

According to Lev-Ari, traditional Chinese medicine is aimed at correcting imbalances in the body's natural energy flow, promoting an overall sense of well-being, which can affect the ovulation and menstrual cycle, enhance blood flow to the uterus, and enhance endorphin production and secretion to inhibit the central nervous system and induce calm - all of which can contribute to successful conception.

The results are published in the Journal of Integrative Medicine. 

Sitting On Your Butt Will Kill You !

One of the theoretical foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine are the Statements Of Fact that all students are obligated to know and understand.  These Statements of Facts are the building blocks that practitioners use to construct
logically consistent deductions or inferences the help in diagnosis and patient treatment.

I ran across the informative illustration that I have linked to below and it reminded me of a Statement of Fact that I encountered in my first year of schooling.

Prolonged sitting damages the flesh. The flesh is governed by the Spleen in 5 phase theory. Prolonged sitting results in too much fat and not enough muscle.   When sitting, the qi and blood are not stirred.  Therefore, dampness and turbidity collect and accumulate, eventually congealing into phlegm and fat.

Sitting Will Kill You !!

A Case of Using Acupuncture to Induce Labor

I received this short little thank you note from a tired new mom who avoided a C-section by using acupuncture to help induce labor:

Ryan Kenneth was born yesterday at 9:45 am weighing 6.9 lbs and measuring 19 3/4 inches long! He came all by himself thanks to your help!  Thank you again.

 

What Were Those Ancient Chinese Up To?

The scientific validity of traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of pain received a nod of support in the May issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia, official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS).
Dr. Philip Lang and colleagues of the University of Munich used quantitative sensory testing to identify changes in pain sensitivity with acupuncture in 24 healthy volunteers. After applying acupuncture to the leg, the researchers found that pain thresholds increased by up to 50 percent. Effects were noted in both the treated leg and the untreated (contralateral) leg.

Tests Show Measurable and Specific Effects of Acupuncture on Pain
Quantitative sensory testing is used clinically to help physicians understand specific injuries in nerve fibers associated with chronic pain. It includes tests of both thermal perception (heat and cold), and mechanical perception (pressure applied to the skin). The patterns of response provide diagnostic information in patients with nerve injury regarding the type of nerve involved, and possible treatments.
The results pointed to two nerve fibers—the "A delta" pain fibers and the "C" pain fibers—as being specifically affected by acupuncture. Although the effects were modest, the researchers believe they provide the basis for future studies in individuals with chronic pain, where the effects might be more dramatic.
The study also supported the effects of three different forms of acupuncture: manual acupuncture needling alone and with the addition of high-frequency and low-frequency electrical stimulation. All treatments were performed by an experienced acupuncturist, applied to acupuncture points commonly used in pain management.
The results provide a scientific background for the ancient practice of acupuncture, according to Dr. Dominik Irnich, Head of the Multidisciplinary Pain Centre, Department of Anesthesiology, University of Munich, and the study's leading author. Additionally, Dr. Irnich notes, "Our results show that contralateral stimulation leads to a remarkable pain relief. This suggests that acupuncturists should needle contralaterally if the affected side is too painful or not accessible—for example, if the skin is injured or there is a dressing in place."
Dr. Steven L. Shafer, Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesia & Analgesia and Professor of Anesthesiology at Columbia University, views the results as an important preliminary finding. "Reproducible findings are the cornerstone of scientific inquiry," Dr. Shafer comments. "The authors have clearly described their methodology, and their findings. If other laboratories can reproduce these results in properly controlled studies, then this provides further support for the scientific basis of acupuncture. Additionally, the ability of quantitative sensory testing to identify specific types of nerves involved in pain transmission may help direct research into the mechanism of acupuncture analgesia."

Sleep Well. Be Healthy. Live Long.

I have to admit that I love to sleep. I often experience this little wave of delight after I have finished all of my nightly scrubbing, flossing, and brushing rituals knowing that sleep is near. ( A bit weird I know but still true.)  Sleep is a form of letting go, of trust.  An act of surrender perhaps, a simple recognition that we are a part of nature's cycles and processes . Sleeping is all about rhythms and balance.   Humans have developed over millions of years with our physiological rhythms synchronizing with the spinning of the earth on it's axis and it's rotation around the sun.  Sleeping is the most natural act.

Western medicine divides sleep into 5 phases that we cycle through every night.  In phase 2 our breath becomes regular, our body temperature drops, and our heart rate slows.  Phases 3 and 4 are known as deep sleep.  Blood pressure drops to it's lowest levels, and breathing and brain activity slows further still.  In Chinese medical speak,  sleep is the time when yang qi that propels our daily activities and metabolism  is embraced and enfolded by the coolness and quiet of the yin aspect of our nature.  

In a newly published book, Dr. Mark Lachs, director of geriatrics at the NewYork-Presbyterian Healthcare System, discusses major influences on how well older people are able to function.  The first, called physiologic reserve, refers to excess capacity in organs and biological systems that we are given at birth, and  tends to decrease over time.  A secret of successful aging is to slow down the loss of physiologic reserve.  It is no surprise that along with diet and exercise one of the keys to maintaining physiological reserve is sleep.  Phase 4 sleep is seen as being very restorative, a time when our body conserves energy, the brain is biochemically replenished, the nervous system recuperates, bones and muscles are built, and tissues regenerated.  Simply put,  Phase 4 sleep helps to protect our physiological reserve. 

While using different language and viewing the body through a different  lens,  the ancient Chinese figured this out thousands of years ago.  Jing or essence is explained as being our deeper energetic reserves.   Prenatal essence is described as being innate at birth, finite in amount, and endowed to us from our parents.  This prenatal essence is then reinforced or supplemented by what is called postnatal essence or qi.  This essence is built through the food that we eat, air we breathe, and the exercise we engage in.  If our diet and lifestyle are appropriate and we produce more qi than we consume during the day, the excess is in effect banked and stored as a supplement to our deeper energies.   In the Chinese model, aging occurs when we are drawing down our essence or reserves at a faster rate than we are building them up.

There are many excellent resources available if you are chronically having a hard time sleeping well.  My personal and clinical experience says that proper diet, exercise, and lifestyle behaviors with a short term assist from Chinese herbs and possibly acupuncture is a far superior alternative to over the counter or prescription sleeping medications.  The earth is spinning.  Enjoy it.

Where I Work

My Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture clinic in DC overlooks a tributary of Rock Creek Park and provides a beautiful and welcoming environment.

Tennis Elbow. Doing It Right.

Western medicine has long treated tennis elbow with cortisone shots and the application of ice.  Surprise. Surprise.  It turns out that studies now show that cortisone shots are actually detrimental to long term healing.   Ice of course would prove to be of no value since tennis elbow is not an inflammatory condition..   I believe that the suggested therapy suggested by Chinese medicine of acupuncture and the application of heat makes much more clinic sense.

Cathy on Morning Edition

Here is the link to the audio of Cathy's appearance on NPR's Morning Edition. Enjoy.

Home Cooking

My wife Cathy, who is an accomplished home cook and food blogger, will be featured on National Public Radio's Morning Edition on Friday, August 27th. Cathy's blog is both entertaining and informative. The Morning Edition segment will be with Linda Wertheimer of NPR visiting Cathy in the kitchen while she cans some of her favorite recipes.