Acupuncture in Phoenix, AZ
Acupuncture is a therapy recognized throughout the world. It is experience based and was developed in China more than two thousand years ago. With its long history it has survived through time and is gaining a resurgence of popularity in today’s world.
The World Health Organization has accepted and approved the use of acupuncture to treat more than a hundred conditions including pathologies of the body’s systems. Such as respiratory, musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, digestive and urinary, integumentary, reproductive, nervous system (including stress related and mental health) disorders. Acupuncture is widely practiced in over 160 countries in the world including the United States. Many acupuncture clinical trials are being performed every year and in most cases the benefits of acupuncture have been scientifically proven. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with acupuncture, herbalism and other additional modalities today are complementing Western medicine in many ways.
Acupuncture Benefits
There are many benefits from using acupuncture therapy. The following is just an example of benefits available:
- Reduces pain of any type
- Helps control inflammation
- Treats variety of neurological disorders
- Increases the Effectiveness of Medications
- Soothes Indigestion & promotes a balanced metabolism
- Reduces side effects of chemotherapy and radiation
- Helps with fertility, pregnancy, male’s & female’s health
- Maintains wellness & longevity
- Balances body, mind & spirit
We hope that you will give us a chance to help improve your health and quality of life. We can restore the Qi (energy) flow through the natural pathways of your body (meridians) and use oriental medicine to get you feeling better. Our approach is to treat the cause of your discomfort, not just address the symptoms.
How Does Acupuncture Work?
We know that nature has a capacity to heal itself after a disaster. If we help mother nature it may heal faster. The same with the human body. TCM sees a human as an entire or whole system. Our life is based on energy which we define as Qi. Each organ and body has Qi or energy. This energy is invisible, but we can feel it because of our Nervous system. A group of researchers using the newest imaging techniques detected threadlike microscopic structures that correspond to acupuncture meridians(pathways) and overlap with blood and lymphatic vessels connecting with the organs of the body. The acupuncture points are on these pathways. When we put acupuncture needles in certain points, we send signals through the entire nervous system to target organ or group of tissues to release immune cells or pain killing chemicals such as endorphins or other chemical substances that bring the body back to homeostasis or balance.
Electro Acupuncture
Electroacupuncture (EA) is a form of acupuncture where a small electric current is passed between pairs of acupuncture needles that stimulate the selected acupoints. Most E-stim devices have milliamp and microamp current. Milliamp current can excite motor nerves and therefore can produce muscle contractions and stimulate the release of endogenous opioids. Most useful for pain reduction and analgesia. Microamp current density cannot excite motor nerves and therefore cannot produce a muscle contraction. Microcurrent stimulation causes increased production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and accelerates healing. Electro-Acupuncture application is very effective for pain reduction, neuropathy, sciatica, shoulder/knee/elbow/ankle pain, TMJ, paralysis from strokes, and arthritic conditions. It’s also beneficial for a variety of internal conditions, depending on the number of hertz and acupuncture points we use. This procedure is adjusted to each individual so that the patient is able to relax and receive maximum benefit.
At Total Wellness Acupuncture, EA is a supplemental to acupuncture (extended treatment) and it’s not sold as a stand-alone treatment.
Gua Sha
Gua Sha has been used in China for as many as two thousand years. Gua means to scrape or rub. Sha is a reddish skin rash(petechiae). First herbal or massage oil is applied to a specific area on your body. I then use a smooth gua sha tool to apply short brisk strokes to that area. This creates red patches of skin (called “Sha”), detoxifying your blood and restoring the healthy flow if Qi (energy) to the area. Sha will fade in 3 to 6 days. But the sense of health and vitality you experience from it will last much longer.
Today this technique is performed worldwide by a variety of professionals, such as acupuncturist, chiropractors, physical and massage therapists, and naturopathic doctors. The same technique has different names, such as scraping, instrument assisted soft tissue manipulation or mobilization, graston technique, scraping massage, and tribo-effleurage (French name).
Tools to perform Gua Sha can be made from bian, jade, rose quartz stones, buffalo horn, stainless steel or copper. Also, we can use metal plastisol lined caps or Chinese ceramic soup spoons. Gua Sha is performed on neck, shoulder, muscles on the back, locally and distally on the affected meridian depending on the problem you want to treat. It opens and clears congested pores, detoxifies the body by bringing toxins to the surface, helps to treat febrile diseases, expels exterior pathogenic invasion, improves circulation and relieves musculoskeletal pain and increases ROM (range of motion) and is effective in the treatment of headaches, chronic neck and back pain and plantar fasciitis. This technique is appropriate to treat scar tissue and rejuvenate muscles after atrophy. Gentle Gua Sha can be used for facial rejuvenation.
At Total Wellness Acupuncture, Gua Sha is a supplemental to acupuncture (extended treatment) and is a stand-alone treatment.
Moxibustion
Moxibustion is an alternative Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) therapy using moxa (Artemisia Vulgaris) or the dried herb mugwort. The term “Moxibustion” is derived from “Mogusa” (Japanese meaning of mugwort, which has the same character “spelling” as Chinese writings) and the Latin “bustion” that means burning. The use of moxa for healing purposes was popular in Asia for many centuries for its multiple healing properties. We use moxibustion as a part of tonification treatments to help strengthen organs and immune system, warm the meridians and expel cold, promote circulation over areas of chronic pain and muscle tension, when pain worsens with exposure to cold or damp weather. It helps to strengthen the vital life qi (energy), helps with fatigue, digestive and gynecological issues (stop bleeding, warms the uterus) and is frequently used to turn breech babies. It helps to prevent diseases and maintain health as well as increase longevity.
What is Moxibustion?
There are two moxibustion types: direct and indirect. In the United States we do not use direct or “scarring” moxibustion (which is moxa burning directly on the skin). Instead we use indirect moxibustion where the moxa does not have direct contact with the skin. Usually a practitioner lights one end of a moxa stick and holds it an inch or two away from the skin, close to the inserted needle to bring a warmth to the area without burning. We can use moxa in the form of sticks (shaped like a cigar), cones, liquids, sprays, creams and plasters.
At Total Wellness Acupuncture, moxibustion is a supplemental to acupuncture (extended treatment) and it is also sold as a stand-alone therapy.
Nutrition Counseling
Hippocrates said “Let food be the medicine and medicine be the food.”
Many people are familiar with this famous quote. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is based on this concept. A diet rich in healing foods is a form of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Today Integrative Nutrition emerged due to interrelations of the best Eastern and Western nutritional traditions.
Multiple pathological conditions can be cured by the food we eat. Eastern and Western medicine recognize the therapeutic or unhealthy properties of some foods.
One group of foods can cause inflammation and the other can be anti-inflammatory. All foods can be classified by thermal, taste, color, nutritional value and cooking type. Some good foods for one person can be bad for another. Using foods as medicine can increase circulation and energy, strengthen the immune system, decrease pain, improve the digestive process and metabolism, moisten and lubricate body joints, detoxify the blood, and prevent many diseases.
We must eat foods that are appropriate for our body’s health. Local and seasonal foods were eaten by our ancestors. What those foods were depended on what geographic area and climate they lived in.
At Total Wellness Acupuncture, Nutrition counseling is supplemental to acupuncture in an extended treatment and it’s not sold as a stand-alone treatment.
Tui Na Massage
Tui Na is a form of Chinese medicinal bodywork. It is a massage like therapy with acupressure combined. Tui Na means “pushing/grasping”. It uses a variety of hand techniques to improve the flow of energy through the meridians of the body. Tui Na is used not only to treat painful conditions involving muscles, joints and tendons but also orthopedic problems and stress reduction. It is used to improve blood circulation and metabolism, remove stagnation and toxins, eliminate fatigue and strengthen the body. The Tui Na practitioner uses finger pressure instead of needles to stimulate the acupuncture points. This massage based Chinese body work helps harmonize the body physically, emotionally and spiritually.
At Total Wellness Acupuncture, Tui Na is a supplemental to acupuncture in extended treatment and it’s not sold as a stand-alone treatment.
Herbal Supplements
At Total Wellness Acupuncture we do not have an herbal dispensary or keep TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) formulas in stock. Financially it’s not profitable for us to keep them because of higher prices on small orders and expiration dates. Dr. Griffin has extensive training in herbal therapy and is able to provide her patients with inexpensive and reliable suppliers (https://www.activeherb.com). Also, we can make an order of needed herbal supplement from well-known nationally local company TCMzone. (https://tcmzone.com). Supplements from this company can be shipped to the patient or available for pick up. When raw herbs are the most beneficial, Dr. Griffin may obtain them from the dispensary at the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture.
At this time, we do not do any private herbal consultation as we do not sell any herbs or herbal formulas.
