How does acupuncture work?

People often ask me, How does acupuncture work? The answer is that we do not really know. We do know however that it has an effect on 50-60% of people. I use acupuncture to relax a muscle group, improve blood flow and relieve pain in fascia. Fascia is the internal membrane that covers and links everything together in your body.
To help us understand we use models that place events into our our own framework of understanding.
With my linear Western mind that links cause and effect, I cannot understand the complex Chinese philosophy of medicine. There are no points of reference for me. I try to explain to patients in terms that they understand. For instance, imagine a group of computers on a network. One of the computer screens tells you that it cannot establish a connection to the network or to the internet. In most cases there is a physical reason. You go through all of the physical connections, take them out, push them in and it works again. You might have loaded new software so you uninstall and re-install it. But what if there is no physical reason? You want to know whether the computer can 'speak' to the router. So you try to 'ping the router' by sending a packet of information. Once the router recognises that computer's IP address it can start sending information back again until it has 'learned' what that computer needs. Once you have made a connection with the router (or hub), it is an easier matter to find the server on the internet or the other computers, or a printer.
Let's take the model into the body. The computers are the muscles or local fascia. The router is a part of the brainstem called the thalamus. The Server is the cortex or higher thinking brain. Muscles work in patterns of behaviour called engrams. They never work individually. However if a muscle or the nerve endings are damaged it does not behave in the same way as other muscles. An acupuncture needle acts as an irritant or stimulus to 'ping' the router. The thalamus passes on this information via the same pathways that pain stimuli run up the spinal chord. The brain responds by re-establishing connection with the local area. Chemicals called endorphins flood there and blood flow increases. The muscles start to switch on and off and the fascia relaxes. This could be called unlocking energy, increase of qi or any other term to show a change. MRi studies on acupuncture have shown that needles stimulate a part of the brain called the limbic system.
I never tell people what to expect during acupuncture. Some people say that they feel a dull ache like toothache in the muscle, a heaviness. Some people say that they feel a bubbly sensation as if air were being pumped in. Some say that it floods through the area to another more distant part of the body. Some people feel a deep sharp, electrical sensation. The needle might be too close to a nerve so I withdraw it a little. A person might feel sweaty and a little faint. That is a sympathetic nervous response.
Sometimes acupuncture acts as a trigger to stimulate the immune system or has a systemic effects. Systems in the body start to work again. Even the symptoms of hay fever can respond well.
Personally I find that combining acupuncture with subtle adjustments to the alignment of the body, massage, stretching and nutrition or selected supplements works far better than acupuncture alone.
You could use other models like a member of an orchestra playing a different tune to everyone else. You are only limited by your own imagination.

Statins, Cholesterol

Statins are are drugs that inhibit a group of enzymes in the liver. The enzymes stimulate the production of cholesterol in response to demands perceived by the brain. Cholesterol is a much needed fatty acid that helps the body respond to physiological stress. Measuring cholesterol levels in the bloodstream gives us an indication of how much stress we are under. When we are under a lot of stress we make more cholesterol. If the level of cholesterol were a direct result of the amount that we consumed in our diets, vegans would have no cholesterol. Why? Because cholesterol is only found in meat and dairy based products. Sustained stress prompts the adrenal glands to make cortisol. The glands, which are pea sized organs next to the kidneys, also make androgens or sex hormones. Cortisol elevates fats in the bloodstream. The response is for the body to make macrophages (lit. 'big eaters'). The macrophages try to drive the fats out through the arterial walls leaving deposits of plaque containing cholesterol. This is very simplified but the implication is that because cholesterol was found in plaque therefore it must be responsible for clogging the arteries, therefore it must lead to heart disease. In come the role of statins. By preventing the liver from making cholesterol it must clear the arteries therefore lessen heart disease. Hmm, that sound too good to be true. So what else do statins do? As an holistic therapist I see a lot of people with pain including muscle spasm and weakness. Statins also inhibit the production of an enzyme called co enzyme Q 10. Co enzyme Q 10 helps the mitochondria or powerhouses in the cells to make ATP a currency of energy. Some people on statins find that their energy levels are wiped out leaving them with severe muscle weakness. That is good for my business, because I see more of them, but a tragedy for them. The heart muscles also need energy. For a number of years I suffered a heart arrhythmia. Treatment included six cardio version (electric shock treatment), and a left ventricle laser ablation. It was a 5 hour operation that threaded leads up from both groins to the heart and isolated the mis-firing cells by burning them off with a laser. When in hospital at the John Radcliffe in Oxford I interviewed the other heart patients (informally of course). Without exception they all had breathing problems as well. That makes sense because the heart is in the same cavity as the lungs. They would do well to learn prana or controlled breathing. The patients whom I listened to also said, without exception, that when the doctors put them on statins their energy levels were wiped out so they stopped taking them. Cholesterol is also used by the brain to make the synapses or junctions between neurones in the brain. Short term memory loss was another overlooked side effect.

If you are going to take any medication you need to agree with your doctor what are the hoped for benefits and what are the side effects you are prepared to put up with. Your doctor has a difficult decision to balance the potential benefits against the possible side effects. Too many people tell me that they take a whole number of drugs but they can't remember what they are for. They might not know that some heart medication results in swelling of the ankles or a dry cough. In the end it is your body and it often tells you what it needs. You cannot go far wrong with avoiding altered, hydrogenated fats and processed sugars but eating the rest of your food slowly with confidence and enjoyment.

Repetitive Strain Injury, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

People who work at computers or use hand or power tools, often suffer tingling in their hands, or pain in the wrists. Some canoeists suffer inflamed tendons in the wrist if they paddle for many hours in cold weather. A friend and I used to paddle for up to six hours in a day. He showed my how to paddle with a looser grip and open up my fingers between strokes.

Tennis players and writers suffer cramp and inflammation of the tendons in the forearm.

Pain on the outside of the elbow is called tennis elbow. Pain on the inside is called golfers elbow. A golfer might cock their wrist back too far if they cannot rotate their body far enough in the back swing.

Causes of Inflammation

First of all rule out underlying systemic causes. Pain from posture or repetitive strain often affects one side more than the other. For instance osteoarthritis might lead to swelling of the weight bearing joints for instance the last joints in your fingers, or your knees or hips. Pain from inflammatory conditions usually affects both sides of your body.

Ask your GP if they would do a blood test that included thyroxine levels and also check for

ESR (erythrocyte sedimention rate) or rheumatoid factor. ESR is a general test of inflammation in the bloodstream.

Rheumatoid factor is more specific. Inflammatory conditions usually affect joints on both sides of the body.

Posture at your desk

Make sure that your chair has short arms, if at all, so that you can sit close to your desk.

Your neck and shoulders are most comfortable if your elbows can rest close to the sides of your body with your forearms level.

Use a footrest if you cannot reach the floor.

Roughly speaking the top of your computer monitor needs to be level with the top of your head.

That makes your eyes look slightly downwards recruiting more eye muscles than looking slightly up.

If you look down for too long you will end up tilting your head forwards and strain your neck muscles.

Hold your arm out in front of you and make a fist. Your knuckles should just touch your screen.

Important blood vessel run up the inside of the vertebrae in your neck. They loop around at the top just before

entering a network of blood vessels around the base of the brain. If your head is always forwards the tense muscles

might rotate the bone at the top of the neck restricting the blood flow to the brain. This is a very common finding when I

help people who suffer one sided, migraine type headaches.

The nerves that supply your hands originate from the vertebrae in the lower part of your neck. They run between the muscles down

the side of your neck, under your collarbones and down your owns. Three nerves supply the hands and forearms.

If your first finger and thumb are weak and painful the median nerve is involved. It is often called carpal tunnel syndrome.

A syndrome is a collection of symptoms. The carpal tunnel is one of the grooves between your carpal or wrist bones.

More commonly the cause of the strain is in the pectoral muscles in the front of your shoulder and in the neck muscles.

If the pain or tingling is in your little finger (pinkie), and side of your 4th finger the ulnar nerve is involved. It runs through

a tunnel under your elbow. Resting on your elbows too long or overstraining your elbow are possible causes of pain.

Feel the bones at the base of your neck. If there is a 'step' and one protrudes that is another cause of ulnar nerve compression.

The third one is the radial nerve. It winds around the back of your arm bone in the shoulder joint, down the outside of your upper arm

and through your forearm. Pain in the outer, upper arm, around the elbow, in the forearm and weakness in straightening your fingers can all be

signs of radial nerve involvement. Also pain in the area between your shoulder blade and spine might come from a branch of the radial nerve.

What do you do about it?

Open your fingers wide regularly.

Rub one ice cube gently over swelling under the cube melts.

Change your posture and sitting position at work, take regular changes of activity, for instance stand beside a filing cabinet to sign or mark lots of papers.

Walk in your lunchtime, swinging your arms to exercise your shoulders.

Work on your breathing to open up your chest and diaphragm. (Yoga teachers are very good at helping you).

Carpal tunnel syndrome can be related to poor fluid movement in the body through shallow breathing patterns.

Strengthen your hands and shoulders. Swimming, rowing machine, Down facing dog (Adhomukha Svanasana) are all great exercises.

Learn to do press ups with your elbows brushing the sides of your body as you go down. Don't go down too low.

Do press ups against a door with your fingers spread wide apart is another great strengthening exercise.

Side stretching your neck muscles helps to relieve a stiff neck.

Try acupuncture.

If you are still suffering come and see me. We will gently manipulate these areas and go through the exercises very carefully. T: 01980 502015 E: jfperrott@googlemail.com

Low Glycemic Index Diet

The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly the carbohydrates in food are converted by digestion into blood sugar. The standard is glucose which has a glycemic index of 100. Other foods that contain carbohydrate are compared to glucose. the guide is not infallible. for instance fruits contain glucose, fructose and a little sucrose. Fructose is a low glycemic index sugar. However lots of processed foods and especially fizzy drinks contain refined fructose corn syrup. It might seem to be fructose but it acts like a very high glycemic index food spiking your blood sugar levels. Different types of rice vary in glycemic index. White basmatti rice is lower than Thai rice, fragrant rice, or sushi rice. Brown rice is lower than white rice. An Asian person trying to stabilise blood sugar levels would be better eating brown basmatti rice. It is more filling anyway so you are likely to eat less of it.
Other helpful changes could be to eat rye bread or part rye bread instead of white bread, eat dried fruit instead of soft melons, eat grapefruit, oranges and squeeze fresh lemon juice onto meat instead of drinking fruits juices. Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Their glycemic index is higher than foods in their natural state. Most foods that are low GI are also high in fibre.