It's Never To Late To Change For Long Lasting Health

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Today, I discharged a patient who had been seeing me once weekly for 3 months for a painful neuropathy.  This patient was willing to make minor changes in lifestyle to completely heal.  Today, this patient thanked me for giving back health and well being and giving this person the opportunity to 'live outside the box'.  New and exciting sporting activities have been discovered and enjoyed, new and exotic foods never tasted are now part of a healthy daily lifestyle and this person's quality of life is better than it's been for over 3 years.
We all have the opportunity to let go of old habits and 'racquets' (those behaviors we believe work for us when - in fact - they work against us) and embrace new adventures and opportunities to live a full, loving, healthy and exciting life.  Today, embrace something new - be bold!  Make a change that's GOOD for your mind, body and spirit.

Referrals Are Always Appreciated

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Many of you have been successfully treated for various health issues here at my clinic.  Referrals are the mainstay of my practice, so if you have had a positive experience, please share!  It is illegal for me to give you prizes, gifts, etc. in exchange for referrals, but the appreciation for you as a patient and referral is always there!

Subluxed or Dislocated Ribs...After the Reset, Get Acupuncture!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  I will share a personal experience today.  Recently, I dislocated a rib - not fun would be an understatement.  So, after I went to my colleague, a Japanese Setai Shiatsu master (alias: the bone setter) to have the displaced rib put back where it's supposed to be, I went straight away to get acupuncture for the pain and tight muscles surrounding the affected site of injury (so sorry...I cannot needle my own back!).  Instantly...from having discomfort just trying to breathe, I was able to breathe without discomfort and the agonizing pain of the affected area went from a 9 on the pain scale to a 2 out of 10.  Here's your take home message:  if you have an injury - a break, tear, fracture - after it's set, come in for a treatment to recover expediently and painlessly.  I'm off for a 'booster shot' today.  And for all those wise guys out there that would just love to give me back some of my own medicine....you're out of luck! :)  Have a great holiday weekend!

Tackle Morning Sickness Without The Drugs

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Hot off the press!  A new prescriptive drug, Diclegis (which was banned due to birth defects 20 years ago) has been just re-approved to cure morning sickness.  Hmmmm.....you don't smoke, drink alcohol, coffee or eat naughty foods because you don't want to hurt the fetus.  You don't take allergy medication, antidepressants, aspirin or any other medications because they will go straight to the fetal blood.  But hey....why would you take prescription drugs for a bit of nausea???  THAT isn't going to harm the fetus???? Let's be rational here...
Tackle your morning sickness without drugs.  Gentle acupuncture has eliminated morning sickness for many of my pregnant patients.  Safe, effective, drug and pain-free...and will not affect the fetus in any manner.  Ladies, be smart...don't take prescription drugs for your nausea....come in and be treated safely for both you and your baby today.

Treating The Effects Of Multiple Sclerosis With Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Formulas

 

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Formulas are very effective in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis (MS).  Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an  autoimmune disease.  A person's immune system attacks the myelin sheath that covers and protects  the nerves of the brain and spinal cord. A simple way of understanding the disease is this:  imagine the outer casing that holds and protects many electrical wires wears away leaving tears and holes that expose the internal wiring.  The wires inside the casing short circuit, burn, smoke, and malfunction due to exposure to environmental elements (your bodily fluids, etc).  The wearing down of the myelin sheath leads to injury and inflammation; consequently, electrical or nerve signals to and from the brain to different organs, muscles, nerves and other connective tissue are blocked.  The end result is debilitating - the patient can experience difficult vision, burning pain in the extremities, loss of muscle coordination and strength, loss of organ and other bodily functions, and a downward spiral of degenerating health.  Multiple sclerosis can affect any sex or age group but is common in ages 20 to 40 years of age.  Women are twice susceptible to MS as men.

Traditional Chinese Medicine looks at the patient as a whole in determining treatment for MS or any other condition.  All lifestyle and physical aspects of the patient are evaluated.  Tongue and pulse diagnoses offer much information about the patient's condition.  There are 18 pulse positions that are felt and evaluated; the condition of the tongue can determine heat, cold, organ dysfunction, build up of toxins and a plethora of other indicators pertinent to the individual case.  In evaluating the MS patient, the demyelization of the neural sheath is considered to be a heat condition; heat dries bodily fluids and builds toxins; this in turn, leads to organ and connective tissue malfunction.  Acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas address these symptoms effectively and can help reduce or eliminate various symptoms of this autoimmune disease. 

Case Study:  A 62 year old post menopausal female presented with burning pain in both legs, travelling to lower legs and the soles of her feet.  The patient was unable to walk 2 city blocks without pain. The patient experienced nocturnal body heat and woke up every other hour in the evening in 'pools of sweat'.  The patient had  been diagnosed with MS 4 years prior to her visit to my office and had recently gone on disability because of her inability to walk and work.  Her quality of  life had suffered and had been suffering mild depression.  The patient's tongue was overall red with a very dry, thin coat (this denotes a heat condition and drying of internal bodily fluids.  Her pulses overall were thin, rapid, wiry and small.  I determined a diagnosis of Yin Deficiency as root cause and a secondary condition of Qi Stagnation.  In plain English, this means that the MS was caused by a heat condition (Yin Deficiency); the night sweats and neuropathies were being caused by the secondary condition (Qi Stagnation).  Because of the heat, the internal bodily fluids were drying, causing the normal flow of blood, lymph, fluids, red and white blood cells to reach the extremities and provide the necessary cellular nutrition for proper physical function.  The treatment strategy:  clear the heat, tonify the immune system, clear the stagnation and calm the mind (to address the depression).  Acupuncture treatment twice weekly for 4 weeks, with nutritional modifications ( no spicy foods, acidic foods, alcohol, sugar or dairy) and water therapy were additive to the protocol.  An herbal pill formula to address the nocturnal sweat and fluids was prescribed to be taken on a daily basis.

After 4 weeks of this treatment protocol, the patient reported she could walk more than half a mile, could swim for 20 minutes in the pool, and the burning pain had dissipated from a 9 of 10 on the pain scale to a 3 of  10.  The nocturnal sweats had disappeared and she was beginning to feel more like herself.  The protocol was modified to one treatment weekly for 8 weeks; yoga was suggested in addition to water therapy and the continued diet modifications.  After 8 weeks, the patient reported that she was pain free and had spoken with her employer - she was going back to work and felt wonderful.  This patient continues with treatment once monthly and continues to do yoga and swim; she can now dance and is living a productive and happy life once again.

Traditional Chinese Medicine cannot offer a cure for MS, but a good practitioner can help reduce or eliminate certain afflictions of the disease.  While results vary from case to case, this is one of the many pathologies that I treat on a daily basis.  Traditional  Chinese Medicine is over 2,000 years old for a reason.

Get Ready For a New and Exciting Blog

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  after over 600 posts, I've decided to revise the format of this blog.  Beginning next week, this blog will be posted once per week.  The difference in the content will be as such:  many of you are not aware of the enormous scope of practice that is Traditional Chinese Medicine.  I am going to begin with a blog that explains exactly how acupuncture and herbs work in the human body.  After this blog, I will begin to talk to you about the different diseases and health conditions that I treat with acupuncture and herbs.  Some of you will identify with various conditions and this will give you information on how to take care of yourselves in a very different manner.  The blog will still be infused with humor and fun, but it will be directed more towards specific health topics and how I treat them. 
Your tip for today...every day is a new start.  If you have fallen off the wagon of health, fitness or happiness, do one thing today to make a change in the right direction.  Every small drop of water in a pail adds up to an overflowing vessel over time.

Prepare Yourselves The Year of the Snake is Coming

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  The Chinese New Year is coming!  This is the year of the Water Snake.  Water Snakes are influential and insightful. They manage others well and tend to be good for organizations to utilize as staff. They are quite motivated and intellectual, very determined and resolute about success. They will have what they desire, despite the conclusion or outcome they generate because it is worth it to them to not only be recognized for their efforts, but to be rewarded as well. They are affectionate with their families and friends but do not show this side of their personality to colleagues or business partners.  If you were born in 1953 or will be born in 2013, you are a Water Snake!  More on the Chinese New Year all this week, so stay tuned for more.

Training Day

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  It's Friday, so let's take it lightly.  Here's a moment to make you smile:  this is Cooper, my neighbor and assistant in training.  He's learning how to use a stethoscope, but as you can see, he's got to do some growing into the job!  You all might see my little assistant from time to time in the new year when he comes to visit!

Practice What You Preach

I am a huge fan of the benefits of yoga.  It's not that I love doing yoga - it's like eating your veggies, only better.  I encourage all my patients to engage in a yoga practice, whether they are professional athletes or couch potatoes.  Yoga is all about you and your mat; no one else matters. 

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you are recovering from an injury, want to improve your sports performance, digestion or lower your blood pressure - here's what you do.  Schedule regular acupuncture treatments and sign yourself into a nice yoga studio.  That's what I'm doing today as part of taking care of ME, so I can better take care of YOU!

SO...You Wrenched Your Back...Again...

You played that Saturday morning tennis match or round of golf....thought you were Serena Williams or Tiger Woods and really went for that tough shot....now it's Sunday morning and you can't move without yelping in pain and realize I don't work weekends.  What's a doggie to do???

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  How many times have I had patients call early Monday morning because they wrenched their backs out on Saturday morning and haven't been able to move since then.  How many times have I suggested daily yoga, stretching and a weekly acupuncture session to ensure this doesn't happen?  If you listen to what I tell you to do, and come in for your weekly treatments, you would improve your game....not regress.  If you come in for treatments only when you are injured, you defeat the purpose of your game - to get better, stronger, faster and much more precise.  Get with the program today:  exercise, stretch and come in for weekly sessions!

It's Back To The Usual

It's been two weeks since I twisted my L5 vertabra and tore my hamstring jumping off my Harley, but I've just been given the green light to get back to my Insanity regime and daily yoga.  Yippee!  I've got to take some modifications and precautions, but I feel pretty confident that I will be on my way back into my regular routine.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Sometimes, we experience setbacks due to injuries.  Give yourself the space, time and have patience to heal properly.  Tomorrow is another day....there is nothing worse for an athlete than to be unable to participate in his/her favorite sport, so take the time and do it right.  Tomorrow is my day to get back to what I love because I took that time to heal.  A special thank you to the ladies at Duffy & Bracken Physical Therapy for helping me back to wellville!

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Part 2

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  I received many inquiries yesterday to give more information regarding Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).  Here is the link to the Mayo Clinic's site on the topic.  It is written in layman's terms and very clear.  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/traumatic-brain-injury/DS00552
I have had personal experience dealing with an individual who suffered from TBI and it has helped me in my practice to treat patients who are experiencing the side effects of TBI.  For the family, friends and colleagues of a person who has experienced TBI, remember that patience and compassion are crucial for that person to realize again their full potential.

Fun At 50

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Just for kicks and giggles, I'll make you laugh today just like the fellow laughed from AARP's motorcycle insurance division.  I was on the telephone today obtaining the cheapest motorcycle insurance out of all the companies that offer the service with John from Foremost.  I said, "wow....what a day!  There's just so much fun at 50!  This morning I had anesthesia...best nap I've had in years...no, they wouldn't give me a 'go cup'....just love that anesthesia....oh, what for?  Oh yes, my first colonoscopy now that I'm an old bag and an AARP member....did you know with my AARP card I get a free donut at Dunkin Donuts when I buy a large coffee?  Yeah...and now that you're giving me the motorcycle insurance at the best discount, I feel like I've just won the lotto!  Oh, hey...what an exciting day, indeed...." 
John replied, "wow, I see what I have to look forward to when I get to your age..."
For all you 'old farts' out there like me, remember....you're as young as you feel, so take good care of yourselves like me and live life to the edge...you only get one ride in life.  I've decided that mine is going to be on 2 wheels!

Today's Golden Girls

OK, I'll confess....I just love the "Golden Girls" repeats on television.  I find the good humor and laughs I get from watching an episode before I go to sleep highly entertaining and all in good fun.  The other evening, there was an episode where one of the girls was experiencing the first signs and symptoms of menopause.  The comments and laughs revolving around the topic were hysterical - all the characters shared their own experiences with 'the change'.  I have quite a number of patients whom I treat for menopause and I made the comment to a few of them over the past two days how the Golden Girls all looked so 'old' to be going through menopause.  Truly, they were only supposed to be in their 50s during the sitcom.  The 50-somethings that walk into my office look like they're 30-somethings.  Radiant, active, fashionable and in so much better shape...a sign of the times and women's health over the past 30 years since the show originally aired in prime time.  My patients also commented on the observation and how we, as women, have come such a long way in our knowledge of health, fitness, fashion and being fabulous!

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you're a "Golden Girl" and going thru peri menopause or full menopause and it's making your life a little inconvenient, call or email my office today and do what my fabulous 50-something patients have done to cease the sweats, vaginal dryness and other symptoms of 'the change'....acupuncture and herbal pills.  Safe, drug free and highly effective!

Happy Monday

It's Monday and how is everyone feeling today?  Invigorated from 2 great days off?  Or are you exhausted, sluggish and wishing you had one more day to rest?

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you're not feeling invigorated, rested and ready for the week's challenges, you've either overtaxed yourself this past weekend or you're just not up to snuff.  Take a time out and have a nice relaxing acupuncture session to boost your energy, erase the stress, and soothe those overused muscles.  Or, if you've been beaten by the seasonal allergies, come in and I'll alleviate your misery.  917-701-7582  k@kmondesire.com  Do it today, so you can feel 100% tomorrow!

Do You Have A Jeremy Lin Knee?

The Wall Street Journal Online posted that Jeremy Lin has a torn meniscus.  Today, read the following WSJ article and learn about the meniscus.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303816504577319603407585304.html?mod=e2tw

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you have a torn meniscus, you most likely do not require surgery.  Have your orthopaedist order an MRI.  If surgical reparation is not necessary, acupuncture and low level laser therapy is quite effective in treating those minor meniscus tears.  Just ask some of my patients who were referred to my by their surgeons who said 'go get acupuncture - you don't need surgery'.  They're all back to playing golf, basketball, running marathons and enjoying life.

It's Friday, So Make It A FAB DAY

It's Friday and I'm making my plans....workouts in the open air, outdoor gardening projects, motorcycle rides and a great dinner with my loved one.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  If you've eaten right, exercised and had your acupuncture to stave off seasonal allergies, you should be right and ready for a fun-filled weekend.  If you're not feeling your very best or have the post nasal drip that comes with seasonal rhinitis, better make an appointment today, before you lose out on all the nice weekends we're bound to have this year!

It's Friday - Have You Had Your Acupuncture Yet?

It's Friday and I'll be winding down my week with my regular and new clients.  Regular clients come in for weekly treatments for conditions ranging from Parkinson's to pregnancy.  My Wellness Program patients arrive with their food journals, weigh in and most leave after treatment knowing they've lost a few more pounds, their blood pressure is lower and feel so much healthier and happier.  Expectant mothers are going through healthy and happy pregnancies and chemotherapy patients are embarking on their weekends nausea-free, sweat-free and much more relaxed.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Make Friday YOUR DAY.  Schedule treatments on a weekly basis so you can experience the psychological and physical benefits of acupuncture.

Cholesterol - The 'C' Word

What is cholesterol?  Cholesterol is composed of vitamin D, nerve coatings, cell membranes, and steroid hormones.  Cholesterol is a fatty substance.  Cholesterol travels throughout the body within the bloodstream and is transported by lipoproteins.  The two types of lipoproteins we hear of are: LDL (low density lipoprotein) adn HDL (high density lipoprotein).  LDL isn't used by tissues and settles into the blood vessels.  This causes sediment and arterial diseases.  HDL is the 'good guy'.  HDL picks up and delivers unused cholesterol and brings it back to the liver, where it is recycled.  A HDL number is a good thing..more good guys, less chance of arterial disease; hence overall healthier body.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  aerobic activity increases levels of HDL in the body.  Help keep your 'good' cholesterol up and your 'bad' cholesterol down...workout today and make an appointment for acupuncture to help you lose weight, increase your metabolic rate and improve your general health.

Stress and Obesity

Folks, we're living through some tough and finacially expensive times these days.  Stress is running rampant out there.  Patients who have come in for regular acupuncture treatments are experiencing not only a higher quality of life, but are also finding themselves losing those extra pounds they just couldn't seem to shred with diet and exercise alone.  Why?  Because acupuncture releases endorphins (natural 'feel good' neurotransmitters) which, in turn, help reduce the levels of glutocorticoids.  Glutocorticoids in excess can increase body fat by signalling to the body it needs added caloric intake due to stress (the 'fight or flight' mechanism).   Acupuncture can 'turn off' the flight or fight sensors and calm down a patient, leaving him or her stress free and allowing the body to come back to a normal state of homeostasis.

Here's Your Healthy Tip of the Day:  Times are stressful and your mental and physical health suffer as a result.  Do something productive for yourself today.  Have some acupuncture - you'll eliminate stress and lose those extra pounds as an added bonus!