The Initial Series

After the phone interview and the new patient evaluation, every patient goes onto one of two tracks: Simple or Complex. For patients on the simple track, the next step is the Initial Series. The Initial Series is a customized short series of treatment to determine how well you, as an individual, respond to treatment.

We only want to work with patients we can help, so we always do an initial series to make sure our treatment is actually working for you. No one treatment works for every problem or every person. We guarantee that if we can’t help you, we’ll make sure you leave with a referral to someone we believe can.

Feel free to contact us or leave questions in the comments below.


How I Pick the Points!

One of the most common questions I get in my clinic is, “How do you know which points to use?” Really, it’s the same way your MD knows which drug to prescribe or referral to give, lots and lots of training.

If you’ve watched my other videos, you’ve probably figured out by now that Acupuncture is a physical medicine and not an energy medicine. It works on the muscles, blood vessels, nerves and immune system. Despite the conventional wisdom that this is all very mystical, quite a lot is known about the mechanism of Acupuncture, particularly in the treatment of pain. If you have advanced education in physiology or medicine, I highly recommend reading Donald Kendall’s The Dao of Chinese Medicine, printed by Oxford University Press! I don’t get any kickbacks for recommending it; I just think it’s a great book.

For the regular folks out there, these videos will help you understand what is going through my mind when making a point selection. It’s all very physiological and straightforward! It doesn’t even require chanting or channeling or any other mystical intervention!

If you liked those, check out some of our other videos!

Dry needling

What is qi? It’s not what you’ve heard!


Why do my symptoms come back?

Unfortunately, Acupuncture (as well as any other neurological rehabilitation) is not a one and done therapy. Due to a property called neuro-plasticity, neurological changes in the body require repeated input before they become permanent.

In this video we explain how poor function and chronic pain come about, why they seem to come and go before they go for good and what changes in the body once the results become permanent. Enjoy!

For more videos about natural medicine check out:

What is Qi?

Function = Health

Acupuncture is NOT Energy Medicine

and the ever popular Dry Needling


Acupuncture is NOT Energy Medicine

Have you ever felt nervous to investigate Acupuncture, because it just doesn’t make sense to you? Maybe you are a science person and you just can’t buy the energy medicine thing. Maybe the idea of energy healing conflicts with your religious beliefs.

Not to worry! Acupuncture has nothing to do with magical energy. It is a physical medicine based on the body. Watch this video to find out more—and yes, I know I should re-shoot it. This was my first video, and this whole web thing has a learning curve to it. In the meantime, I’m just going to go help some patients and leave this less than beautiful video up, in case it can actually help someone.

And in case that didn’t blow your mind enough, check out some other myths and facts about Chinese Medicine!

 


Function = Health

Some define health as the absence of disease. At Gulf Coast Wellness, we think that’s setting the bar a bit low. There must be something that happens in between being perfectly healthy and having a disease. Ever wonder what that is? Watch this video to find out!–BUT WAIT—if you haven’t watched my What is Qi video yet, PLEASE watch that first

Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine I

Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine II

Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine III

Chris Kresser—Chinese Medicine Demystified


Dry Needling

Don’t be scammed by second-rate needling therapy. Get informed and protect yourself by seeing fully trained, qualified, knowledgeable professionals and not falling for buzz-word marketing!

 


What is Qi?

Qi. It’s the most confusing idea in Chinese Medicine and the main reason that people with scientific or traditional medical backgrounds don’t believe in it. But it turns out that the most common conception of qi is utterly incorrect. Watch the video to find out the real definition of qi and how we went so wrong.

More information on this topic:

Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine I

Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine II

Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine III

Chris Kresser—Chinese Medicine Demystified

And if that’s not enough, Read the whole book! Dao of Chinese Medicine by Donald Kendall


What is an Acupuncture Physician?

In the State of Florida, an Acupuncture Physician is a Physician who is licensed by the Florida Department of Health to practice Acupuncture. In case you’re wondering, all physicians are typically referred to as Doctor, as in, “Hi, I’m Dr. Shark.”

Medical licensing is regulated by the states, so the specific requirements for medical licenses vary from state to state.  Several states, such as Alabama, still do not have a licensure process to practice Acupuncture.

This definition brings up two questions:

  1. What is Acupuncture as defined by Florida law?
  2. What is required to receive this license?

First off, “Acupuncture” as defined by Florida includes a lot more than the practice of Acupuncture itself, which is essentially the insertion of very fine needles at specific locations in order to produce a physiological response which results in pain relief or the activation of healing.  In the state of Florida, Acupuncture means the entire system of Chinese Medicine. This includes diagnosis, nutrition, physical/orthopedic exam, herbal medicine, supplement prescription, rehabilitative exercise, intramuscular injection of non-drug substances (such as vitamins or saline), and the ordering and interpretation of lab tests and images (such as blood work or x-rays).  The primary difference between what a Medical Doctor (MD) and an Acupuncture Physician (AP) can do is that the MD can prescribe pharmaceutical drugs and an AP cannot.

What is responsible for this difference? It’s the focus of the medical training of each respective physician. Both MD’s and AP’s spend 4 years in medical school, with similar prerequisites for science education in undergrad. Both physicians study important subjects such as Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Pharmacology, Internal Medicine, Orthopedics, Dermatology, and External Medicine. But there is a major difference in the way these subjects are approached.

The driving force behind the difference in approach is the difference in treatment. Medical Doctors’ primary treatments are pharmaceutical drugs and surgery. Their diagnosis primarily directly restates the symptom (e.g. high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood sugar, migraines) and seeks to find supporting markers on specific tests which indicate the need for medical interventions—because drugs and surgeries are designed to treat these single symptoms individually.  Acupuncture Physicians’ primary treatments are natural interventions that stimulate the healing process in the body either through activating a specific neurological response (Acupuncture) or by providing particular nutrients or substances (Herbal Medicine, Nutrition, Supplementation). As a result, MDs’ diagnostic processes tend to be more specific (focused on one abnormality at a time), and APs’ more holistic (focusing on the entire body or entire functional system).

There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. In general, MD’s are unparalleled in their treatment of emergency conditions. Because of their specificity, they can quickly treat and control life-threatening occurrences like heart attack, inability to breath and major traumas. If the threat of death is imminent, the Emergency Room is probably the best place for you. But because of this focus on health problems as single, isolated events, conventional Medical Doctors are often unable to produce satisfactory results when it comes to conditions that are not immediately life threatening: chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, chronic pain, auto-immune disease and mood disorders. Some Medical Doctors are recognizing this failure and seeking additional training after medical school in a relatively new field called Functional Medicine (FM). An MD who practices Functional Medicine is striving to be far more holistic, though there is a lot of variance between practitioners since this holistic training is not required for their medical license. Though many FM doctors still tend toward their original training of single-problem focus, if you have a chronic condition and the option of choosing an MD trained in Functional Medicine over one trained only in the conventional system, definitely pick the FM doctor. They will be much more likely to consider effective non-drug approaches.

 

Acupuncture Physicians, on the other hand, are trained from the get-go to look at the body through a holistic lens, that is to say that they are analyzing how various systems fit together in order to determine the root of the malfunction.  Rather than zeroing in on a single symptom, such as nasal allergies or an abnormal lab result, AP’s are trained to look at really big picture indicators like digestive function, inflammation and constriction of tissues and blood vessels, detailed health history and the relationship between “physical” and “mental” disorders. This holistic approach gives AP’s the advantage when it comes to pain and chronic disorders. The reason is that chronic disorders are never isolated, single body-part events. They always involve multiple systems and evolve through complex mechanisms. If they didn’t, they would never become chronic; they would simply heal themselves or be quickly eradicated by a short-term problem-focused approach like those typically offered by an MD. And there is no drug on the market that corrects the neurological pain impulse the way that Acupuncture does. Pain medications merely dull or mask the pain in the hope that the body will get better on its own in the meantime. My friend Bob Doane puts it best, MD’s treat the symptom and hope the problem goes away; AP’s treat the problem and hope the symptom goes away.

I would be remiss if I didn’t address the frightening new practice of MD’s and Chiropractors (DC’s) performing Acupuncture in Florida. These practitioners are required to have little to no training in order to perform needling on their patients. I say needling, because they are really not practicing Acupuncture, which as we discussed is a specific holistic therapy; they are merely memorizing some symptom-focused protocols and applying them across the board.

Well, you say, I just have one problem. Why not just let my DC or MD do my Acupuncture? Their appalling lack of training, that’s why! An AP has about 3,000 hours of training and over 1,000 hours internship in the specific diagnostic system and needling technique which allows them to get results. MD’s are not required to be trained at all in order to perform needling, because their license already covers sticking needles in you! If they elect for membership in the American Academy of Medical Acupuncture, they are required to have a whopping 220 hours of training, less than 1/10th of what an AP has. Chiropractors (DC’s) are only required to have 100 hours training to stick needles in you in Florida! This is crazy, folks. I would never let someone with so little training treat me. I certainly would never attempt to adjust your neck or perform an appendectomy when you come in for Acupuncture, and DC’s and MD’s shouldn’t be sticking needles in people and calling it Acupuncture.

The one disclaimer I will add to this article is that all of my explanations here are broad generalizations. I did this to simplify the explanation of different types of medical license. However, all doctors are people, and people are individuals with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. In every field there are excellent, qualified individuals who really do get the big picture and know what they’re doing. I have been educated and inspired by many Medical Doctors and Chiropractors through the years. While I’ve studied with a few really outstanding Acupuncture Physicians, I actually get most of my medical information from work done by exceptional MD’s and DC’s. Some of these doctors do have extensive training beyond those required by law or by certification boards. If you’re wondering about a doctor’s training and background—just make sure to ask; don’t assume they’re knowledgeable about a field that may be out of their area of expertise.

I hope I’ve given you a pretty good overview of what it means to be an Acupuncture Physician. I’m happy to answer questions left in the comments section. We’ll be starting up a video blog soon, so please leave your questions in the comments section. Once we get rolling, we’ll answer a question every week. Be well!


Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine III

Myth: Chinese Medicine is natural, so it’s hard to tell if it’s working or not

FACT:  When it’s working, you’ll know it!

People often think that natural = weak. It simply isn’t true. Acupuncture for pain will work within the first few treatments or it won’t work at all!

Now don’t get me wrong, you may need multiple treatments to get rid of the problem and keep it gone. However, you should be able to tell that it’s working by the fourth treatment at the latest. If you have been seeing an Acupuncturist for pain for more than four treatments and you can’t tell if it’s working or not, either try a different Acupuncturist or do something else. Pain conditions rarely respond later if they’re not responding at all in the beginning.

For chronic conditions, like fatigue, digestive problems, hormones, you should notice improvement within the first month. Again, it may take some follow-up to make sure the results stay after you discontinue treatment, but a proper treatment should have you obviously on the road to recovery.

In my clinic, if the patient is not 70% better in three months, we take a serious look at whether we’re doing the right thing and whether or not we should continue treating!

When was the last time you took a medication (other than anti-biotics) that truly fixed your underlying problem and had you 70% better in three months?

Do you have more questions/assumptions/ideas that you want to know about? Leave them in the comments section, and I’ll be sure to address them!

Know someone who thinks they know all about Chinese Medicine or wants to know more? Forward this article, or connect them to this site! Or better yet, share this on FaceBook or Twitter!

Read part I of this series

Read part II of this series


Myths and Facts About Chinese Medicine II

Myth: Qi is energy

Fact: There is absolutely no historical basis for the translation of the word Qi as energy!

This one tends to ruffle a lot of feathers, so let me be clear. I’m not making a statement as to whether or not there is energy in the body. I’m merely stating that the word Qi, as used in the Chinese Medical classics, does not and never has meant energy.

So what happened? Why does everyone in the West seem to believe that Chinese Medicine is based on invisible energy circulating through invisible pathways that we somehow magically stick needles into?

First you have to understand that these Chinese Medical Classics are literally 4,000 years old! The language in which they were written was basically pictograms. Nobody, except those with a PhD in ancient Chinese, can read these classics as written. Even Chinese people must study translations.

The problem is that most people who get PhD’s in Ancient Chinese don’t know much about medicine, and most people who know about medicine don’t read Ancient Chinese. This creates a serious problem in the translation of an ancient medical text.

It so happens that a French gentleman, George Soulie de Morant,  who didn’t know much about medicine attempted to translate the most important Chinese Medical Text ever, the Huang Di Nei Jing. And in this attempt, he made the two most influential mistranslations ever. He translated the word Qi as energy and the word Mai (blood vessel) as meridian.

As a result of this mistranslation, most Westerners, including almost everyone studying in Chinese Medical school in the West, is taught that Chinese Medicine is about energy flowing in meridians.

So if Qi isn’t energy and the term meridian doesn’t exist anywhere in the classics, then what is Chinese Medicine?

If you saw the character for Qi painted on a big sign in China today, do you know what that would mean?

It indicates that there is a station for putting air into your car tires!

Why? Because Qi just means air—every Chinese person know this! Nobody gets confused and pulls their car over hoping to get some energy injected into their meridians!

In the context of the medical classics, we know they meant to be a bit more specific. So what do the classics say about Qi? The direct translation of “qi” is “vital air.” The Huang Di Nei Jing says that Qi is invisible and all around us (air) and that it is breathed in by the Lungs and the vital parts of the air are extracted by the Lungs and sent to the Heart to be pumped all over the body inside the blood vessels (mai)!

In case you don’t remember your anatomy and physiology, they’re talking about Oxygen! The Chinese were incredibly concerned with the flow of Oxygen (Qi), Blood (Xue), Nutrients (ying) and Immune cells (Wei) inside the Blood Vessels (mai) and Lymph system (jing ye) as well as with the functioning of each of the major organs (zang fu).

What this amazing revelation means is that rather than being concerned with some kind of psychic energy, Chinese Medicine is actually a PHYSICAL medicine which is primarily concerned with blood flow!

I’ve likely offended many devotees of Chinese Medicine who strongly believe in the energy and meridian concept. In reality, most Acupuncturists have only studied textbooks and never studied any of the what the classics actually say. And the amazing thing is that this difference in belief does not necessarily change the application of Acupuncture treatment. The difference is that with the circulation/blood vessel/anatomically based explanation, we suddenly realize that Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture are actually NOT in conflict with Western ideas or anatomy and physiology. The Chinese actually explained vital concepts thousands of years ago that were just “discovered” in the West a couple of hundred years ago. As soon as we let go of the mystical idea, we are free to see all of the commonalities that Chinese Medicine has with the modern Western approach.

The Huang Di Nei Jing describes such (at the time) unknown wonders such as the closed blood circulation system, hormones, the immune function of the intestines (just being corroborated in very recent research), the digestive function of the pancreas, referred pain patterns from organs (such as gallbladder pain referring to the scapula and heart pain referring down the arm). I could go on and on!

The best source for more information on this topic is a book called The Dao of Chinese Medicine. This book, with its seemingly mystical title, lays it all out in incredibly well-researched black and white. It was published by Oxford University Press, which is not some little alternative press looking to overthrow the dominant paradigm! It is a solid, valid piece of work at finally de-mystifying the medicine that continues to help millions around the globe.

Read Part I of this series

Read Part III of this series