This data is from a young woman with quite severe, disabling PMS. We are about to enter her third cycle under treatment and she is able to tell a difference. She is not as depressed or foggy. Breast tenderness is
Neuroplasticity studies are relevant to stroke recovery and other neurological impairments. Acupuncture is commonly used in China for stroke victims. This gives some added credibility to the practice. Neural Plast. 2017;2017:4716792. doi: 10.1155/2017/4716792. Epub 2017 Feb 15. Neuroplasticity Changes on
This data is from a patient who has been coming to the clinic for acupuncture for migraines for 3 years. His migraines are not totally gone, but he’s extremely happy with the once per month frequency he is now experiencing.
In this study of 108 migraineurs, Acupuncture produced better results than botox or pharmaceuticals. Their succinct conclusion “Acupuncture, botulinum toxin-A injection and pharmacological treatment have beneficial effects on chronic migraine; however, acupuncture showed more effectiveness and fewer complications.” Nice! Caspian
Study showing that stimulation of the vagus nerve in the neck elicits the same brain activity as invasive (implanted) vagal nerve stimulation, or auricular vagal nerve stim. As patients and blog readers know, I study vagal response with HRV in
A report from The Guardian discussing recent findings showing that acupuncture works in a way distinct from any placebo. “Placebo acupuncture can ease short-term pain but the real thing might help to reverse the underlying pathology of a disease.” ”
This fascinating study has implications not only for improving stress profiles by increasing vagal activity as measured by HRV, but also is relevant regarding headache treatment with acupuncture. It also showed increased cerebral perfusion in the prefrontal cortex. Amazing! Keep
This article compares autonomic activity in headache patients. They make no distinction between headache and migraine. Though I’d expected as much, they found lower parasympathetic activity and higher sympathetic activity in headache patients. I do have one patient who has had
As per this previous post about altered autonomic activity in patients with PMS, this data is from a new patient who has extremely severe premenstrual syndrome. She has breast tenderness, irritability that can lead to depression so severe that she
I copied a fair amount of this article because the methodology is of interesting to me because I’ve always wondered if the response to needling itself (seconds to minutes) tells us anything about the patient’s susceptibility to treatment or even
