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Acupuncture and Surgery

Should you seek acupuncture around surgery?

There are times when surgery is necessary, and we often get questions from our patients regarding the use of acupuncture before and after surgery. In most cases, acupuncture is a great option to help ease symptoms before and after surgery, as well as to help you heal from your procedure.

Break it down

Here’s a little break down of how we use acupuncture to foster the most comfortable and healthy surgical experience.

Managing pain pre-procedure – The most common reason people receive surgery is because something hurts! And unless you’re receiving an emergency procedure, you’ll likely have to wait days or weeks from your time of diagnosis to your procedure. Although it won’t be able to repair the damaged structures causing your issue, acupuncture can help decrease your body’s pain signaling and tissue inflammation, which will do a lot to relieve your pain. Whether it’s from a shoulder injury, a colon issue, a car accident, or anything in between, if you’re in pain, acupuncture is a good option to help keep you comfortable until your procedure.
Decreasing the side effects of anesthetics/analgesics and recovering quicker from them – Another reason we see our patients before and after surgery is to help the body process the drugs needed for anesthesia and analgesia. These drugs that “put you to sleep” during surgery can have quite a few side effects, such as nausea, constipation dizziness and confusion. Acupuncture supports your liver’s ability to process these drugs and eliminate them from your body, so that you return to feeling “normal” quicker. It can also encourage bowels to move that have been slowed by analgesics, which naturally relieves constipation.
Wound healing and procedure recovery – Acupuncture has been shown to decrease post-procedural wound healing time and increase range of motion. It decreases systemic inflammation and upregulates your immune response so that the efforts your body is making to repair itself become even more effective and quicker. This anti-inflammatory effect will also extend to any joints that have been operated on, allowing them to move more comfortably when they are ready.
Managing stress – Regardless of the type of procedure you’re preparing for, and how your body is feeling, anticipating surgery can cause its own anxieties – about the procedure itself, the recovery, taking time off work, taking care of your responsibilities while you recover, etc. Acupuncture is especially helpful to calm your mind and body in these moments so that you can approach your procedure and the decisions surrounding it from a healthy emotional state.

Building your healthcare team

Here at Maryville Acupuncture, we’re committed to serving as part of your healthcare team. When you’re anticipating a procedure, we always request that you inform your surgeon’s team that you’re receiving acupuncture.

We’re happy to answer any question you — or your surgeon — may have regarding the safety and efficacy of acupuncture in respect to your procedure.

References:

Sang In Park, Yun-Young Sunwoo, Yu Jin Jung, et al., “Therapeutic Effects of Acupuncture through Enhancement of Functional Angiogenesis and Granulogenesis in Rat Wound Healing,” Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, vol. 2012, Article ID 464586, 10 pages, 2012. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/464586.

Jung, Se Yun et al. “Effect of Acupuncture on Postoperative Ileus after Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer.” Journal of gastric cancer vol. 17,1 (2017): 11-20. doi:10.5230/jgc.2017.17.e2

Self Guide To Topicals for Pain Relief

We love topical herbs here in the clinic! Specifically, there are two formulas we use often in treatments to treat musculoskeletal pain: po sum on and white flower oil.

Po Sum On is a proprietary blend of Chinese herbs and peppermint oil that we use to warm the muscles and joints, especially in the cases of chronic pain/injury. This oil is especially good for old back aches, neck aches, and sore arthritic fingers.

White Flower Oil is a common analgesic liniment in China for aches and pains. In the clinic we use it when we want to cool the body – in cases of acute strain or flares of old injuries. It contains menthol, camphor, lavender, wintergreen and other oils that produce a cold sensation on the skin.

Here at Maryville Acupuncture, our practitioners utilize their years of experience treating pain of all sorts. Each visit, your acupuncturist will assess the quality, intensity, duration and frequency of your pain, as well as your current treatment regimens with your PCP and/or other physicians. We strive to be another source of excellent care as part of your integrated healthcare team.

How Does Acupuncture Treat Allergies?

Since moving to East Tennessee, I’ve heard it called “the allergy capital of the world.” It seems that most people in our area suffer from seasonal allergies of some sort.

When we come in contact with an environmental allergen, like pollen, the immune cells in the mucous membranes of our eyes, nose and throat go into high gear, causing increased inflammation. This leads to swollen sinuses and increased mucous production – which causes all the symptoms we associate with seasonal allergies – runny nose, watery eyes, dry cough, headache and congested sinuses.

Acupuncture has been shown to effectively treat many seasonal allergy symptoms.

In fact, a 2018 study in Germany showed that an 8-week course of acupuncture treatment was more effective than cetirizine (Zyrtec) in managing allergy symptoms during peak allergy season.

When seeking acupuncture for the management of allergy symptoms, we recommend that you plan for 6-8 weekly treatments.

Although some people may experience immediate results on the table, it often takes a few weeks for the inflammation in your body to decrease such that you are symptom-free. Once you are feeling well, you will likely want to continue to see your acupuncturist every 6-8 weeks during the allergy “off-season.”

Whether you’re plagued by itchy eyes, runny nose, stuffy sinuses, headache, or dry cough, know that acupuncture can help. Give us a call or visit our website to schedule your first visit.

References:

(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.nccaom.org/

Lift Chair, Increasing Handicap Accessibility For All

We wanted to announce that our clinic is becoming even more handicap accessible—

We now have a new lift chair!

We hope this new addition will help our patients find their treatments more accessible and comfortable.

Lift Chairs are ideal solutions for anybody who has difficulty transitioning from a seated position to standing due to limited mobility or balance issues. The benefits of being able to extend far beyond assistance by simply sitting down and standing up.

At Maryville Acupuncture, we strive to work integratively to support the achievement of your health goals, and ensure you have access to the best possible care while we work closely with your team of doctors.

We’re honored to bring acupuncture to our neighbors here in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, and look forward to being a part of your health care team!

Acupuncture & Cancer Pain

Treating pain can be difficult, regardless of its origin, but treating cancer pain can be particularly tricky because it often has multiple causes.

According to Paley, et. al.: “Moderate to severe pain is experienced by 40% of individuals with early or intermediate stage cancer and 90% of individuals with advanced cancer. Up to 70% of all patients with cancer pain do not receive adequate pain relief, diminishing their quality of life in terms of both physical and psychological well-being.”

Tumors can compress structures, nerves can become irritated, inflammation multiplies, bones and organs can be taxed in their response to tumors or therapies – each pain is complex and often will often be prescribed a new therapy or drug in response.

But, acupuncture provides an accessible and safe alternative to pain management without the need of added pharmaceuticals.

In a recent position paper published by the research group Evidence Based Acupuncture, a literature review showed that many studies found a moderate effect size of acupuncture on cancer-related pain, and concluded that: “…acupuncture is effective in relieving cancer related pain, particularly malignancy-related and surgery induced pain.”

Here at Maryville Acupuncture, our practitioners utilize their years of experience treating pain of all sorts.

Each visit, your acupuncturist will assess the quality, intensity, duration and frequency of your pain, as well as your current treatment regimens with your oncologist and other physicians.

We strive to be another source of excellent care as part of your integrated healthcare team.

Resources:

“Acupuncture as a Therapeutic Treatment for Cancer Pain.” Evidence Based Acupuncture, www.evidencebasedacupuncture.org/acupuncture-cancer-pain/.

Paley, C.A., Johnson, M.I., Tashani, O.A. and Bagnall, A.M., 2011. Acupuncture for cancer pain in adults. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 1(10).

Acupuncture Needles

What are acupuncture needles?

Acupuncture needles have been used for many centuries. While the majority of acupuncture started with less modern materials, such as bones, sticks and bamboo.

Acupuncture needles have advanced with new technology. Modern needles are fine, filiform (no hole down the middle of the shaft) needles made from surgical steel and come in sterile packs.

They range in thickness from 30 to 40 gauge, which is about the diameter of a hair (in contrast, the needle that a phlebotomist uses to draw your blood is between 18 and 22 guage, which is much much thicker).

Acupuncture needles range in length from about 0.5 inches to 4-5 inches, but most often in the clinic we use 0.5-1.5 inches.

Do acupuncture needles hurt?

Acupuncture is generally considered to be painless by most of our patients. We understand that sensitivity can be different for everyone. The majority of people would say no and that they can’t even feel them. Though, there are many different sensations associated with acupuncture. Some people can feel the “Qi” some don’t and that’s okay.

We’ll link to our article about Qi here.

What do you do with your needles?

At Maryville Acupuncture, all of our needles are single use, sterile and disposed of in a sharps container. We never reuse needles.

These needles are left in place for 20-25 minutes while you rest comfortably.

What else should I expect during a treatment?

There are additional modalities such as cupping, electro-stimulation, lifestyle changes (diet, exercise, stress management) and traditional Chinese medicinal practices that are occasionally incorporated into your treatment to give you the best benefit.

How Does Acupuncture Work For Pain?

We hear a lot about how acupuncture can be helpful in treating all types of pain – back pain, knee pain, headaches, menstrual cramps – but how does it work?

Acupuncturists use many tools, but the most common are acupuncture needles. Acupuncture needles are small, thin hair-like sterile single use needles inserted into specific areas on the body.

Acupuncture points are believed to stimulate the central nervous system. This, in turn, releases chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain. These biochemical changes may stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities and promote physical and emotional well-being.

Whether we’re treating the acute pain of a sprained ankle or the chronic pain of a bulging disc, we know that acupuncture treats pain in three ways:

1. Neurologic Disruption

Your body processes the stimulation from acupuncture using the same part of the nervous system that transmits pain. By sending different signals – such as the message your body receives from the insertion of an acupuncture needle – your acupuncturist can “disrupt” the pain messages transmitted from body to brain and help decrease your sensation of pain

2. Local Tissue Relaxation

When a part of your body is in pain, the muscles surrounding the painful area often tense to protect and compensate. This can cause additional soreness and decrease the body’s ability to move and heal naturally. These same muscles and tissues will respond to acupuncture stimulation by relaxing, causing decreased pain and easier movement.

3. Decreasing Inflammation

Injury to any tissue causes an increase in inflammation, which in turn, causes increased pain, and can cause swelling and reduced range of motion. Acupuncture activates your innate immunity, which will work to decrease inflammation throughout your body and decrease local and systemic pain.

Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found acupuncture to be effective for over thirty conditions and the list is continuing to grow.

If you have any questions, please call our office, email, or visit our website.