Acupuncture

Energy circulates in the body through meridians; energy channels that run in the body. These meridians are named after the organ they interact with. For example the liver, heart meridian, etc…. Together they form a complex network, which transfers energy to every part of the body. The acupuncture points are located on these meridians. An acupuncture point is a point with which the acupuncturist can influence flows of energy in the meridian with a needle. By stimulating the meridian with a needle, the energy is set in motion and can be strengthened or slowed down if necessary to bring the body back into an energetic balance.
Acupuncture is based on the concept of energy (Qi). Energy that, in nature provides for plant growth, the climate, the seasons, the day and night rhythm. In humans it takes care of all the processes that make them living beings: being able to see, hear, think, feel, metabolism of food, breathing, the beating of the heart, sleeping and dreaming, being able to express emotions and developing talents, in short, everything.
In a healthy situation, all those forms of energy and his environment are in balance with each other. Illness is a disturbance of the natural balance. In cases where the body is unable to restore this balance, acupuncture treatment can offer a solution.
Acupuncture can relieve complaints or cure diseases. It is also a method to prevent disease and therefore has a preventive effect.

Other conditions include male sexual dysfunction, headache dizziness, trigeminal neuralgia (facial pain), facial paralysis, aftermath of meningitis, aftermath of stroke, sciatica, epilepsy, hysteria neurosis, schizophrenia, menopausal symptoms, diabetes, gallbladder infection, glass toes, postoperative intestinal adhesions, proctotomy, urethritis, cystitis, stones in the urinary tract, arthralgia.

B. External Conditions:
Cervical spondylopathy, stiff neck, periarthritis of the shoulder, chronic lumbar pain, hernia, jaw inflammation, humeral epicondylitis (tennis elbow).

C. Gynecological Disorders:
Dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, menstrual irregularities, chronic pelvic inflammatory disease, uterine prolapse.

D. Pediatric Conditions:
Poliomyelitis, muteness and deafness in children, indigestion, bedwetting, fits, myopia, squint.

E. Disorders Of Eye, Ear, Nose, Mouth And Throat:
Acute conjunctivitis, deafness, tinnitus, rhinitis, hay fever, acute adenylitis, toothache, cataract glaucoma, retinal inflammation, ophthalmia electrica, hordeolum.

F. Skin Conditions:
Urticaria, neurodermatitis, psoriasis, pruritus vulva, baldness, chronic eczema.

This deepening and promotion of one's own constitution can be obtained by means of the energy flow through the meridians, dispel blockages and stagnations. Losing weight through acupuncture not only benefits your entire body, it can also be applied locally.

Below are three known effects of acupuncture:

In the first place, with the help of acupuncture you can regulate the fat metabolism very well. By accelerating the fat metabolism, fat is burned faster and there is less storage of fat, one of the purposes of slimming. You can also correct a wrong eating pattern. Using acupuncture, you can regulate the nervous system and, for example, slow down the gastric acid metabolism in the event of an excess of stomach acid. This will reduce the feeling of hunger. After the acupuncture, the excretory function of the stomach will also slow down slightly. If the stomach is not completely empty, you will automatically feel saturated and the urge to eat something is much smaller.

Finally, the results also speak volumes for hormonal disturbances. A large number of overweight people suffer from hormonal disturbances. Why do many women gain weight after giving birth? Usually this weight gain is not caused by overeating, but due to a disturbed balance of the endocrine system after childbirth. The same goes for women in their menopause. The disruption in the hormonal balance results in extra weight. Acupuncture for weight loss corrects the hormonal disturbance using the following two systems: Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal Cortex and Sympathetic Nervous System-Medulla of the Adrenal Gland. This accelerates the burning of fat so that you can easily lose weight.

Because the meridians are on the surface, the condition of the internal organs can be influenced by massaging the energy points present on them. Of course, complaints that are directly related to the skin can also be treated in this way.

Tuina uses techniques such as rubbing, pressing, kneading, twisting, squeezing, twisting movements, tapping, etc., whereby the therapist uses his fingers, palms, fists and elbows. Tuina massage also has many varied manipulation techniques. The root-cause of the disease and the patient's complaints dictate which technique is applied.

It all seems rather rough and powerful, but if you see a good Garden Therapist at work, it is more ballet and primal dance that takes place on your body. Moreover, that is how it feels.
Tuina improves the health of both the body structure and the musculoskeletal system. It has a positive influence on the nervous system, so that the life energy flows through the body as it should. In this way, pain can be managed and the musculoskeletal system can be ensured that it functions normally. In addition, Tuina significantly improves the resistance of the body. A Tuina treatment also has the effect of expelling toxins from the body.

Tuina massage is also often used with small children. In a child, the meridian system is not fully developed until about 6 years of age. The energy points are very close together so that they are difficult to influence individually. After that, a meridian massage is better suited.

Especially for those who do not exercise, the blood circulation is rather slow. This can lead to thrombosis or arteriosclerosis, which in turn can lead to cardiovascular or cerebrovascular disease. This form of preventive massage is especially suitable for people of this type, who actually do not move enough, to promote blood circulation throughout the body and to prevent aging. Loosening the muscles and letting the nerves relax also has a beneficial effect on people who suffer from stress or who are under constant pressure. All over the world there are a lot of people who have experienced the beneficial effect of long-term preventive massage and there is no one who has not benefited from it.

Many think that insomnia only means 'difficulty falling asleep', but in fact the following three examples all fall under the heading of insomnia.

Difficulty falling asleep, tossing and turning until the middle of the night and then finally falling asleep.
Interrupted sleep, waking up quickly, often accompanied by many (scary) dreams.
Initially falling asleep well, but waking up in the middle of the night and then unable to fall back asleep.

TCM expert Shi Baoshun: “Insomnia has a strong relationship with your own mood. In other words, changes in your emotional life can lead to both an improvement and a deterioration depending on the nature of the change in your mood. That is why the majority of people who suffer from insomnia also suffer from all kinds of irritations, dream a lot, hate light and sound, get dizzy during the day, have trouble concentrating or suffer from a bad memory.' The old TCM Classics state the following: 'Pondering damages the Spleen, causing the Spleen's blood to be greatly depleted and leads to insomnia'. Blood void, after great loss of blood, after a long illness, people with a weak constitution; malnutrition and anemia are all considered major causes of insomnia. In addition, for example, digestive complaints that damage the Spleen, can also lead to insomnia.

Treatment for insomnia:
1 Acupuncture
2 Ear acupuncture
3 Electro-acupuncture

Hence, in today's society with a huge increase in computer use, often in an air-conditioned room, we are not only seeing an increase in the number of cases of cervical spondylopathy but at the same time we are seeing these cases occur at an increasingly younger age.
With aging or wear of the intervertebral disc, we see the following happen. The supporting function of the vertebrae is undermined, causing a loss of stability. Subsequently, the surrounding tissue has to make an even greater effort to ensure stability. This puts more stress on these surrounding tissues, causing them to age faster, lose their elasticity and the vicious circle is complete.

Clinical symptoms of cervical spondylopathy: the symptoms of cervical spondylopathy are very diverse. Although in most cases we see a development of initially mild complaints that get progressively worse over time, there are also very severe cases. This is mainly due to the categorical type of the complaints. Below is a classification of the typical clinical signs:

1. Cervical radiculopathy: Pain in the neck, back and shoulders that radiates to the arms. This may be a tingling sensation, but felt as if there is current flowing through the arm.
2. Spondylogenous myelopathy: in addition to pain, this also includes central nervous system complaints. For example, not being able to hold up the urine, decrease in libido, paralysis of the limbs, the feeling that you are walking on cotton wool, difficulty speaking or even difficulty swallowing.
3. Spondylopathy related to the vertebral artery: with a certain position of the head, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.
4. Spondylopathy in which the sympathetic nervous system is stimulated: warming of the face on one side, sweating, deterioration of vision, palpitations, tinnitus, decreased feeling of the skin.
5. Composite variant consisting of at least 2 of the above variants

The symptoms mentioned above and the extent to which the disease manifests itself are of course directly related to everyone's own constitution and condition and the duration of the complaints. We often see that the complaint is initially neglected and sometimes it disappears again. After a long period of coming and going of the neck complaints, they suddenly no longer disappear by themselves. During this stage, the complaints affect your work and life and you will experience them as a nuisance. If not treated at this stage, it will also be at the expense of your psyche. This can cause insomnia, irritation, moodiness and even lead to depression.
Commonly used and proven methods in cervical spondylopathy:

Tuina is a widely used method in the treatment of early cervical spondylopathy. Mainly because of the very fast and positive results that can be achieved. Using certain hand techniques, the relevant body part is treated directly, so that the complaints immediately become less or completely disappear. Tuina is perhaps the most suitable treatment method for these types of complaints, provided the techniques applied comply with the principle of 'hardness in the middle of softness' (rou zhong you gang). When required, certain manipulations can also be applied that enhance the result. Please note that the manipulation needs to have added value.The difference between Tuina and Anmo.

The terms Anmo and Tuina are often used interchangeably and are generally translated as massage. This is factually incorrect, because Tuina implies more than the word 'massage' evokes. Below some basic differences are highlighted:

First, the techniques used within Tuina are mainly aimed at putting bones back in place in the event of a dislocation of a joint and to allow tendons to relax, so that recovery is accelerated.

In addition, Tuina uses the meridian system as known from acupuncture. With this, Tuina can also treat internal complaints, in addition to the orthopedic complaints mentioned above. In summary, Tuina always has a medical starting point. Anmo, on the other hand, solely focuses on the muscles and is actually more for relaxation.

Coming back to the neck pain, there are cases in which we absolutely cannot use Tuina for neck complaints. This applies, for example, to a broken vertebra, tumors, a serious skin problem, advanced osteoporosis or in people with serious blood clotting problems. We cannot use Tuina for the spondylogenic myelopathy mentioned above, but we can use Anmo, a much lighter treatment.
In addition to Tuina techniques, there are also other methods such as acupuncture, the use of herbs to ingest or apply externally, cupping and/or exercises that can also be used as a preventive measure against recurrence of the complaints.