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Emma Snowsill, Olympic Gold Medalist talks about Japanese Acupuncture and better health

Alan — Mon, 24 May 2010 20:47:17 +0000

Emma Snowsill, Olympic Gold Medalist

Just about everyone has heard that acupuncture is good for pain, headaches, lower back problems etc.

But few, including many of my colleagues in Acupuncture and Allied Modalities realize how potent skillfully applied acupuncture can be in promoting better health and in the case of Olympic Gold Medalist Emma Snowsill, a way of recapturing her competitive mojo.

I am a clinician, a teacher, student, a creator of networks and a representative of this ancient profession to which I am privileged to belong.

After 25 years in practice I retain a deep respect and passion for the art of acupuncture and enjoy nothing more than seeing clients benefit from treatment.

As a practitioner of this extraordinary healing art I am driven by the conviction of massive clinical experience and willingly acknowledge that the strength of this medicine lies in the sensitivity of our hands, our powers of observation, the awareness of our senses, each vital to our ability to assimilate and collate this information, translate it into a meaningful diagnosis and most importantly, perform the most effective treatment possible.

Emma Snowsill is the reigning Olympic gold medalist in triathlon, a short time ago she competed in her comeback race after an extended mystery illness that saw her incapacitated and bedridden for many months last year.

The story of her recovery is a little too long to recount here, however earlier this week Emma returned from Korea with a nasty tummy bug in tow that caused her to suffer from violent vomiting and diarrhea.

She was still suffering from strong diarrhea when she consulted me on Wednesday morning, she felt significantly better after treatment and woke up the following day diarrhea free and easy?

This Sunday morning after her follow-up treatment for the big daddy tummy bug I had the pleasure of interviewing Emma about how she rebuilt her health culminating in her comeback race in Korea last weekend.

No prizes for guessing the role Japanese Acupuncture played in her recovery.

After many months of being seriously unwell, barely able to walk, bedridden for much of the time, totally unable to train, she finished an extremely credible 6th in a field of the 50 best triathletes in the world!

Emma also discussed her recovery from that big daddy of tummy bugs and how she has managed to get back to full training less than a week after being what she described as, ‘the most violently sick ever!’

I video taped the interview and it should make for very interesting viewing and you will get to meet the real Emma, an extremely humble human being and an extraordinarily talented athlete.

We conducted this interview on my balcony overlooking the Coral Sea, here is the link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Tv9z-ekNbY, hope you enjoy.
All the best,
Alan

Alan Jansson is an internationally recognized teacher and practitioner of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture. For well over a decade, independent of and in conjunction with Masakazu Ikeda sensei and Edward Obaidey, Alan has presented, convened and hosted more than 40 Traditional Japanese Acupuncture workshops in Australia, New Zealand and USA. Driven by a strong desire to promote the consumer friendly nature, clinical efficacy and potency of Meridian Based Traditional Japanese Acupuncture, Alan is a staunch advocate of practically based workshops and draws upon his 25 years clinical experience and 14 years post and undergraduate teaching in a concerted effort to lift the bar globally in the clinical application of this most amazing medical art.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture benefits victims of the Chilean earthquake

Alan — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:56:05 +0000

Japanese acupuncture was used to benefit victims of the Chilean earthquake earlier this year.

How did this come to pass?

In my practice of Japanese acupuncture I am invariably accompanied by a student/assistant during treatment.

There are three good reasons.

1. Most important being that the patient benefits from the students/assistants focus and intention.

2. The student/assistant has a wonderful opportunity to observe an experienced practitioner in action, learn the medicine in a clinical setting and most importantly witness the clinical outcomes.

3. As a senior practitioner it gives me a wonderful opportunity to pass on some of the invaluable clinical experience accumulated over more than 25 years of practice.

Sylvia, my Chilean student/assistant and now practitioner has worked in my clinic a lot over the past 3 years and as a result of a visit to her family in Santiago she found herself in a position to help some victims of the devastating Chilean earthquake earlier this year.

Following is the how, why and when she was able to do so, hope you enjoy!

To start I wish you a warm welcome from Rainbow Bay on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Sunset and Play at Rainbow Bay, Australia

Sunset, Rainbow Bay, Australia

More Play at Rainbow Bay

I have one ear on the US Masters golf championship that is currently coming to life on my television.

I cannot help but marvel at the incredible skill of these competitors.

Having played a lot of golf in my life I can truly appreciate the incredibly refined skill that these talented athletes have at their disposal.

Skills that are continually honed by much focused practice and competition in elite tournaments of which the US Masters along with the British Open rank supreme.

The mental acumen and emotional balance required to compete successfully at this level must be extraordinary.

In Japanese acupuncture we pride ourselves on continually developing and refining our clinical skills whilst expanding our understanding of the diagnostic protocols that have proven to be clinically effective for over 3000 years.

‘Perhaps practicing refined Japanese acupuncture can be likened to playing professional golf, in that the more focused the practice, the more often the practice, the more specific the treatment, the more relaxed the practitioner and patient, the more likely a successful clinical outcome.’

This is very different to bunging in a needle with gay abandon and little understanding of the incredibly intricate energetic network into which we are plugging, the human being!

Sylvia’s story about her work with victims of the Chilean earthquake is especially uplifting for me and confirms a strongly held belief that teaching can go hand-in-hand with clinical practice not only to the benefit of those present during treatment but as students/assistants create their own practices they have a significant head start in their understanding and application of Japanese Acupuncture to the ultimate benefit of the patients.

Here is Sylvia’s story:

Dear Alan,

It was so good too see you this Tuesday, I love going to Clinic!!

Well as you know I went to Chile this last December, unfortunately or fortunately depending on one’s perspective I had to live the big experience of a huge Earthquake!

The massive amount of energy coming out of the earth moved our lives into introspective questions of what really matters in this life.

3 days after the earthquake, having had huge repercussions (after shocks) every single day, my good friend of Maria Cecilia Huerta and I have the fantastic idea to help people with FREE JAPANESE ACUPUNCTURE!!!

Cecilia found a location down in the Gym area of her building, so we set up one massage table and 3 mattresses on the ground.

Everything was looking great but we were in need of patients.

Thanks to the lovely public relations of my friend Cecilia we treated 15 people a day for 3 days.

The majority of the treatments where to do with sleeping disorders, feeling extremely scared, panic attacks, muscle aches, headaches and stomach disorders.

My colleagues will be happy to learn that I was assisted by my young cousin in much the same manner as we help Alan in Clinic.

Everyone loved their Japanese Acupuncture treatment and to a man, woman and child said they felt so much better.

I used lots of Tonetskyu (rice grain moxa) for people with sleeping disorders and in the majority of cases we did both front and back treatments.

Root treatments changed depending upon the patient’s primary deficiency and related excess/es, lots of Liver def. and excess in the Pericardium and Stomach meridians.

The main thing is that all the people we treated with Japanese Acupuncture loved it!!!

I’m so happy that I could help with my small knowledge and I know that will grow with the years beside Alan in clinic.

Thanks Alan for being the medium as I prayed for your presence to be with me through those days, also big thanks to these beautiful studies from the classics.

My experience in Santiago in February this year proved to me and the recipients that Japanese Acupuncture is not only magic, there is logic behind the medicine and thousands of years of clinic experience to help us became better practitioners.

Thanks for your time, to hear this story, and I hope that everyone is smiling!!!
Lots of love,

Sylvia

Alan Jansson, Sylvia Flores Larrain and Adam McIntosh

Sylvia’s story is yet another reason why I love what I do with a passion!

All the Best,

Alan

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at: http://www.worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture and Palliative Care update

Alan — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 21:33:08 +0000

In my last blog post regarding Japanese acupuncture and palliative care I mentioned that I had targeted the Spleen Meridian/complex as the most deficient and this simplified treatment demonstrably.

Robyn has been dependent upon nausea medication for some time, so I was delighted to find out that she had been able to go some days without medication and experience no nausea at all.

The pitting edema that had been present in Robyn’s lower legs was still greatly improved and she was able to have a big weekend with her children and grandchildren, some of whom had returned from overseas to spend time with her.

This successful clinical outcome encouraged me to continue with a Spleen root treatment with some minor variations.

Although she was tired upon my arrival as a result of extending herself, Robyn was delighted to be feeling much better, relatively pain free, more energetic, pretty well nausea free, able to spend some quality time with her loved ones and laugh.

The ascites that Robyn self drains has contributed to a prolapsed bowel and she was subsequently experiencing great difficulty in passing a motion.

She is taking medication to minimal positive effect.

Treatment:

Root Rx :

Tonify Pe.7 – Sp.3, Shunt St.44 – Liv.3 – GB.34

Back Shu Points.

Bl13 – 17 – 18 – 20 – 23 – 40 – 57

Follow up treatment 4 days later:

Ascites increasing, regulated by self draining, nausea ebbing and flowing but still improved, bowels working relative to the level of ascites.

Pulse: strident

Rx:

Tonify: Pe.7 – Sp.3 – Ki.2 – 7

Shunt: Pe4 - St.44 – Liv.3 – GB.41

Back Shu Points.

Bl13 – 17 – 18 – 20 – 23 – 40 – 57

Next treatment is this morning, last treatment it was patently obvious that Robyn’s Kidney complex was under extreme pressure.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at: http://www.worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture and Palliative Care

Alan — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 21:51:16 +0000

Japanese Acupuncture and Palliative Care might seem an unusual combination but my clinical experience strongly suggests that there may be some significant positive clinical outcomes as a result of judicious treatment.

Robyn

A grandmother in her late 60s who has been sadly diagnosed as suffering from stage 4 ovarian cancer.

The symptoms include extreme ascites that necessitates regular drainage, overwhelming lethargy and as a result of chemotherapy, diabolical nausea, body aches, poor appetite and over the last few days the significant increase in pitting edema of the lower legs.

Her daughter’s best friend and client of mine strongly recommended treatment in an effort to relieve some of the debilitating symptoms as a result of her declining health.

Neither Robyn, her family nor friends are any illusion regarding the serious nature of the condition, she has been diagnosed as suffering terminal illness and has only been given months to live.

My role as a practitioner is primarily to relieve the overwhelming nausea and help make what remains of her life as comfortable as possible.

Since Robyn is unable to attend clinic, home treatments are necessary.

1st treatment.

Due to the nature of her discomfort it was impossible to treat her laying face down, as a result treatment was confined to the anterior aspect of her body.

As an aside Robyn also suffered from breast cancer some five years ago resulting in a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she has also had extensive abdominal surgery and has a tube inserted in her abdominal cavity to help drain the fluid from the abdominal cavity to relieve her extreme ascites.

Palliative care in my opinion involves one goal and one goal only, to help make the patient as comfortable as possible.

The extreme of nausea is the most debilitating of the symptoms she is experiencing.

Treatment.

Whilst not abandoning the principles of Meridian therapy/Japanese acupuncture, my clinical experience dictated that I use my accrued knowledge of point function to expedite a positive clinical outcome as quickly and comfortably as possible.

My goal was to achieve a positive clinical outcome in a totally painless manner, as such I retained .14mm needles in an extremely judicious manner.

Her pulse was floating and full especially in the liver, heart and stomach positions.

Following are the points that I used in this initial treatment.

All needles were left in place as in an orthodox TCM treatment.

Ki. 2 to control the heat affecting her heart.

SP.6 to build the yin qi to counteract the enormous amount of heat generated by chemotherapy

Liv.8 to relieve the stagnation in her abdomen.

ST. 43 and LI.10 to relieve the heat accumulating in the Yang Ming meridians resulting in body aches, lethargy and debilitating nausea.

CV.4 – ST.25 – CV.12 to assist the transformation and transportation of nutrients.

Liv.14 front mu point of the liver and extremely reactive touch, I use this point to work in conjunction with Liv.8 to relieve some of the stagnation and discomfort in the liver.

Pe.6 a specific point to relieve the nausea and calm the shen.

Yintang was used also as a calming agent.

Treatment outcome.

Within 12 hours Robyn experienced a big improvement in her general well-being and the nausea was significantly relieved.

Her appetite improved to a level that inspired her to eat her first solid meals in a long time.

In her own words she felt the best she had felt in months.

To quote Robyn’s daughter’s message to me the following day.

“Oh Alan, she ate some dinner last night and breakfast this morning.

We are so very grateful, mom said that the nausea is not overwhelming her, which is great!”

For mine this is a satisfactory clinical outcome regardless of the means used to achieve it.

Treatment will be ongoing, more than likely twice-weekly.

I will continue to refine treatment in an effort to achieve positive clinical outcomes with a more specific diagnostic and treatment protocols.

2^nd treatment.

As stated her overall condition, nausea and appetite had improved significantly, however there was a significant increase in pitting edema of the lower legs.

KI. 8 specifically for the pitting edema around the ankles

St.44 more specific me to relieve that the accumulating in the Yang Ming meridians since the body aches had improved significantly.

CV.4 - ST.25 – CV.12 to assist the transformation and transportation of nutrients.

Liv.3 -14 to relieve the stagnation in her abdomen.

Ki. 2 to control the heat affecting her heart

Pe.6 a specific point to relieve the nausea and calm the shen.

Yintang was used also as a calming agent

I am continually inspired by the courage and fortitude of many of my patients, especially in this instance.

Robyns positive attitude and concern for others sets the behavioral bar very high, whilst the situation is ominously similar to that of my late wife’s some 20 years ago and definitely has the potential to rattle the bars of my cage, Robyn demonstrates many of the finest qualities of being human, making my situation so much more tenable.

3^rd Treatment

Robyn’s condition had stabilized, the nausea remained but at a subdued level.

Her pulse had also settled down demonstrably.

As a result of the amelioration of the symptoms I decided to revert to a more classical/Meridian therapy approach to treatment and for the first time I administered back shoe points in conjunction with a specific root treatment.

As a result of albumen supplementation and acupuncture treatment the pitting edema had also subsided.

Also after consultation with her oncologist and family members it was decided she would seek no further orthodox medical treatment or chemotherapy.

Treatment

Spleen root treatment Tonify Pe.7 – Sp.3, shunt St. 44 – Liv.3 –GB.34

Back Shu points Bl.13-17-18-20-23-40-58

I will be making another home visit this morning on my way to clinic and I am hoping further improvement as a result of being more specific in my approach.

Experience tells me that there is often a significant change in condition of the patient who has undergone chemotherapy after the first treatment but there is a tendency to plateau with incremental improvement after subsequent treatments.

I trust his blog post will be of some benefit to both you and your patients should you have the opportunity to administer palliative care.

All the best,

Alan

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture Healing Potential

Alan — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 08:45:06 +0000

One of the greatest challenges facing me as a practitioner of Japanese acupuncture is effectively communicating it’s clinical diversity and power.

I believe the best way to do that is to inform you about some of the clinical case histories and challenges confronting those seeking treatment to rectify their specific disharmony, illness, pain or as often occurs in the case of elite sports people, optimize their performance potential.

Here are just a few examples of this potential, I trust these scenario’s will assist you in understanding some of the potential benefits of Japanese acupuncture.

Following is an excerpt from an e-mail kindly sent to me by a patient who has experienced significant health benefits from ongoing treatment.

This patient is a marine biologist who has recently traveled to San Francisco to spend a few months working with her colleagues stateside.

Hi Alan,
How are you? I hope you’ve been out in the water? I’m surfed out trying to get as many surf’s in as possible before heading to San Fran and hasn’t it been beautiful!

I just wanted to say thanks so much for your treatments, they have helped me enormously and I will miss coming in to see you over the next few months. The last treatment was fantastic – it seemed to clear away the nerve tingling and I felt a lot stronger. I wasn’t sleeping as well though but that’s probably to be expected with all the excitement around going overseas.

I’d love to continue acupuncture in San Francisco so if you do have some contacts for me I would really appreciate it. It has helped me beyond words so I’d love to keep it up and I will be sure to come see you again when I get back. I think half of the treatment is your presence and zest for life!

Hope you have a fantastic next couple of months and I’ll look forward to seeing you again when I get back!

As a practitioner this is a very satisfying and welcome communication indeed.

The correspondent works in a very demanding and results orientated field, often experiencing high levels of stress in an effort to meet externally imposed deadlines.

An entirely different perspective arises in discussing the clinical outcome for a patient who was diagnosed as suffering from a molar pregnancy, a condition whereby miscarriage is a 90% certainty.

Without going into details, after several treatments she is now very happily 23 weeks pregnant with an apparently healthy baby on the way according to her medical specialist.

In yet another case, the patient presented with an extremely painful and expansive episode of the shingles.

Whilst no miracle cure was at hand, there can be little doubt that regular Japanese acupuncture treatment aided in his full recovery from this debilitating condition in a relatively short amount of time.

A number of the physiotherapists with whom I practice at the Queensland Sports Medicine Center have sought treatment recently for difficulties in maintaining an extremely busy work schedule and focused fitness training as a result of impeded immune function.

Basically the more intense the training regime and the busier they were at work, the more often they were suffering from colds, flu’s and accompanying lethargy.

It is of no surprise to me that their condition appears to improve relative to the regularity of their treatment?

I often work in conjunction with the physiotherapists in an effort to bring about a more rapid and complete recovery of our patients.

One example of such cooperation is the work we have been doing to assist an ex-Australian cricketing legend prepare for the forthcoming IPL cricketing tournament in India.

Amongst other aspects of treatment, I believe Japanese acupuncture has been extremely beneficial in defusing much of the physical stress related to his increased training regime and the mental anguish associated with a making a decision regarding his involvement as a result of the security status of the tournament and concerns for his personal safety.

As well as recharging his energetic battery, Japanese acupuncture treatment also provided an extremely welcome refuge from the myriad of questions and potential outcomes that assuaged his mind during this most difficult of decision-making scenarios.

Last but not least, Emma Snowsill is the reigning Olympic Gold Medalist in the sport of Triathlon, an event that includes a 1500m swim, 40k bike ride and a 10k run.

Against the best female tri athletes on the planet, that implies insanely fit individuals with extra ordinary motors sharpened to a cutting edge by the hardness of competition and intense training, all striving to be at the absolute peak of their game for the ultimate reward for a competitive athlete, Emma won her gold medal in emphatic fashion at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

March 2010 and Emma has been struggling with persistent immune related problems for several months, including a diabolically compromised energetic status and repetitive breakdowns in her health resulting in continual colds and flu’s, a situation that saw her training regime severely compromised.

Over the last few months she has been receiving regular Japanese acupuncture treatment and her condition has improved markedly, to a point where she has recently been able to resume full training.

I believe regular weekly treatments have helped Emma accelerate her training regime whilst maintaining a robust immune status.

By way of explanation, Emma missed a treatment a couple of weeks ago, whilst continuing to accelerate her training regime she flew to Melbourne where she was subjected to a radical climate change, the end result was that she attended clinic last Wednesday suffering from a sore throat, streaming sinuses, increased lethargy and she was justifiably concerned that her health was about to crash again.

In short, after three treatments Emma left for Abu Dhabi today to attend the http://www.laureus.com/awards/ in good health, no runny nose, sore throat greatly improved and energetically much stronger.

I’m sure you’ll agree this is a preferable option when one is partaking in international travel and will see her able to enjoy this landmark event to the fullest.

As a practitioner of Japanese acupuncture the reality is that a majority of people through no fault of their own are totally ignorant of the diversity and power of this ancient healing modality.

Whilst most people are aware that acupuncture has the potential to help with neck, back, shoulder, knee, hip and ankle injuries and pain, headaches etc, most have little or no idea of its clinical diversity in the hands of an experienced and competent practitioner.

Alan

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at : http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture and TCM

Alan — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:01:11 +0000

Japanese Acupuncture is distinctly different in application from it’s 2nd cousin TCM.

In response to a question posted on the http://worldacupuncture.com forum I am re running this blogpost in an effort to distinguish the difference in the application of Japanese Acupuncture and TCM.

Although each of these styles has merit, Japanese Acupuncture is unique in it’s ability to promote well-being in patients such Sarica, the subject of the video in this blogpost.

I believe the results speak for themselves and maintain that heavy duty needling could deflate a patient in such a tenuous energetic position.

25 years of clinical experience definitely confirms for me that judicious Japanese acupuncture can provide huge impetus towards better health in people of all ages.

There are many examples and in some cases video on this blog of positive clinical outcomes for children of all ages and adults of all shapes and sizes.

http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/category/clinical/pre-and-post-natal

http://www.worldacupunctureblog.com/category/infant-acupuncture

According to Traditional East Asian medical physiology and philosophy, from conception to birth the child or children require an enormous amount of energy and nourishment from the mother to go from being a twinkle in the eye to a fully mature fetus.

In Traditional East Asian medicine the energetic impetus for this growth is provided by what we call the mothers Kidney energy and in some instances, depending upon her constitution, lifestyle and general health this scenario can cause a significant energetic imbalances in new mums.

In Traditional East Asian medical physiology the Kidneys provide the energetic basis upon which all metabolic and physiological functions depend.

In addition once the child is born a majority of mothers provide the sole nourishment, keeping production up to speed is the responsibility of Spleen/Pancreas meridian/organs.

Hence when there is an imbalance as a result of a combination of any of the above factors the affect can be extremely diverse and widespread.

Often appearing to be totally unrelated from an orthodox Western medical perspective, the symptoms are often intimately related when viewed from an Traditional East Asian medical perspective

In my experience most mums presenting with post natal health difficulties suffer from a significant imbalance in either or both of these functions, an imbalance reflected by various symptoms .

Including:

Post Natal Depression of varying degrees and severity.

Exhaustion.

Irrational fits of anger and an extremely short fuse.

Lactation difficulties, both quality and quantity.

And the list goes on‚

Regarding the suitability of Japanese Acupuncture for infants and children, my experience has shown that our medicine can provide an extremely effective adjunct to orthodox medical care, in many cases providing essential relief where orthodox medical applications are hamstrung in their ability to do so without the use of powerful and sometimes unsuitable medication.

I am not saying that acupuncture can replace pharmaceuticals only that in many instances there is huge potential to reduce dosage and dependence.

I believe all questions are most appropriately answered via clinical outcomes.

The ability to walk the talk not just talk the talk is of the utmost importance.

Certainly any modality that can reduce our culture’s dependence upon long-term medication for behavioral problems has to be a positive!

Below is a video of a significant portion of a Japanese Acupuncture Treatment for Post Natal Depression and Spinal Surgery.

Watch Acupuncture for Post-Natal Depression in Educational | View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Online Videos by Veoh.com

Many thanks to Tatania Rubio who specializes in treatment for pregnancy, childbirth and infant acupuncture, for making her clinic space available for this treatment and some excellent camera work!

I recommended Sarica pursue a consistent and committed daily to thrice weekly treatment regime tonifying Ki.3 – Liv.3- GB.40 plus 7 – 9 cones of Tonetskyu or Rice Grain Moxa on ST.36 for the next 6 months.

Below is an email I recently received from Sarica.

I love her dedication and also the power of Japanesel acupuncture to significantly help folk in her situation.

hi there, alan,
so good to hear from you…you’ve been big on my mind, as i’m deep
with appreciation for your help, care and guidance, so i appreciate
your checking in on me. i’ve been faithful with the self-treatment,
including the moxa, and the biggest thing i’ve noticed is that my
brain and spirit are returning. i’d really been struggling with
fighting negativity, and that has improved tremendously. also, my
energy is more sustained, though i’m not pushing too hard with
exercise–just doing about half of what i think i can, and that keeps
me from feeling shaky and overdrawn afterward. finally, i feel like
i have a lot more control over my frustration and anger–i’m not
owned by it as i was, and that is improving my relations with and for
the kids day by day. honestly, i can’t thank you enough .
how are you? so looking forward to seeing you again–that was too
short! and i do hope to practice with you next time around…
you take care, now!
love,
Sarica

Warning!!! Not every Post Natal Depression patient presents with Liver Yang Deficiency Syndrome in the same way that not every Liver Yang Deficiency Patient presents with Post Natal Depression.

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture,Meridian Therapy preferred by elite tennis professional

Alan — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 22:48:37 +0000

A warm welcome, especially to our Japanese Acupuncture/ Meridian Therapy/ Traditional Acupuncture colleagues ensconced in the depth of a freezing cold winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

It has taken me some time to get into gear for 2010.

The latter part of our spring and the first part of summer saw Rainbow Bay buffeted by unrelenting onshore winds and we were all but surf less for almost 10 weeks.

However, I’m absolutely delighted to report that since the 1^st January we have seen some pretty constant offshore winds, presenting us with some pristine surfing conditions.

Last Wednesday was the highlight when I gorged myself on head high waves and a number of 200 m rides.

Along with the socializing often equated with our summer holiday season, the lush surfing conditions made tying myself to a desk and writing well-nigh impossible, my apologies.

To make up for my erroneous ways I have included a few images taken yesterday and this morning of Rainbow Bay in today’s blog post.

I hope you enjoy.

The View from my balcony at Rainbow Bay, Australia

Rainbow Bay, Gold Coast, Australia

Nothing like a bit of Didgeridoo to brighten up an already splendid morning

Beachgoers lapping up the sun at Rainbow Bay

Local surf instructor Davo and assistant preparing for another busy day

Japanese Acupuncture/Meridian Therapy preferred by Elite Tennis professional

In clinic last week Olga, a talented Ukrainian professional tennis player in town for the Brisbane lead up tournaments to the Australia open came into see me for Japanese acupuncture treatment.

By way of history she had received three Japanese acupuncture treatments about the same time last year.

Obviously she enjoyed the experience and derived some benefit from her treatment.

Olga lamented the lack of practitioners of similar style acupuncture on the world tennis circuit.

As a result I have undertaken to refer her to appropriate colleagues in the relevant cities in which I have a connection.

So far we have the Prague, Tokyo, New York and San Diego tournaments covered.

If you or someone you know practices Japanese acupuncture/Meridian therapy and the WTP world tour will be visiting your/their city at some time in 2010, http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tournaments/Event-Calendar.aspx , please email me alanatworldacupuncturedotcom and in turn I will send Olga your contact details.

Olga’s Treatment

Due in the main to the incredibly intense training regime and tournament schedule Olga adheres to, her symptoms and pulse I diagnosed her as Liver deficiency and used a Liv.8 – Ki.10 Root treatment, shunting GB.34.

In conjunction with her inherited constitution, a blending of lung, liver and kidney deficiencies, Olga naturally tends towards liver deficiency as a result of the extraordinary athletic effort required to become an elite tennis player, a sport that involves an unbelievable amount of intense running especially at the professional level.

The variations in the hardness of the surfaces upon which she trains and plays exact a severe toll upon her reserves of energy and her body’s cooling system, which according to traditional thinking is the primary responsibility of the Kidney complex.

It would be difficult to argue that the Kidney energy also plays a vital role in the harmonious function of the liver, enabling the liver to thoroughly cleanse the blood thus enhancing recovery from intense activity and literally preventing a meltdown.

Constant legwork during training plus an arduously regular competition places a huge load on three leg yin meridians contributing enormously to the load placed primarily on the Kidney and Liver Meridians.

In addition to the more internal workings of the Kidney and Bladder, the meridians are adjacent to each other at the insertion of the Achilles tendon on the heel.

Olga’s left Achilles tendon was the most adversely affected and palpation revealed areas around Ki.9, Sp.9 and the gallbladder meridian on the upper leg were exceptionally tender and tight.

After addressing the constitutional deficiencies via the root treatment I inserted the indicated back-shu points including ondan or moxa needle applied to BL.23.

Significant points of tenderness around the insertion of the Achilles tendon were located and either needles or rice grain moxibustion applied.

I also closely examined her lower legs for indurations and treated accordingly.

Olga specifically stated that no other treatment that she had come across was anywhere near as effective as Japanese Acupuncture/Meridian therapy including the use of cortisone and anti-inflammatory medication.

No more need be said!

We appreciate your interest and take your commitment to ‘Exploring the Art of Acupuncture’ seriously, having said that we are practitioners and students of Traditional Acupuncture first and foremost.

Our shortcomings in technology are many, we know we have a lot of room for improvement at http://worldacupuncture.com and will make every effort to continue to do so throughout 2010.

Kind regards,
Alan
PS.
Please feel free to ask questions and give feedback any time, thank you.

WORLD ACUPUNCTURE VIDEO UPDATES

Here are the latest updates for http://worldacupuncture.com

Our Chief Videographer, Andrew Beencke, is representing in China for the World Acupuncture Crew!

You can find the first of his reports here:

A Meridian Therapist in China, Week 1: Love at First Bite

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/public/193.cfm

Other video updates for members this January include:

7/1/10: VIDEO: Super-Superficial Needle Technique: Japanese Acupuncture Skills Training.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/196.cfm
Takashi Furure has studied acupuncture extensively in Japan and is a highly skilled practitioner. In this video, he demonstrates a super-superficial insertion technique.

14/1/10: VIDEO: Japanese Acupuncture Treatment for Fatigue, Poor Appetite: Part 1.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/197.cfm Note: This link will only become active on 14/1/10.

Alan treats a student for fatigue and poor appetite. Japanese acupuncture is particularly effective for these common problems. In this video, Alan demonstrates the use of foot pulses to differentiate between Spleen and Kidney deficiency. First of two videos.

21/01/10: VIDEO: Glandular Fever Sequelae: Theory and Treatment in Japanese Acupuncture: Part 5.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/195.cfm Note: This link will only become active on 21/1/10.

The fifth and final video in our Glandular Fever series. Further indepth theoretical discussion of treatment strategies is contained within!

28/1/10: VIDEO: Japanese Acupuncture Treatment for Fatigue, Poor Appetite: Part 2.

http://www.worldacupuncture.com/members/198.cfm Note: This link will only become active on 28/1/10.

Second and final video in this series. There is an interesting discussion of the various kinds of Yang deficiency syndromes and a demonstration of scatter needling. There is also an unusual root treatment.

You are welcome to enjoy this month’s videos! On behalf of the World Acupuncture Crew, I sincerely wish that this last year of the decade is a prosperous one for you all.

Kind Regards,

Alan

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at
http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture relieves my Acute Lower Back Pain Immediately

Alan — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:56:11 +0000

Last Monday week an innocuous incident saw me dropped by a severe case of lower back pain.

Years of pre-acupuncture physical toil, harvesting potatoes and picking fruit has taken it’s toll on my body, leaving me with a susceptible lower back.

For the last 5 years regular acupuncture treatment and heightened awareness of no can do activities has kept me relatively pain free n easy.

However whilst taking off my wetsuit on this fateful day, I casually used my foot rather than my hands to drag down the leg of said suit.
Big mistake!

I knew I was in trouble straight away but hoped that my severe lower back pain would resolve quickly.

Alas, days end saw me bent over like an old man and unable to straighten without significant pain and discomfort, severely compromising my ability to get in and out of my vehicle.

In addition I found it impossible to sit for more than a few minutes at a time, severely disrupting my ability to publish blog posts, write emails and update http://www.worldacupuncture.com product pages as promised.

Ugh, not a pretty site.

The following day was an unofficial public holiday in Australia for the running of a horse race, known as the ‘Melbourne Cup’.

Phew, no clinic enabled me to gingerly travel to the residence of my long time assistant and resident tonetskyu (rice grain moxibustion) expert Andrea.

She generously applied tonetskyu and inserted some intra-dermal needles close to the most painful points.

I experienced some relief and was able to get a better nights sleep and travel to work the next day.

My colleague Nick then applied acupuncture as pictured below in conjunction with a Kidney root treatment.

Again I enjoyed sufficient relief to complete a very busy day in clinic.

The situation was complicated by the fact that my daughters and I were to travel some 300 km on Friday to visit old family friends on their property in the hills behind Coff’s Harbour on the mid North Coast of New South Wales.

Of more immediate concern was my ability to travel 200 km to and from my rooms in Brisbane not to mention being able to treat the many patients booked in for treatment on the Thursday as a result of the aforementioned unofficial public holiday on Tuesday.

Fortunately my assistant on the Thursday morning Andrew, an accomplished student who had been diligently practicing his traditional acupuncture skills throughout the year gave me another treatment.

Utilizing the marks that I had asked Nick to make on the previous day; Andrew skillfully administered an identical treatment.

Suffice to say that I made it through the day and got home in one piece, albeit slightly bent.

My daughters arrived that night and we awoke on Friday morning to the news that our destination, Coff’s Harbour had experienced a massive deluge of rain overnight and flooding was rampant.

To complicate matters the intense low pressure system that was contributing to such an extraordinary rainfall was going nowhere and the rain was forecast to continue for the next 24 to 48 hours making our planned journey more than a little perilous.

Add to that my extremely suspect lower back condition and we were experiencing some degree of trepidation, a situation not remedied by a phone call from my close friends in the eye of the storm strongly suggesting that we abandon our journey.

Our friends communicated some significant concerns about our safety, especially gaining access to their property.

This assessment was based on the fact that at the time of the phone call access to and from the property had been cut off by rising floodwater’s.

Nevertheless, my daughters and I rarely have exclusive time together and decided to cast caution to the wind and make the trip.

Thankfully all went well and we had a fabulous although extremely wet weekend.

The moral of the story is that fortune favors the bold and traditional acupuncture was incredibly effective, resolving my pain and discomfort sufficiently for me to travel such a distance and negotiate some hair-raising creek crossings, enjoy a wonderful party and arrive home in much better shape than when I departed.

To cap it off, I went for my first surf since injuring my back yesterday enjoying some pristine conditions at my local break at Rainbow Bay a little over a week after suffering from an extremely nasty dose of acute lower back pain, from my perspective as a patient a very good result indeed!

I hope all is well with you and yours.
Kind regards,
Alan
PS.
The following images should give you some idea of our adventurous weekend in addition to showing me on the treatment table for a change.

: Japanese Acupuncture helped resolve my Acute Lower Back Pain dramatically

Thumbs up as I receive a Japanese Acupuncture treatment for severe acute lower back pain

: Deep in the Hills behind a very flooded Coff’s Harbour, Australia

: Jose, movin a few engine breaking rocks

: Floodwater’s at Coff’s Harbour turned the road into a voluminous cascade of H2O

: What causeway, at least the water level is down from the previous day?

: Debris hanging over the fence gives some idea of the volume of water from the previous night

: Contented cattle grazing upon the rolling hills behind Coff’s Harbour

: Once was a proud road sign

Locals discussing strategies to re establish contact with the outside world. Note: The size of the rock the fellow in the background is moving

First car through post flooding

A safe haven high in the hills behind Coff's Harbour

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture, Infants, New Babies, Dolphins and the Beach

Alan — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:33:54 +0000

Hi There,

Today’s Japanese Acupuncture post is primarily pictorial.

Images of infant patients, new born prodigy of existing patients, dolphins at play, the beach and the ocean were all captured in the last week.

I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Wishing you prosperity and peace,

Alan

6 day old Laird resting easy whilst mum has a Japanese Acupuncture treatment

Japanese Acupuncture for dad and bub, mum and bub's twin sister also enjoyed treatment for the flu.

We were lucky enough to be given permission to film the Japanese Acupuncture treatment of both of these delightful infants.

The full video of treatment will soon be added to our growing audio-visual library at http://www.worldacupuncture.com

Fishing, the human version

Fishing, the mammal version

Water Qi/Ki as the ocean meets the land

Lot's of Qi/Ki in this image

The first of a lush sequence of a surfing dolphin

Whoa, dolphin hitching a ride on a very nice lil wave

Dolphin, maximum projection n full speed ahead

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com

Japanese Acupuncture Relieves Infant Constipation

Alan — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 21:33:36 +0000

One of the great pleasures of practicing Japanese Acupuncture is the amazing diversity of application of this modality.

I never cease to be amazed by the clinical efficacy of Traditional Japanese Acupuncture/Meridian Therapy.

Last week Tessa, Zoe and Isla, grandmother, mother, granddaughter/daughter attended clinic together to enable Zoe to receive treatment.

3 generations, Tessa,Isla and Zoe

Tessa was on hand to look after her granddaughter whilst her daughter received treatment.

During our preamble, Tessa revealed that her five month old granddaughter, Isla had been suffering from constipation for more than a week and that both mother and grandmother were becoming increasingly concerned about Isla’s condition.

As a result of that conversation I volunteered to give Isla treatment whilst her mother rested during the second phase of her treatment when the back-shu points were in place.

Shonishin instruments, they look harsh but are applied with great gentleness and sensitivity

Using my hands and shonishin instruments as pictured I applied gentle vibration primarily along the gallbladder meridian from the buttocks to the ankle, secondarily along the stomach meridian on her leg. I also applied a very gentle kneading technique to her tiny buttocks.

To balance these very gentle dispersive techniques on the gallbladder and stomach Meridian’s, I used the palm of my hand to warm the yin aspect of her lower leg.

Two days after the treatment I received this message from Tessa.

‘ Hi Alan, just to let you know that Isla has been to the loo several times since her visit!’

Therein lies yet another reason why I love going to work, I consider it a great privilege to practice Traditional Japanese Acupuncture/Meridian Therapy and I remain extremely grateful to Masakazu Ikeda sensei for his inspiration, commitment and guidance regarding the clinical diversity and power of Traditional Acupuncture.

Hope all is well in your world.

Kind regards,

Alan

Join him in Exploring the Art of Acupuncture in the 21st century at http://www.Worldacupuncture.com