Stress is a huge factor in our health and impossible to avoid.  If you think you can’t stomach the details, go ahead and skip down to “Finally, The Good News”.

The concept of stress has become increasingly popularized over the last few decades, and for good reasons we will soon take a look at. Before we go into what stress is, let’s briefly discuss what it is not.

What Stress Ain’t

Stress is not a disease. You don’t catch stress off of a toilet seat (although a disgusting toilet set might become a source of stress!) Stress is not a symptom. It’s not something you can see or touch. Most importantly, stress is not something any living creature can avoid. Let me say that again– Stress is not something any living creature can avoid!

Stress Defined

The definition of stress I will use here is this:

Stress is an individual’s response to change

That response can be physiological, emotional, energetic, neuro-chemical- in fact, any and all types of responses are possible. Whatever the flavor, generally the response will be negative, however. That is to say, the response will result reduced vitality and a destabilizing of the delicate balance we call health. Stress is process of life wearing on us. Stress is a bummer!

Now the tricky part. Notice that the definition just says “change”, and not “bad thing happening”. ANY sort of change in our lives results in stress. Being fired from your job- stress! Winning the lottery- stress! Your body doesn’t know the difference. It just knows that something is different and it doesn’t like it one bit!

The Impact of Stress

In pre-historic times major health concerns were things like being attacked by a predator, complications of child birth, dysentery and other illnesses, trauma, and so forth. Life looked very different. Survival meant being able to respond quickly and effectively in very occasional moments of extreme stress. We evolved mechanisms to rapidly flood our bodies with performance enhancing hormones like adrenaline in order to be able to act swiftly and decisively to live to see another day.

Life looks very different now, but our bodies continue to respond to stress in exactly the same old ways. Getting that report to our boss on time is not a matter of life and death, but our bodies it feels like it is. So the response from our bodies are often out of proportion to the severity of the stress we are experiencing. This is why stress is a major factor in health and wellness in modern times. These stress hormones are like rocket fuel and we go around living our lives burning ourselves out! So many common ailments can be traced back to stress as a primary factor.

More Bad News

Oh, it gets worse, friends… Stress can’t directly be treated with acupuncture or anything else. The way you chose to live your life can not be changed with any amount of needles. But fret not, there is hope!

Finally, The Good News

Thankfully, there is good news. First, realize that the life choices that you make can impact your level of stress (both for better and worse) and that you are in control of those choices. Second, there are practices you can take up to reduce your stress response given the exact same circumstances. Third, acupuncture can help restore your stressed out body back to health while creating a relaxed and restful state of the body. Let’s look at each of these.

Life Choices

While there are always surprises in life and circumstances which may seem unavoidable, we should always be aware and feel empowered by the choices we can make. Perhaps you find your job unfulfilling, which can be a real stressor.  A change to work you feel passionate about can make a huge difference in your health. Life changes can be the toughest to make, but also can be the most rewarding.

Mindfulness Practices

There are many practices in which people partake that can calm the mind and reduce the severity of the body’s stress response.  Below are just a few ideas.  You may want to invest your time and energy in multiple pursuits.  Choose what works for you in your life the way you live it.

• Taiji / Tai Chi or other martial arts
• Painting
• Yoga
• Fly Fishing
• Meditation
• Mindfulness Training
• Music
• Hiking

Acupuncture

Acupuncture can be a valuable tool in dealing with the impact of stress.  Both physical and mental impacts of stress on the body can be improved with acupuncture.  It can also help create a state of relaxation that many of us find difficult to create in our hectic lives.

Update!

It’s been a few months since I originally wrote this article, and I’m even more motivated to help people conquer the stress in their lives. I have been compiling lots of really amazing information and powerful techniques for conquering stress. In fact, I decided to write an e-book on the topic.

The e-book is called Conquer Stress Now- 13 Powerful Techniques You Can Use and I’m going to release it first (and for free!) to my newsletter subscribers. This e-book contains information that has never been compiled in this way before.

The ebook is written as a practical guide- nothing high-brow or theoretical here. It’s just jam packed with ideas that you can use to change your life and health immediately! This is not just a rehash of stuff you’ve seen before either. No matter how informed you are on stress I promise you’ll learn something new and powerful.

You’ll definitely want to check this out! To get the e-book for free click here to sign up for my newsletter. It will be released to you in installments over the next few weeks.

Back pain, and often specifically low back pain, is a condition that millions of Americans try to learn to live with.  Back pain can be sorted into two broad categories: acute and chronic.

Acute Back Pain

Acute back pain categorized has having a sudden onset, most often from some sort of traumatic event.  Strains, sprains, muscle spasms, bone fractures and disk injuries can all fall into this category.  If you are aware of the cause and the back pain is relatively mild, it is generally safe to come in for acupuncture as a first-line treatment.  For more severe pain, or for relatively sudden back pain of unknown cause, it is important to first see a medical doctor or osteopath specializing in back pain or a chiropractor.  They will be able to take X-Rays and perform other diagnostic tests to determine how serious your injury is.  Once you receive a western diagnosis you can ask your doctor if they think seeing an acupuncturist might be helpful in relieving your back pain.  Often back surgery can be avoided in cases of acute back pain.  However, acupuncture can also be helpful in post-operative recovery for those people who elect to receive back surgery.

Chronic Back Pain

Chronic Back Pain is the kind of back pain that people often try to learn to live with.  It is commonly categorized as back pain that has persisted for three months or longer.  Although it is extremely common in America, it is important to remember that back pain is not a normal state of health- it indicates that something is not right.  Chronic back pain can have both relatively benign and very serious causes.  The presence of a tumor that is causing back pain is very serious indeed!  Therefore it is important to understand the cause of chronic back pain with a full western medical work-up.  Your general practitioner is often not an expert in back pain, and it may behoove you to seek out a specialist M.D. or D.O. who may order X-Rays, MRIs or other tests.  Once you receive a western diagnosis for your back pain you can evaluate your options for treatment.

Back Surgery

Back surgery is very popular in the United States and in some cases is treated quite casually.  Back surgery can be very helpful for some people, and in some cases is necessary to prevent further damage to the spine.  That said, many times back surgery is an elective procedure.  For those considering elective back surgery, realize that this is an invasive operation which can have a long recovery time, can have serious complications (including paralysis, nerve damage, blood clots, erectile dysfunction, infection, and in some cases the pain can be worse than before the surgery).  Consider the options before you or a loved one elects back surgery.  Acupuncture has an excellent record of treating back pain and has proven over thousands of years to be an extremely safe technique.  Remember, back surgery always remains an option later, after you try this low-risk, non-invasive technique.  On the other hand, no one can undo a back surgery!  Will you regret your back surgery later?

Acupuncture for Back Pain

Acupuncture can be a very effective treatment for both chronic and acute back pain. Treatment can involve the “bladder channel” which has two branches that run down the back. Also, the “governing vessel” runs up the length of the spine. This gives acupuncture lots of specific access to the muscles, connective tissue, ribs, sacrum, and spine – all of which may be involved in back pain. Acupuncture can help break viscous cycles of poor posture, muscle guarding, knotted and cramping muscles, and low levels of activity that can lead to each other when we are in pain. Increasing blood flow, releasing tight and knotted muscles, restoring blood circulation, allowing a return to proper function and alignment are all possible through acupuncture.

I have heard other acupuncturists say that acupuncture doesn’t hurt. I feel like that’s not the complete and honest truth. In this article I state my position about whether or not acupuncture hurts.  But for the impatient, here is the short version: Acupuncture usually causes very little pain, but some points are inevitably tender and can briefly hurt when needled.

Acupuncture needles are very different from the kind of needle used to give an injection.  Those needles must be thick enough to contain a hollow core sufficiently large to push medicine, vaccines or other substances through. The edges of the hollow tube of an injection needle are essentially sharpened razors that slice through the skin, so it should be no surprise that those types of needles can really hurt. In contrast, acupuncture needles are much thinner, solid, and end in a sharp point. Because of this they enter the skin very easily and with very minimal discomfort.

The most common remark I hear from someone receiving their first acupuncture needle is “Is it in?” In contrast, it is quite rare that I hear “ouch” or “that hurts” or anything like it.

Every person is different, every acupuncture treatment is different, and every point is different.  Frankly certain points do tend to briefly hurt. However, any pain or discomfort you feel should be fleeting. If it is not, I want to know and we will make any adjustments we need to. Many people are surprised at how relaxing it is to rest with the needles inserted. I personally find that some of the best rest I have ever experienced has while briefly dozing while I have received acupuncture treatments.

I’m currently offering a free face-to-face acupuncture consultation. If you are afraid of needles, are concerned about how they feel, or are just interested, I am happy to demonstrate needling on myself before your first treatment. That’s a perfect reason to take advantage of this offer. I want you to be at ease with the process of the treatment. Just ask and I’ll do my best to make sure that no fears or concerns about the unknown are there to stand in the way of the results you can achieve through acupuncture.

The consultation is a no-risk, no-pressure opportunity to choose if acupuncture with us is right for you. To schedule your free consultation call 919-288-8448 or use our convenient online scheduling system:

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