Dr. Jon Conant, DACM, LAc

Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine, Portland

Supporting nature's desire to keep you happy and vital.

Vincenzo Nibali’s Secret to a Tour de France Win: Acupuncture

Vincenzo Nibali credits acupuncture as a key ingredient to his 2014 Tour de France success.  Click here to check out the Wall Street Journal article. ....aaaaaand take the last couple sentences with a grain of salt, acupuncture does much more than only reducing pain. Acupuncture can improve healing time, hasten rate of recovery, improve blood circulation, increase range of motion, and reduce inflammation that contributes to prolonged tissue injury...and more.  This story is an example of the increasing trend of athletes utilizing Chinese Medicine to improve their game.

Now that I have your attention...

Tongue diagnosis is a valuable tool in deciphering the imbalances within your body, and is one of the techniques that is used during a Chinese Medicine evaluation.  Unique features of the tongue, such as shape, location of swelling, cracks, type of coat, and color, indicate your current state of physiological function. Using this information I recognize a diagnosis and can formulate an accurate treatment plan using acupuncture and/or herbs to remedy your problems.

Feel free to schedule an appointment or consult with me if you'd like to learn more, and also check out this website for more understanding about tongue diagnosis.  Scroll further down on this page for a chart that explains a variety of the most common features of the tongue and their concurrent diagnoses, as well as the typical associated symptoms you might be experiencing.  I look forward to seeing you (& maybe your tongue) soon.  Peace, Jon

Image from Tongue Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia.

Some of the most notable features that are seen with this person are the swelling/teeth indentations on the side, the blotches of dark red around the tip, the long vertical crack, and a patchy white coat.  These features guide to what systems in the body could use some treatment.  This particular person was a 54 year old woman who had concerns angina pectoris (chest pain related to heart disease), cough with yellow sputum, insomnia, fatigue, night sweating, a feeling of heat in the evening, and feelings of pressure and fullness in her chest.

Image and case above from Tongue Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia.

 

Acupuncture with specific benefits to Alzheimer's, suggests new research

Alzheimer's is a puzzling condition that is the focus of much research and understanding, and acupuncture is proving to be a successful tool in helping individuals who are working to alleviate their challenges.  A new research study published in the American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease & Other Dementias suggests that acupuncture is useful in the treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, and has the potential to slow it's progression.  Using functional MRI, which gives real time images of neural activity, a group of people with Alzheimer's were given acupuncture at four specific points while their whole brain activity was being monitored.  What was noted was an increase in neural activity and modulation of key areas of the brain involved in Alzheimer's, including the default mode network (DMN).  For more details on the study, please click on the image below.

The acupuncture locations used in the study were a combination of points known as "The Four Gates," which include Liver 3 (Tai Chong/Great Meeting Point) and Large Intestine 4 (He Gu/Joining of the Valleys) on both sides of the body.  Traditionally, these points are used to balance and circulate qi throughout the entire body, and are typically used when a person is feeling stuck emotionally and/or mentally.  This is interesting, considering the typical manifestations of Alzheimer's Disease.

For more info, please feel free to contact me by email, or schedule an appointment or free consult.

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