Jeff Rippey

The science on acupuncture and miscarriage is mixed. The classical Chinese sources have a list of acupuncture points that are to be avoided in pregnancy. Modern investigations rarely back this up. That being said, there are points on the low abdomen and low back which should be avoided purely from an anatomical perspective.

I do a lot of work with pregnant women helping them with first trimester nausea as well as low back and hip pain. I tend to stay away from both the classically contraindicated points as well as the low back/low abdomen points - just to be on the safe side.

This is one of those times where, if you're going to try acupuncture to help manage some issue, you really need to be sure you're seeing a board certified, state licensed acupuncturist rather than a chiropractor, physical therapist or any one of a number of other providers who can technically offer "acupuncture" with a fraction the training. If you're outside CA, you can start with the "Find a Practitioner" look up at NCCAOM.org to get a list of local providers.

With pain conditions it's pretty simple: if the acupuncture is working you should either be experiencing reduced pain or the pain should be gone entirely. How long the pain stays away can be variable, but generally speaking as you receive more treatments your pain should be reduced or absent for longer and longer periods of time.

My usual caveat applies here: there are a lot of providers out there offering "acupuncture-like" services with training levels ranging from none to minimal. They often use what we refer to as "cookbook acupuncture" which, to be honest, rarely works.

To get the most out of acupuncture in any situation you really need to be seeing someone who is board certified in acupuncture or Chinese medicine and state licensed as an acupuncturist. These will be people who attended and graduated from schools specifically for Chinese medicine and will be in the best position to provide the most relief. If your provider isn't an L.Ac. or R.Ac. (and, outside California, they should also have an NCCAOM credential), you need to make a change. I suggest starting with the "Find a Practitioner" lookup at NCCAOM.org (NOTE: this only works outside CA. In CA, I'd suggest googling and looking for the L.Ac. credential).

A lot will depend on why miscarriage is occurring. There are a variety of reasons both from the standpoint of conventional medicine and the standpoint of Chinese medicine why this situation might happen.

Sometimes miscarriage is related to immune response and inflammation. If this is your case, we can make a solid argument for acupuncture as it has been shown to down regulate the inflammatory response via a number of immune factors. You'd probably also want to utilize conventional medicine in tandem with acupuncture in this case.

For other possible reasons, the effectiveness of acupuncture could be highly variable. I don't work a lot with fertility issues, so I can't really comment further - except to say:

When dealing with complicated issues like fertility, pregnancy and child-bearing, you need to make sure you're at least seeing a board certified state licensed acupuncturist rather than some other provider who is offering "acupuncture" as a side business. You especially want someone who is also ABORM (American Board of Oriental Reproductive Medicine) certified.

To find practitioners with these certifications, you can go to ABORM.org and NCCAOM.org where there will be "Find a Practitioner" lookup to get a list of local providers.

What you're describing is fairly typical and usually doesn't last more than a few hours post treatment. The best suggestion I have is to get something to eat and, if possible, take a short nap.

Usually this effect is not as bad by the second or third treatment. To prevent recurrence, try to make sure you have a little something on your stomach (small meal or light snack) just prior to or just after your session.

One of the things acupuncture does is stimulate the "rest and digest" portion of the nervous system. This typically has the effect of calming people down and can sometimes result in grogginess. If a patient happens to be a classic "Type A" personality, this move towards the middle can be a little uncomfortable.

Success rates for acupuncture in smoking cessation vary from study to study but they're usually over 50% or so. For the best results, I'd suggest combining acupuncture with some other therapeutic approach - either pharmaceutical or behavioral therapy.

Can acupuncture help if you want to quit smoking and are ready to quit smoking? Sometimes, yes. I'd strongly suggest combining acupuncture with another therapy like pharmaceuticals or behavioral therapy or both.

If you aren't ready to quit and aren't committed to quitting, acupuncture isn't going to help.

Yes, acupuncture can usually relieve insomnia. This is a condition I work with on a fairly regular basis and I usually get good results for patients in terms of improved sleep.

Acupuncture and moxibustion may help to boost the immune system in general. Usually for folks looking to prevent illnesses like cold or flu I recommend vitamin supplementation and hand washing.

Acupuncture and moxibustion may help to boost the immune system in general. Usually for folks looking to prevent illnesses like cold or flu I recommend vitamin supplementation and hand washing.

A lot depends on why you have chronic cough. If you haven't already done so, your first stop should be your primary care physician so you can rule out more serious potential issues. If your doctor cannot detect any issues then, yes, acupuncture can probably help.

First off, if you're fairly sure it's dengue, you should probably see a physician. There are several serious complications to this illness and you want to make sure you're receiving proper care.

Secondly, I rarely use acupressure on patients but from an acupuncture perspective you could use it to manage body aches/pains and reduce fever. In terms of side-effects, there shouldn't be many when using acupressure since nothing is breaking the skin.

In my experience, patients experience the quickest and longest lasting results when using acupuncture over acupressure.

If your depression is on the mild to moderate end of the spectrum, then yes, acupuncture can probably help. Studies show that acupuncture matches the performance of standard prescription medications in mild to moderate depression.

If your depression is more severe, acupuncture can still help in a couple of ways:

1. Acupuncture will still help with the depression itself.

2. The combination of acupuncture and meds usually outperforms either modality alone. At the same time, acupuncture can help to mitigate drug side-effects.

For a situation like this, it's fairly important that you see a provider who is licensed as an acupuncturist in your state. You want someone who attended and graduated from a school of Chinese medicine and, ideally, is board certified as a provider of Chinese medical services. If you're not in CA, you can start with the "Find a Practitioner" look up at NCCAOM.org to get a list of local providers.

Yes, acupuncture has a pretty good track record with insomnia - most studies show it equaling or outperforming typical prescription sleep medications. It may take 3-5 treatments to get things moving in the right direction, and there will probably also be lifestyle suggestions which may influence how quickly the issue comes under control.

"Cure" is a loaded word in a medical context. Let's re-frame the question a little: can acupuncture relieve insomnia and help someone sleep better? Yes, it can. We have several studies showing that acupuncture matches or outperforms prescription sleep meds - and the risk profile for acupuncture is much lower.

Acupuncture isn't likely to be a one and done type of treatment, though. There is a cumulative effect to the treatments, so be prepared to go to 3-5 sessions before you decide whether it's working.

A good acupuncturist will also make some lifestyle suggestions. The more you can implement these suggestions, the more likely your insomnia will respond faster and treatment may last longer.

Usually, yes, acupuncture can be very effective for heel pain. I treat this a lot in my clinic and get good results for people.

"Lung problem" covers a lot of ground. There are a variety of issues which can affect the lungs. For some of these conditions, acupuncture would be a good choice. For other conditions, acupuncture in combination with conventional treatment would help. And, for the last category, acupuncture probably would not be a good choice.

If we're talking about something like asthma or chronic cough (where other more serious issues have been ruled out), then, yes, acupuncture would be a good choice. Even in something like COPD, acupuncture has been shown to provide good results for patients.

If we're talking about something like cancer or pulmonary edema due to heart failure, then acupuncture might be of help but you'll want to combine it with conventional medicine.

If we're talking about something like cystic fibrosis or bleeding, then acupuncture isn't going to be very much assistance.

For any of these conditions, particularly the more serious issues where acupuncture can still help, you want to make sure you're seeing a provider who is licensed as an acupuncturist in your state. To get a list of local providers, you can use the "Find a Practitioner" lookup at NCCAOM.org.

Acupuncture can be a good choice for acute injury. In my experience, techniques like bleeding and moxibustion provide superior results in these cases.

All acupuncturists are trained in the use and application of moxibustion. This technique can be a little smokey, so not everyone actually does it.

Bleeding is likewise part of most training programs, although there are some states that restrict its application and there are some acupuncturists who are not comfortable with the technique and either rarely use it or don't use it.

If you haven't already done so, your first stop should be your primary care doc or an urgent care. Imaging and an evaluation will help you know exactly what you're dealing with in terms of damage.

If you chose to go the acupuncture route, you can use the "Find a Practitioner" lookup at NCCAOM.org to get a list of local licensed acupuncturists (unless you're in CA). Give some of these providers a call and see if they use moxa/bleeding techniques or specialize in pain management.

In my experience, yes, acid reflux responds very well to acupuncture.

You're in a great position to take the acupuncture route because you haven't started any medications. The common reflux meds often cause rebound acidity when withdrawn, and this typically lasts a week or two. Since you're not on meds, you won't experience this bump and it should be a fairly smooth transition.

I'm not clear on what you mean when you say "acupuncture for the head". I'm going to assume you're referring to acupuncture needles placed in the scalp/head area. If you're actually referring to acupuncture for an issue on/in the head, then that's a slightly different thing.

There are a variety of reasons why an acupuncturist might choose to place needles in the scalp. Of the 12 primary channels typically used for most acupuncture treatments, 6 either start or end on the head/face. In addition to these, there are 2 extraordinary vessels which also have points on the head/face. The points on these channels can be utilized for a variety of issues from allergy to migraine to alcohol intoxication to reviving someone who has passed out to anxiety and depression.

In addition to the regular channel points, there are several systems of scalp acupuncture and a variety of so-called "extra" points on the face/head. Taken together, these points might be used for issues as varied as organ prolapse, tremor/dyskinesia, tinnitus, asthma, visual issues, hemiplegia or partial paralysis and a whole litany of other problems.

Chinese medicine in general and acupuncture in particular are not based on the typical symptomatic type treatments most people are familiar with in conventional medicine. The acupuncture system represents an interconnected network with a variety of nodes which may be accessed in a variety of ways to treat a variety of conditions.

Usually yes, scalp acupuncture is safe and effective. Some people can find scalp points to be fairly intense, so providing feedback to your provider while the needles are in is an important aspect of this kind of treatment.

One thing to be aware of is that the scalp and head are very highly vascularized and, sometimes, these points can bleed quite a lot. It's nothing to be concerned over, licensed acupuncturists are well trained in how to stop the bleeding and prevent bruising. Which is why it's important to see someone licensed as an acupuncturist in your state - particularly for this type of treatment.