Traditional Chinese Medicine
What's the deal with Acupuncture?
First, a personal story.
In the summer of 2017, during my first year in New Orleans, I developed a hacking dry cough. It wouldn't go away, and inevitably, the cough started taking a toll on my health. My sleep quality suffered greatly, I was fatigued, exhausted, and the incessant coughing affected my productivity and social life.
Cough medicine, allergy medication, and sleep medication did very little to assuage my miserable condition. At this time, I've been friends with Dr Lihua Zhang for a year, and she noticed that I had looked miserable for three months. I told her of my plight, and she said "No problem!" She taped two tiny needles into me and the coughing stopped. And for the first time in three awful months, I slept like a baby that night.
"What sorcery is this?" I had wondered. This simple treatment when medicine had failed, made me ask some important questions, and led me down the road to learning more about Acupuncture. In fact, I work for Dr Zhang today.
Dispelling some Myths about Acupuncture
Acupuncture isn't a mystical ancient Chinese secret. Although it originated in China, Acupuncture is well practiced in Asian countries and surprisingly in France. Recently, the US military has adopted Acupuncture for soldiers on the battlefield to treat pain. The benefit of of Acupuncture for pain management (unlike opioids) is the lack of harmful side effects of treatment.
There are many jargon and obscure terms when talking about acupuncture such as "Qi", "Ying and Yang" as some examples. As a patient, these terms can be perplexing and intimidating.
The effectiveness of Acupuncture is drawn upon on thousands of years of recorded, repeated, empirical results. Ancient physicians - lacking modern science, did their best to explain how and why Acupuncture treatment worked.
A final personal word about Acupuncture that must be stressed is that it's not a one treatment deal. For the best effect, patients with chronic issues need constant attention treatment - which gradually tapers off in frequency, for several weeks.
For example, treatment for lower back pain would require three to four visits on the first week, one to two visits on the second and third week, and maintenance visits each month. A patient that comes in only when they feel pain will not have optimal pain relief.
Why should I consider Acupuncture?
Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine isn't simply sticking a patient with needles. It also incorporates healthy lifestyle recommendations and practices. The treatments results are often felt instantaneously and without adverse side effects, and recommended food and proper exercise keeps the symptoms away.
The first visit is a thorough consultation with the physician. There, a patient will discuss their health concerns and lifestyle goals with the physician, and an agreed upon treatment course is followed through.
After 2-4 days, the office follows up with the patient's progress, and the patient is reassessed for subsequent treatment.
What does this office treat?
Our most common chief complaint is chronic pain. These complaints are often resolved (to the surprise of patients) during the first session.
However, we recommend followup sessions to continue with pain relief. Commonly, it takes around 10 to 12 visits before full symptom relief is achieved.
The office also sees patients for fertility treatments, digestion complaints, smoking cessation, weight loss, and even the general annual check-up.
Also, if patients are interested in saving some money, auricular acupressure sessions can be performed for as little as $10.00.