Can Acupuncture Help With Fatigue

Book An Appointment With Dr Sheila

Have you been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome?

Or, did you read the above list of symptoms and find they hit just a little too close to home?

Have you always been curious about acupuncture and how it might be able to help you address your health concerns?

If so, lets talk.

Book a naturopathic assessment appointment with me, Dr. Sheila, today. Well sit down and chat about your current health concerns. Ill work to uncover the root cause behind these concerns, and from there well build a treatment plan designed to address your concerns.

This treatment plan may include acupuncture, as well as nutritional counselling and other naturopathic treatment methods.

If you think you may be suffering from Chronic Fatigue, and youre curious about how acupuncture can help, contact me to book an appointment today.

If you have questions about naturopathic medicine, or would like to start with your first consultation, contact me, and lets book an appointment.

Yours in health,

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How Can Acupuncture Help Fight Fatigue

Chronic fatigue syndrome is hard to fight, so many people turn to alternative medicines like acupuncture for relief. Studies have shown that acupuncture can help fatigue in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome.

In addition, it can fight depression, which can worsen the feelings of many conditions like chronic fatigue syndrome. Some acupuncturists may also suggest herbal or nutritional supplements, which may also help, especially if you are lacking magnesium or omega-3.

Overall, acupuncture helps treat your body by improving blood flow, which also triggers your bodys natural healing abilities. This has been shown to help people with chronic pain. In some cases, fighting the chronic pain alone could drastically improve your condition by improving your overall mood. In addition, acupuncture can give many people more energy.

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Acupuncture Is What You Need We Can Help

Fatigue and low energy is a life-changing health problem that affects every aspect of an individuals life. Acupuncture has been demonstrated to promote sleep and mood through increasing serotonin levels. As a result, it has the potential to be an effective remedy for fatigue and low energy. Dont feel shy? Need help with your treatment plan? We can help. Our acupuncturist will do a thorough consultation and examination to determine the exact symptoms of weariness and the causes that may be causing them. A treatment plan can involve acupuncture to stimulate points along the meridians, as well as moxibustion, a topical therapy to promote warm energy.

About Us

Balance Within integrates Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, and Chiropractic to treat physical and mental conditions using a holistic approach and traditional chinese medicine. We treat many health issues without the use of harsh chemicals.

Acupuncture works for many health problems, but it does not treat all health issues.

Browse our articles and conditions treated pages to see which health issues are effectively treated by Balance Within Integrative Acupuncture.

Whats Our Track Record

Most patients notice an improvement in their energy levels within the first 5 visits. Over time, and with appropriate lifestyle changes, many clients have been able to significantly improve their energy levels. With the services we offer at the clinic, we can assist you with reducing your symptoms of fatigue AND helping you make lifestyle changes that will increase your energy and vitality.

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Why Does Acupuncture Help

• Correcting Yin & Yang DeficienciesIndividuals suffering from CFS often have deficiencies in their yin or yang or both. Though opposite types of energy, both yin and yang need to be in perfect balance to function in harmony with each other. When this imbalance is corrected, a patients immune systems is boosted. This correction releases endorphins that prompt the body to produce natural antibodies that improve cognitive dysfunction, fatigue, pain, and sleep dysfunction.

• Balancing the Qi in OrgansAcupuncturists know that many people with CFS have either a deficiency or an over-abundance of qi in their kidneys, lungs, and liver. Qi is the vital energy that flows through your body and can be balanced through the proper application of acupuncture. By balancing the qi, acupuncturists can often provide fatigue sufferers a reduction in their overall symptoms.

• MoxibustionMoxibustion employs the burning of the mugwort herb while stimulating various pressure points on the body. Moxibustion is effective in reducing the severity of the fatigue aspect of CFS. Many patients who undergo this therapy experience a marked increase in their energy levels, especially after the cumulative effects of several sessions.

Acupuncture Heals Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Details

06/20/2014

Researchers conclude that acupuncture is effective for the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome . A remarkable finding was made in this study. Acupuncture combined with interferential current therapy increased the success rate of acupuncture. The total effective rate of acupuncture as a standalone procedure was 80.0%. Adding interferential current therapy to the regime of care increased the total effective rate to 93.3%.

A complete recovery rate of 20.0% was achieved with acupuncture as a standalone therapy for CFS patients in 20 office visits. In the same period of time and same number of treatments, the combined therapy approach of acupuncture plus interferential current therapy raised the complete recovery rate to 43.3%. As a result the researchers conclude, Electroacupuncture plus ICT can produce a remarkable efficacy in treating CFS.

The total effective rate and complete recovery rate increased significantly by adding ICT to acupuncture therapy. This is an important finding now that studies indicate that CFS exceeds 10% of the white-collar working population. CFS is characterized by extreme fatigue often without an identifiable biochemical or organic cause. CFS may also involve musculoskeletal pain, sleep disorders, headaches, impaired cognition and memory, swollen or tender lymph nodes, chronic sore throat, persistent low grade fever, mental illness and exhaustion after physical or mental exertion.

Hubei University of Chinese Medicine

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Can Acupuncture And Tcm Help Afs

Traditional Chinese Medicine is a great tool for reaching deep into the body and effecting balance for those who are healthy or in a very mild form of AFS bought on by stress. With acupuncture, for example, opening up the meridian and re-establishing clear energy flow can reduce fatigue dramatically and lead to a sense of well-being. Unfortunately, this is often short-lived, unless the underlying root stressors are removed. In other words, this approach is at best symptom patching rather than attacking the root cause.

Chinese herbs, such as schizandra berries, and Ayurvedic herbs, such as holy basil and ashwagandha, work along the same lines. A prescription is usually given concurrently for these herbs, as they tend to increase energy flow. Some possess adaptogenic properties.

In early stages of AFS, many are misled by the temporary improvement of energy from such compounds, along with acupuncture treatment, into thinking that the root problem is resolved. Unfortunately, this is not necessarily so.

Unless the underlying stressor is removed and the adrenal glands are properly and gently nurtured back to a point where they have enough nutritional reserve to facilitate the self-healing mechanism, simply enhancing energy flow is like trying to whip a tired horse into running further.

Causes Of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Experts are unsure what causes chronic fatigue syndrome, however some persons with the illness claim that it began after another health issue, such as a virus, a stomach bug, or another infection, significant physical stress, such as surgery, and hormonal imbalances.

There is mounting evidence of a relationship between chronic fatigue syndrome and the functioning of the immune system, but further study is needed to determine the mechanism.

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Acupuncture For The Treatment Of Fatigue

People experience fatigue when they cannot effectively manage daily activities and responsibilities while allowing time for their health. Many feel continually fatigued. Acute or chronic, fatigue can lead to exhaustion and constant low energy. Fatigue is not improved with sleep and can impair functioning and quality of life.

Fatigue may be caused by physical inactivity, poor nutrition, an imbalanced wake-sleep cycle, depression, stress, or smoking. Acupuncture effectively treats fatigue and its symptoms, such as concentration difficulties, weakness, dizziness, sleep disturbances, irritability, anxiety, nervousness, and musculoskeletal pain.

Acupuncture can be utilized as a primary therapy alone or as a complementary therapy in a comprehensive fatigue management health care plan to alleviate fatigue and enhance overall health. Malfunctions in the endocrine, cardiovascular and digestive body systems that contribute to fatigue can also be treated with acupuncture.

Traditional Chinese medicine treats fatigue with a combination of modalities. Your acupuncture physician may recommend Chinese herbs, massage therapy, dietary modification, and tai chi and other movement therapies, in addition to acupuncture.

For information about affordable acupuncture for the treatment of fatigue call Dr. Richard Browne, Acupuncture Physician, at 595-9500.

What Oncology Nurses Need To Know

Cancer-related fatigue is a distressing symptom and can persist for years following treatment, with few effective approaches. Accumulating clinical evidence supports the utility of acupuncture for CRF, especially in breast cancer patients and survivors. The Society for Integrative Oncology guidelines, endorsed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology , state that acupuncture can be considered for improving post-treatment fatigue for patients with breast cancer. It is now offered at many cancer centers in keeping with the growing interest in non-pharmacological strategies to address cancer symptoms. A review of NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers identified acupuncture, along with massage, as the most frequently available modality.

Given its increased availability and growing evidence of effectiveness against cancer symptoms, oncology nurses should consider incorporating acupuncture into clinical care for managing CRF.Patients often express renewed energy and reduced stress after receiving acupuncture, and it is safe when performed by qualified practitioners with experience working in the oncology setting. Minor side effects such as bleeding, hematoma, dizziness, and pain have been reported. Pneumothorax and local infections are rare occurrences.

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Tcm To Treat The Source Of Fatigue

Unfortunately, neither Western medicine nor TCM yet possesses a magic bullet to cure fatigue, except where there is a clearly identifiable cause, such as anemia or hypothyroidism. In fact, theres no randomized, double-blind controlled study that confirms the efficacy of any specific treatment for fatigue. Perhaps thats why many people look to complementary therapies for help with this vexing problem.

TCM aims to treat the source of fatigue, not merely the symptoms of it. Anyone can consume an extra cup of coffee or gulp down energy drinks each day. Not only will that approach not solve your fatigue issues, over the long run, it will make them worse. Approaches like acupuncture, mindfulness, dietary changes, and qigong practices, on the other hand, may put your fatigue to rest for good.

Fatigue Can Lead To Other Mental Health Problems

There are unmistakable connections between stress and weariness. Stress is the bodys reaction to adversity and change in circumstances. The body and mind grow fatigued as a result of chronic stress. Emotional weariness can result from long-term stress. Lack of attention and motivation leads to poor decision-making, and eventually, a person is unable to properly care for herself and her family. Anxiety, sadness, and post-traumatic stress disorder become obtrusive and disruptive in daily life. Every day, we are all exposed to several pressures in todays world.

Mental exhaustion is inevitable when we are constantly bombarded with fresh knowledge on top of everything else we have to deal with. Feeling overwhelmed has become the new normal, but we must treat emotional tiredness to avoid it from becoming a significant health issue.

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Chronic Fatigue Acupuncture Points

To eliminate fatigue through acupuncture, the work will often be focused on some or all of the following points:

• Third Eye Point between the eyebrows
• Sea of Energy underneath the belly button
• Gates of Consciousness base of the skull
• Sea of Vitality lower back
• Outer Gate Point above the wrist crease

They can be activated with pressure as well. For faster and more effective treatment, however, consult with an acupuncture practitioner.

Of course, it still helps immensely to address those key, energy zapping forces in our lives stress and anxiety

Adverse Events And Safety Monitoring

Adverse events will be recorded and managed by researchers within 24h. There will be at least one physician to evaluate and manage the adverse events at each centre. Serious adverse and unexpected events will be reported to the Ethics Committee and other supervising departments. The subjects may leave the trial at their own discretion, or the physicians will determine whether the patient will continue or terminate the study. However, the patient will be followed up until they are in a stable condition following the adverse event.

The primary investigator will review all adverse events periodically, and the Ethics Committee and DMC will have access to the interim results. If necessary, a meeting will be held to reappraise the benefits and risk of this trial.

The possible adverse events related to acupuncture treatment include fainting during acupuncture treatment, nausea, haematoma formation, local infection, injury to the viscera or the peripheral nerves, stuck needle, and needle breakage. Adverse events will be evaluated based on the frequency, severity and symptoms of the patients throughout the trials. Patients who are intolerant to the acupuncture treatment should be removed from the trial.

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How Does Treatment Work

The number of treatments required varies according to the patient. Not everyone has the same symptoms, after all. However, studies have shown that regular acupuncture treatments are effective in reducing the severity of fatigue and stress experienced by CFS patients.

Researchers attribute the improvements to elevated levels of endorphins, which in turn help increase white blood cell counts, leading to improved immunity. When acupuncture treatments are combined with Chinese herbal medicines that boost the immune system, effects are even greater.

How Acupuncture Can Help

The most basic way that acupuncture begins to address the symptoms of fatigue is to look at the bodys balance of qi, or the life force of energy that flows throughout our bodies. If a person is deficient in qi, that is the primary cause of the fatigue.

Heres what you can expect if you are looking to acupuncture to help with your fatigue. The first thing we will do is perform a thorough consultation and exam to determine the specific symptoms of fatigue that you are dealing with. We can then determine a course of treatment that might include addressing specific acupuncture points along the body, the use of Chinese herbal formulas in customized forms to address imbalances in your system, or even moxibustion.

And we have plenty of research to share about just how effective acupuncture is at dealing with fatigue. A2018 study of patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome showed significant improvement in both physical and mental fatigue among participants who received daily acupuncture over the course of 10 days.

Acupuncture has also been proven to increase serotonin levels which helps to improve sleep as well as mood. Its an effective drug-free treatment without the side effects often caused by prescription medications. Anotherstudy from 2015 found chronic fatigue patients who were given acupuncture as a supplement to conventional treatment showed greater improvement over patients who did not receive acupuncture.

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The Benefits Of Acupuncture

Acupuncture can therefore be seen as a mechanical way to activate the bodys internal energy or de-qi which in turn, automatically travels through the ECM network to locate pathological areas of dysfunction and initiates spontaneous self-healing. Because the ECM is all encompassing within the body, a complete TCM acupuncture program would necessarily involve the whole body. Research into the benefits of acupuncture have shown to have a positive effect on many systems of the body. Intense and frequent acupuncture sessions addressing different parts of the body are required for optimum healing over months if a systemic change is desired. This can be considered by those who are healthy or in mild adrenal fatigue. Those who are weak or in advance stages of AFS fare quite differently. Their ECM is usually congested. Intense sessions can trigger adrenal crashes, fatigue, and anxiety.

How Can Acupuncture Help With Fatigue

Traditional Chinese medicine views fatigue as an imbalance in the body. TCM believes that once you restore balance, the body can finally heal. So how can acupuncture in particular help with fatigue, you may ask? Lets jump into the ins and outs of fatigue and how this ancient practice may be one of the missing keys in overcoming it.

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