Welcome to Silverfern Clinic blog. I will begin with common questions most people ask me “I have this sort of pain here, it radiates ….Can acupuncture fix this…Can acupuncture cure that….How many treatments until I feel improvement…My MD says I have a diagnosis of ….does acupuncture help that? My friend, brother, cousin, co-worker, daughter, etc said acupuncture can’t help me because…..so will it? Or so-and-so said try acupuncture because it might be able to …..

The following paragraph is an excerpt of guidelines for Acupuncture from California workers’ compensation and is some of the best explanation of acupuncture that articulates it in a way that we can understand it within our “western medical” mind set.

Acupuncture can be used to reduce pain, reduce inflammation, increase blood flow, increase range of motion, decrease the side effect of medication-induced nausea, promote relaxation in an anxious patient, and reduce muscle spasm.

It is indicated to treat chronic pain conditions, radiating pain along a nerve pathway, muscle spasm, inflammation, scar tissue pain, and pain located in multiple sites.

As one can see, no matter what the diagnosis is, many western medical diagnoses and chinese medical diagnoses have at least ONE of the above conditions as a component of the problem for which acupuncture may benefit them. Many people seeking medical help use acupuncture as the “last resort,” as such, it can (but not always) typically take longer to achieve functional improvement of satisfaction to the patient. The use of medication, surgeries, poor nutrition, can all factor in the recovery outcome for an individual.

I will address  future blogs including some case studies, which, will highlight the western diagnosis and the presenting symptoms of the patient.

Constructive feedback/criticism is always welcome