"As is the case for reviewer iching555, I am a lucky student in Edward Obaidey's Tokyo clinic, going back and forth whenever possible between there and my own place in the United States. "A Long Road" is a universal, practical, relatable guide for any practitioner of acupuncture anywhere, not just the ones of us with a preference for so-called Japanese-style techniques. Writing in an often witty and lighthearted style, Ed sensei gets to the heart of the matter here by challenging all of us to consider and DO what's really important to shape ourselves as practitioners and to treat the patient to the best of our improving ability. He covers higher level needling and moxibustion methods that are not usually taught in acupuncture schools. Also, he includes relevant clinical experiences that reveal the spirit of traditional ways of training as an acupuncturist with a modern yet timeless twist. What a talent to be able to make the readers of this text feel that we are standing right next to him in the clinic as he deftly treats the patient and clears up our confusion at the same time, while inspiring yet more questions. Taking the easy way is not an option with this skillful teacher, and he shows the possibilities for us if only we would commit to diligent study and practice. Rarely will we have access to a guidebook from a native English speaker who has this level of commitment and consequent depth of knowledge about East Asian medicine. This offering is a real treasure; a new classic. Read it over and over, and apply what you learn. Why? For improved clinical results and for the benefit of self and others. Seriously, it's amazing."

The pursuit of mastery in this medicine is a lifelong journey. Some of the patients ask me questions like, "Don't you know everything already by now?"  "The next time you're in Japan, why don't you just tell your teachers to teach you everything all at once so you don't have to keep going over there?" These questions make me smile, but they also let me know that even among people who get acupuncture in this country, sometimes it's not so clear what goes into becoming a worthy practitioner. The 3,000-4,000 hours of acupuncture school and school clinic plus the required continuing education hours to keep an active license are good starts, but they are just not enough. Having a teacher who is willing to aid in the development of an acupuncturist is a rare honor, but it should be something that we all aspire to have and maybe even become. Acupuncture is a powerful medicine, and even the worst treatments by sleepwalking practitioners will sometimes yield some improvement. But to become good, and consistently so, requires refinement of the person doing the work as well as an unshakeable grounding in the basics and applications. Learning in traditional ways is not an easy way to do things, but it's worth it.  

We often start the acupuncture session with the patient lying down on the table or bed on their backs, face up. For the ki to flow in a beneficial way to facilitate healing and well-being, it is best if the patient is on the bed with the legs uncrossed and feet out to the sides a little in a relaxed manner. The hands should be along the sides of the body with the hands either next to the hips or with the palms resting lightly on the sides of the abdomen. The head and neck should by in a neutral position and should be lightly supported by a small pillow. Positioning the body this way allows the acupuncturist to get the most information from your body to influence the best treatment at that time. Below please note some of the body positions I've seen that are not at all desirable for treatment:

Crossed legs

Legs closed tightly together at the ankles

Legs bent at the knees so that the soles of feet are flat on the table/bed

Arms folded across the chest or hugging the abdomen

Balled fists, especially wearing tight watchbands or bracelets

Hands up behind the head -- this one really makes me crazy as a practitioner. I need to take your pulse several times while you're face up. Just how am I supposed to do that if your arms are up there?

Sitting up with the back straight and the legs outstretched in front

All of these postures are diagnostic as well -- they tell me something about your comfort level, tight areas of your body, areas that you may feel need protection, etc. As an acupuncturist, I do realize that patients need to be as comfortable as possible during their treatment sessions. This is why I will sometimes go along with their body position and not say much at the beginning of the session if the patient seems very relaxed and comfortable. I have to flexible enough to get information that I need to do a good treatment by using a variety of palpatory methods at my disposal, even if the patient is effectively blocking the use of my major diagnostic skills. But really, if you tend to assume any of these postures, please stop doing them and train yourself to go into the ideal posture outlined at the beginning of this. Your treatments will be more effective, and your acupuncturist will thank you!

Children usually don't cry when they are being treated; so far I've never had one to cry. It's best if they are disrobed down to their diapers so that we can have a look at their backs, bellies, arms and legs. I have treated children with digestive problems and poor sleep patterns, almost all with great results. They can start as early as about six weeks or so -- when the parents are ready to start taking them out of the home. 

With permission from her parents, I will now discuss the journey of one of my youngest current patients, a precocious 14-month-old we'll call "G". I have been seeing this little one since she was about two months old. G's grandmother, who is a long term patient with me, brought G in as an infant. She had been slightly injured during her birth, and her right arm just wasn't working as well as her left arm. She tended to allow the right arm hang down a bit, and she wasn't moving her fingers on that hand as much as she moved the left hand's fingers. There was an obvious and troubling difference between the two limbs. Since G lives in another city with her parents, my time to see her was short, but we had to make the best of it. During that first treatment,  I channeled my teachers in Japan to the best of my ability to use the teishin along the appropriate areas. At the end of the treatment which took less than 15 minutes, we all witnessed that G was moving her arms and fingers equally well on both sides of her body. Her mother and grandmother were very happy and touched by G's response to acupuncture. I was also a little surprised, having never worked with such a seemingly impossible situation before. We all learned something that day. She followed up in the acupuncture clinic a few days later with me, then returned to her home city with her parents. 

G's grandmother kept me up to date on G's progress in her hometown. G did undergo some physical therapy in her home city to reinforce her progress and continue improving her mobility. Now that G has gotten a bit older, it's hard to tell that she ever had an issue moving her arms. When she's in town, her grandmother does bring her by to get treatments to help with her overall health. Our last visit was a few days ago. My how she's grown. Now, she tries to help me with the treatment, taking the teishin and giving it back to me, using the end of it on her little thigh,  and reaching her arms to me to be picked up several times during her visit. What a rewarding process to see the changes that this little one has made in just over a year. I hope to treat her from time to time, and watch her grow up from my vantage point. 

Naturally, I would like to see Americans take on a similar approach to preventative medical care. So many of us use urgent care and the emergency room to tackle issues once they can no longer be ignored, when in some cases what we're being seen for would never get that serious if we would only do the things in daily life to allow ourselves to have stronger immunity and better overall health. Thankfully these emergency structures are in place for when we need them, but just think of the money we would save as a society if our people were healthier and didn't feel we had to use crisis-centered medical services as much as we do now. 

Unfortunately, it seems as though our health as a society is getting worse in many ways. We are so busy and stressed. We rely on processed foods and we don't cook from scratch like we used to. Our envionments are full of pollution. We're becoming obese as a group, including our children. The best ways to defend against the insults to our bodies and minds, though we can't expect to be 100% diligent, is to become conscious of what we can alter and do something about those things. For example, we can set aside some time to meditate and exercise -- best in the mornimg if possible -- as well as preparing a home-cooked meal at least one day a week. We can make healthier choices when dining out and read labels at the grocery store. We can participate in social activities that sustain us, especially with other people whose company we enjoy. And we can get regular bodywork such as acupuncture, massage, and chiropractic and  regular check-ups with our physicians. Not so many things to do, right?

If you or someone you know can benefit from the preventative approach to fortify and maintain your existing health, please contact the office for further details about how regular acupuncture can help. 

“When it’s going to rain, my joints get achy.”

“Don’t stay out in the sun too long . . . you’ll be exhausted afterwards.”

“If I ride in a convertible with the top down, I’ll get a headache”.

     Just how does the weather affect us? This is a relevant question right now, especially considering the extremes we’ve experienced in our national weather patterns as of late. Here in Atlanta, we had an ice event in January that took many of us by surprise with its duration – four long days of staying off of the roads, as suggested by the Georgia Department of Transportation. Springtime has been just as turbulent, with the string of tornadoes and baseball-sized hail that pummeled some local areas recently. According to reports, the upcoming summer promises to be a scorcher as well. So how do our bodies deal with all of this?

     East Asian medicine considers our bodies as a continuous part of the environment. Thus, if there are weather patterns going on outside, we can expect that our bodies notice and respond, even if we are not conscious of it. As the quotes above indicate, we are often conscious of the effects the weather has on us. Often times, disease patterns in the body are discussed using weather-related terms. For instance, a swollen knee or bloated abdomen could be described as a damp condition. Headaches and dizziness are sometimes considered to result from, or be made worse by, wind conditions that the body has taken on.  Dryness can affect the body too, leading to a wrinkled or shriveled feeling and appearance in the skin. There are many more ways that weather conditions can manifest in the body as well.

     Having acupuncture around the time that seasons change is a great thing to do for your health. Licensed acupuncturists are trained to consider the effects that weather will have on our treatment in most cases. Very recently, I noticed that most everyone seemed to be coming in with a stuffy nose, but that it wasn’t from catching a cold. It turns out that something was blooming in the air, and whatever it was, it seemed to be affecting even some of my long-term patients who never have allergy problems in the spring. Having acupuncture during such times can help our bodies to deal with such insults from the environment without having to just trudge through and wait for the patterns to lift. It can also help relieve the upper body muscle tension that tends to appear in some of our bodies when our least favorite season comes around each year. We should consider acupuncture as well as other natural approaches to help ourselves adjust to our environment in the most comfortable way possible. 

One of the best ways I found to develop and maintain the stability to prevent falls in the elderly is by starting to do strengthening exercises while you are younger. Tai Chi is excellent for this. It may seem that the people aren’t doing much when they do tai chi, but this kind of exercise develops strength in the legs. It can help with confidence (a big part of it, actually) and stability. Start early with this — it does become too late. A 90 year-old-patient I see, a man, tried to start tai chi at 86, and by then, he couldn’t hold himself up properly. I felt bad for him but if only he’d started earlier, he could have really seen some benefit. For more information, see the CDC report called, “Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview”http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/falls/adultfalls.html and go to Youtube and check out the following video for an example of a woman doing tai chi. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBvF6r6DOvc

When I was younger, I had problems with my menstrual cycles. Looking back, many of the problems I experienced were probably largely related to my emotional states at the time, but nevertheless, the problems were real and debilitating. I had painful menstrual cramps for two weeks of every month throughout my teen years and twenties. Once the bleeding "hit", as I referred to it, like a natural catastrophe, I was down for the count with unrelenting nausea, vomiting, spasmodic cramps, fever and chills, and sometimes diarrhea. I couldn't drink or eat anything, couldn't take pain medication (because I'd throw it up), couldn't go to school or work, couldn't even sit up in bed, sleep, or do anything to take my mind off of the excruciating pain. It was horrible, and I didn't understand why it was happening or what to do about it. My whole life revolved around my period. Nothing could be planned for the expected dates of the monthly scourge's next Days 1-2. After trying everything I knew in terms of changing my diet and taking advantage of what Western Medicine had to offer, I tried acupuncture. My acupuncturist, Dr. Yajuang Wang of Seattle, opened a new world for me. I noticed differences in my cycle immediately once I started getting treatments from her and taking the herbs that she prescribed. For once in my post-pubescent life, the cramps and the vomiting seemed to let up somewhat. The bleeding started and stopped on a dime instead of trailing on and off with days of spotting at the beginning and end of it. When I was not as much better as she thought I should be after a number of treatments, Dr. Wang referred me back to my Western physician for additional testing. Soon afterwards, I was scheduled for laparoscopic surgery for endometriosis. Stage 2 endometriosis was discovered and removed (for the most part; some of the endometriosis was left behind because it was deemed too close to vital structures in the pelvic cavity for safe removal), resulting in what turned out to be one or two months of relief. The pain and vomiting returned, but my condition was not as debilitating every month as it had been before the surgery. I was really disappointed, but I kept seeking natural cures for my health problems. I soon accrued a bookshelf full of all manner of natural health-related texts. I continued with acupuncture, and eventually I got better. Now, I don't vomit, and the cramps are not too bad most of the time. Still, I take painful and disruptive periods as a sign that something needs to change. It really is not supposed to be like this. I'll write more about how I decided to become a licensed acupuncturist in Part 2.

▪ a sudden, severe headache with or without neck stiffness

▪ a persistent headache in someone who was headache-free

▪ a headache with eye or ear pain

▪ a headache with fever

▪ a headache following a blow to the head

▪ a headache that interferes with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

▪ a persistent headache in a child, especially if occurring at night or upon waking in the morning

▪ confusion or loss of consciousness (2).

Additionally, Ikeda Masakazu sensei suggests seeking Western care if the entire head hurts, if it is the first time the person has ever had a headache with a severe quality, if there is vomiting with the headache, or for intractable headaches for which pain relievers offer no help whatsoever (3).  He finds acupuncture extremely useful for the type of headaches that occur at the temples and for the type of headaches that happen a couple of times per month; particularly those that occur in relation to the menstrual cycle in women of childbearing age (4).  Headaches can be treated effectively using acupuncture, both to stop a headache from coming on to full-fledged degree and also to help prevent future headaches by influencing the free flow of ki. For patients who come into the office with an existing headache, it is important to judge the value of the treatment by asking one simple question – “Is the pain gone, or at least substantially decreased, by the end of the session?” For me as a practitioner, the patient’s headache pain should be gone. I want to make sure that each patient who comes in with a headache leaves without one.

(1-2). “Everyday Health:  Understanding Headaches.” http://www.everydayhealth.com/pain-management/headache/understanding/index.aspx

(3-4). Ikeda, Masakazu. ‘Acupuncture for Acute Conditions’. Lecture. Carrot Tower. Sangenjaya, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. July 6, 2008.

Kerri Winston, Ph.D., L.Ac., has a strong record of successfully treating headaches many other issues using acupuncture. If you would like to make an appointment with her or speak with her specifically about your case, please call Acupuncture Works at 404-949-0550 or write her at kerri@acuworks.net.