acupuncture portland

Cold Truth About Ice

Someone rolls their ankle. Immediately, everyone has the same reaction; “Get some ice on it!” We, as a culture, have been icing injuries since the 1970’s, but has anyone ever stopped to ask ‘why?’ 

I did. I wrote my doctoral capstone on ice, titled ‘Ice: Misused and Over Prescribed.’ After digging into the history and evidence of icing injuries I found the following; ice is great for numbing pain, slows inflammation (which is an essential part of healing), prolongs injury and recovery, and can cause damage to tissue (though this is quite rare). This means that ice is overused and overprescribed. It should only be used to manage pain or slow biochemical decay (in instances like losing a finger with the possibility of it being reattached). Ice alone should not be used to expedite the healing process. 

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Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for Painful Periods

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Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine for Painful Periods

Painful menstruation is called dysmenorrhea, and refers the pain that occurs around the menstrual, or bleeding, phase of the cycle. There may be other associated symptoms like nausea, fatigue or diarrhea. While many people experience some cramping with their period, some have pain severe enough that it keeps them from doing their regular activities. They may rely on pain relievers and heating pads, but sometimes that is not enough. There are many possible causes for dysmenorrhea that can be explored with a gynecologist - endometriosis, adenomyosis, fibroids, cysts, hormone imbalance, heavy periods, low back injury, past or present infection, pelvic nerve compression, pelvic inflammatory disease.

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The Year of the Water Rabbit

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The Year of the Water Rabbit

We are currently transitioning into the Year of the Yin Water Rabbit according to the Chinese calendar. It’s also going to be the year 4721! As I have been enjoying reading about the coming year and learning more about my chart as well as some of yours, I am reminded that astrology can provide an interesting prompt for exploration. Many of the customs around the new year serve to give us that opportunity - to celebrate, to set goals, to consider the value of relationships and the direction of our lives. Astrology, rather than fortune-telling, is a playful mirror to explore our potential. What follows is largely summarized from Tiger’s Play Astrology. I encourage you to read more there.

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Podcast Share: Huberman Lab

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Podcast Share: Huberman Lab

I first heard about the Huberman Lab from my partner, Allen.  He had previously been listening to a doctor who claims vegetables are toxic, so I don’t always take his recommendations.  However, I was intrigued by some of the research he was citing and Andrew Huberman, PhD has some solid credentials as a Stanford-tenured neuroscientist.  

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Amber's Favorite Hikes

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Amber's Favorite Hikes

Siouxon Creek, Coyote Wall, McNeil Point! Amazing hikes await you. These are a few of Amber’s favorites.

Why a pill bleed is not a period.

Why a pill bleed is not a period.

File this under things they should have taught us in Sex Ed. It took me a long time to really understand that while on birth control pills, women do not get periods. They do not ovulate, they do not make progesterone, they do not have a cycle.

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Collaborative + Holistic Wellness Plans for Accident Injury Recovery

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Collaborative + Holistic Wellness Plans for Accident Injury Recovery

In Oregon, if you are in a car accident you have one year and/ or $10,000 to insure that your body and over all health are restored to pre-accident conditions.  Patients often start with Acupuncture or Chiropractic services for full assessment.  If needed imaging is requested. 

Fertility Acupuncture - How does it work?

Fertility Acupuncture - How does it work?

How does acupuncture enhance fertility? I am asked this question frequently. With declining fertility rates nationally, more and more people are seeking support on the path to conception, and infertility is one of the many things we treat regularly at Vitalize. Acupuncture can help in a variety of ways. While there are specific acupuncture points that “treat infertility,” like most conditions, each individual has their own set of health needs and we seek to provide treatment plans that are best suited to each specific case. In the most general terms, acupuncture has two primary functions for fertility:

  1. Acupuncture increases blood flow to reproductive organs

  2. Acupuncture calms the nervous system - decreasing stress hormones and promoting balanced reproductive hormones

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The Benefits of Cupping Therapy

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The Benefits of Cupping Therapy

Cupping therapy releases the muscles, moves lymph fluids, increases blood flow, and initiates a healing response. When there has been injury to the muscle or when a muscle becomes chronically tight from overuse, underuse, or incorrect posture, blood and lymphatic fluid does not move freely through the area. Over time this creates stagnation of these substances within the muscles and tissues. Simply put, stagnation leads to pain.

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Tips for before and after vaccination

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Tips for before and after vaccination

As vaccines become more widely available, we are seeing more of the natural medicine community weighing in with tips on how to prepare the body for vaccination and reduce side effects.

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How Do You Tell Your Story?

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How Do You Tell Your Story?

I had an important conversation with one of my acupuncture students the other day. He is a chiropractor, in practice a long time. We were discussing the emotional weight that one of his patients appeared to be carrying, and he shared

The Impact of Money in Research + How to Find Quality Acupuncture Research

The Impact of Money in Research + How to Find Quality Acupuncture Research

If you are interested in reading more about acupuncture research, a quick pubmed search will allow you to review abstracts, if not full-text, research studies by the thousands. The NIH has a division called the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine, which has a lot of information on acupuncture and traditional Chinese Medicine research. Or bring your questions to us! Research informs our practice and we love to learn.