SoundShoreAcupuncture

My Training  

 

My training in acupuncture at TSCA included over 2000 hours of hands on clinical work.  My experience is unique in that I have been trained in several styles, allowing me to tailor each treatment with a great deal of flexibility:

 

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM):  The root of all acupuncture styles. TCM incorporates every aspect of the functioning body and how it relates to the environment, emotions, constitution, and disease.  TCM is a complex medicine that sees the body as interrelated pathways of energy.

 

Acupuncture Physical Medicine (APM):  Developed by the founder of our school, Dr. Mark Seem. APM utilizes "myofacial trigger point release". Trigger points are little “knots” in the muscles potentially causing referred pain and dysfunction.  Trigger point release can be accomplished with acupuncture without the use of injections of steroids or numbing agents. A very small, thin acupuncture needle can be gently inserted into the center of the knot to release the tension, often giving immediate relief.

 

Cupping:  Ancient name "Jao Fa" makes use of a glass cup which attaches to the skin and creates a suction.  The cup can be held in place targeting a specific injury, or it can be moved slowly over the area of discomfort, thus creating a significant and soothing deep tissue massage which pulls the skin up rather than pushing the skin down. Blood flow increases within the vessels and capillaries, increasing much needed oxygen and nutrients to the areas of discomfort. Cupping is regularly used on athletes, but it is also used for the following conditions: Pain, arthritis, neurological pain and numbness, headaches and migraines, menstrual cramps, digestive disorders, asthma, common cold, infertility, and dysfunction of internal organs, sleep disorders and stress and depression.  

Cupping leaves temporary marks on the body which fade away within a couple of days.  

​

Gua Sha:  Instrument assisted stroking of a lubricated area of the body surface. Gua sha (as in cupping) increases the blood flow and brings oxygen to the areas of discomfort. Gua sha is soothing, brings relief to painful areas, and reduces stress. Gua sha leaves red marks on the skin which are not painful and disappear within a day or two. 

​

Auriculotherapy or “ear acupuncture”: A subset of acupuncture based on the understanding that the body's meridians are represented in the microcosm of the ear.  The needles are placed in specified points in the ear.  Auriculotherapy is most often used for pain, addiction disorders, stress, and also on surgical patients for analgesic purposes.

 

In addition, I often use techniques such as moxibustion, guasha, electrical stimulation, and tui na massage.