Doctor who is passionate about acupuncture The blog is for information purpose only
Welcome to my blog

My Guest blog articles and Reviews
Guest blog articles
https://anamayahealth.blogspot.com/2018/03/dr-maggie-ju-talks-about-vulvodynia.html
Reviews and articles
Maggie Ju (2014) Current opinion in acupuncture on stroke rehabilitation
The Journal of Chinese Medicine And Acupuncture Volume 21 Issue 2 September 2014 P9
Maggie Ju. (2015) What Part Does Acupuncture Play in IVF?
The Journal of Chinese Medicine And Acupuncture Volume 22 Issue 1 March 2015 P21
Maggie Ju (2020) The Potentiality of COVID-19 Treatment with Chinese Herbal Medicine in the UK
The Journal of Chinese Medicine And Acupuncture Volume 27 Issue 2 November 2020 P9

Wednesday, 27 November 2019
Acupuncture for orofacial pain
Acupuncture releases orofacial pain effectively. This is recognised by dentists. UCLA School of Dentistry is offering a unique, evidence-based program to train dentists in the basics of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory. By combining TCM principles with Western allopathic Medicine modalities, participants will feel comfortable diagnosing and understanding the pathophysiology of both acute and chronic oral pain conditions from an integrative East-West perspective. Moreover, graduates will learn basic acupuncture treatments that can be safely delivered to patients.
If you see dentists for toothaches or facial pain, you may get acupuncture treatment.
References
https://www.bmj.com/content/361/bmj.k1517
https://www.dentistry.ucla.edu/learning/acupuncture-integrative-oral-medicine
Friday, 22 November 2019
Maternity acupuncture in the UK, what do you know about it?
The majority of acupuncturists in countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, offer maternity treatment through private clinics. In contrast, the majority of maternity acupuncture care in European countries—such as Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland—is administered by hospital midwives who take short training courses.
A recent survey from the UK shows that the most-common maternity situations encountered were: birth preparation [96.5%]; nausea & vomiting [94.2%]; and inducing labor [90.8%]. More than 50% of the practitioners were also treating lower-back and pelvic pain [88.5%], breech presentations [85.0%], threatened miscarriages [63.2%], and headaches/migraines [52.8%]. Only a minority (8 [9.1%]) attended births. A greater number of referrals were received from medical health professionals for pregnancy [65.8%] than for fertility [19.5%] or menstrual conditions [9.7%].
References
Debra Betts, Med Acupunct. 2019 Oct 1; 31(5): 274–280.
Saturday, 16 November 2019
Acupuncture can help with dental pain
References
Grillo CM J Acupunct Meridian Stud. 2014 Apr;7(2):65-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jams.2013.03.005. Epub 2013 Apr 11.
Friday, 15 November 2019
Referred pain makes acupuncture points sensitized and tender.
One group of nerve fibres conduct information about touch and another group conduct information about tissue damage or noxious stimulation via different sensory nerves. Many sensory fibres from different parts of the different area can terminate on the same set of second order neurons. The second order neurones are part of the pathway that sends sensory information to higher centres for perception. However, since there is so much convergence of sensory information from different body parts onto the same second order neurones, these second order neurones may provide ambiguous information as to the exact location of the noxious stimulus. This neural mechanism is thought to be one way whereby the higher centres of the brain can become "confused" as to the exact location of the noxious stimulus.
Another explanation of pain referral is the activating of silent or latent synaptic connections. When there is prolonged and/or intense noxious stimulation, some of these ineffective synapses may become effective connections. The information is transmitted from other parts unrelated to the source of the pain. The brain therefore can become confused as to the correct location of the pain.
Recent research has investigated correlation between referred pain distribution and acupoint sensitization in patients with intestinal diseases. In clinical research, 443 patients from 8 hospitals were recruited, including the outpatients and inpatients of Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, chronic appendicitis and other intestinal diseases. The site with tenderness on the body surface and the morphological changes of local skin were observed and recorded in the patients. Using a sensory tenderness instrument, the pain threshold at the sensitization point was measured in 60 patients with ulcerative colitis. The referred pain on the body surface in the patients with intestinal diseases was mainly located in the lower abdomen, the lumbar region and the lower legs. The diameter of tenderness region was 1.5 to 2.5 cm. Compared with the region without sensitization, the pain threshold of the sensitization point in the patients with ulcerative colitis was reduced significantly. The referred pain on the body surface in the patients with appendicitis was located in the right lower abdomen, the waist and back and the right lower limbs on the medial side. The tenderness region was 1 to 2 cm in diameter and was irregular in form. Intestinal diseases induce referred pain on the body surface where is the same as or adjacent to the location of the spinal segment corresponding to the affected intestinal section. These sensitization regions are related to the locations of acupoints.
References
Cui X et al Zhongguo Zhen Jiu 2019 Nov 12;39(11):1193-8. doi: 10.13703/j.0255-2930.2019.11.016.
Tuesday, 12 November 2019
Acupuncture for miscarriage
A study was to examine the feasibility of offering acupuncture as a therapeutic treatment for women presenting with threatened miscarriage. The result has shown that for women receiving acupuncture there was a statically significant reduction with threatened miscarriage symptoms including bleeding, cramping and back pain compared with the control. They conclude that acupuncture was a feasible intervention and reduced threatened miscarriage symptoms when compared to a touch intervention. Further research is required to further explore acupuncture use for this common complication and whether it can reduce the incidence of miscarriage.
References
Betts D et al BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016 Oct 7;16(1):298.
Friday, 1 November 2019
Suffer from depression? Acupuncture can help
Current models of depression suggest that changes in the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, dysfunction among stress hormones, and imbalance in neurotransmitters, such as noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine, may be key factors in the onset and maintenance of major depressive disorder. Results from animal experiments suggest a multitarget antidepressant effect of acupuncture, which may be related to amino acid metabolism and inflammatory pathways, especially the Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) signaling pathway, and nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells (NF-kappa B) signaling pathway. In addition, similar to antidepressant medications, acupuncture is capable of affecting the neurotransmitter levels of serotonin and noradrenaline, along with the adenylate cyclase cyclic adenosine monophosphate-protein kinase A (AC-cAMPPKA) cascade within the central nervous system.
A recent review and meta-analysis examined the effectiveness of acupuncture in major depressive disorder. This review analysed 29 studies with 2268 participants and found that acupuncture showed clinically significant reductions in the severity of depression compared to usual care. There is a link between numbers of acupuncture treatments and the reduction of depression: more treatments, the more reduction in the severity of depression.
References
Armour M et al J Clin Med. 2019 Jul 31;8(8). pii: E1140. doi: 10.3390/jcm8081140.
Acupuncture for Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Coronavirus vaccine
In the UK, there are 2 types of COVID-19 vaccine The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and The Oxford vaccine to be used once they are approved. They ...

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Can acupuncture help patients with stroke? Stroke is a serious condition which blood supply to the brain is cut off. It is the second most...
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Hemiplegia which is severer than hemiparesis is paralysis of one half of the body on the same side. Brain damage is one of the causes. The p...
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Thigh is the area between the hip and the knee. There is only single bone in the thigh called fumar, but there are a few groups of muscles i...
