Dr Maggie Ju Acupuncture London Chelsea, Kensington and Richmond

 Osteoarthritis is the most common joint condition and the most common form of arthritis which is progressive and degenerative. Osteoarthritis is caused by gradual loss of joint cartilage. It is the leading cause of disability and is associated with major impacts on physical function and mobility. The symptoms include loss of movement and joint pain. Diagnosis is based on radiological changes, and clinical presentation of joint pain; including tenderness, limitation of movement, joint effusion, and variable degrees of localized inflammation. Approximately 10% of men and 18% of women aged 60 years or older have symptomatic osteoarthritis worldwide.   Osteoarthritis causes joint pain and stiffness. Anyone can get osteoarthritis. There is high risk if you are in late 40s or older women; if you are overweight or have had previous joint injury or another joint condition; if you have physically demanding job which need to have repetitive movements; people with joint injury history are more l

 Acupuncture treatment for acute shingles Herpes zoster known as shingles, is caused by varicella-zoster virus which affects nerve and the skin around it. This virus is also causes chickenpox which is primary infection. It remains dormant in the dorsal root ganglion after primary infection (causing chickenpox). It affects the sensory ganglia and their area of innervation. This is one of the most painful conditions with pain and rashes in the distribution of the affected nerve. Antiviral drugs are used to limit the damage of the nerve by the virus. Corticosteroids may be used to reduce inflammation. Various painkillers are used to reduce pain. Ursini et al from Pescara General Hospital in Italy studied acupuncture for the treatment of severe acute pain in shingles using randomized trial. They compared the efficacy of acupuncture in controlling intense or very intense pain in patients with shingles with standard pharmacological treatments. The treatments were given for 4 weeks for either

 Acupuncture helps improving foot drop Foot drop, sometimes called drop foot is a muscular weakness or paralysis that makes it difficult to lift the front part of your foot and toes. This causes the toes to drag along the ground while walking. To avoid dragging the toes, people with foot drop may lift their knee higher than normal. Or they may swing their leg in a wide arc. Foot drop can happen to one foot or both feet at the same time. Foot drop is a symptom rather than a condition. The causes could be muscle disorders, nerve damage in the leg, or brain and/or spinal injury. Muscles disorders including muscular dystrophy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and polio cause the muscles to progressively weaken causing foot drop. Some conditions including sports injuries, diabetes, spending long hours sitting cross-legged or squatting, hip or knee replacement surgery, childbirth etc could cause peroneal nerve damage or compressed causing foot drop. Brain or spinal disorders including stroke, m

The role of fallopian tube is in reproduction The fallopian tube is a part of the women’s reproductive system. It plays an essential role in gamete transport, fertilization and the early development of the embryo. The tube contains inner lining and smooth muscle wall. In the inner lining there are two major cell types are the ciliated and secretory cells. The fallopian tube goes through cyclical changes responding to estrogen and progesterone levels. The ciliated cells are low in height during the menstrual periods of the cycle, increasing during the follicular phase to reach their maximal height in the periovulatory period. Around the time of ovulation, the secretory cells reach peak activity. In the luteal phase, both cell types reduce in height. When an egg is release, it takes about 8 hours to reach the site within fallopian tube where fertilization occurs and embryo is accommodated there for 72 hours. Once progesterone dominance begins lumen opens and the embryo is transported to

What is meridian? Meridians are like vessels forming a network and connecting skin and muscles to internal organs such as heart, liver etc to make energy and blood flowing freely and maintain balance in the body. How many meridians are there? There are 12 regular meridians which are the main passageways for energy and blood, six of which are foot meridians and another six are hand meridians. Foot meridians either start on the foot or end on the foot and hand meridians either start on the hand or end on the hand. These 12 meridinas connect to internal organs and are running bilaterally in the body. Apart from 12 regular meridians there are eight extra meridians which are not as regular and do not connect to internal organs directly. Name of twelve regular meridians Taiyin Lung Meridian of Hand or Hand's Major Yin Lung Meridian Shaoyin Heart Meridian of Hand or Hand's Minor Yin Heart Meridian Jueyin Pericardium Meridian of Hand or Hand's Absolute Yin Heart Protect

Drowsiness refers to feeling abnormally sleepy during the day. People who are drowsy may fall asleep in inappropriate situations or at inappropriate times. Many conditions can cause drowsiness, such as, chronic pain, diabetes, insomnia sleep apnea underactive thyroid, depression, anxiety etc. Life style such as night shifts, not sleep long enough, alcohol abuse and stress etc can also cause drowsiness. Idiopathic hypersomnia (unexplained daytime sleepiness) is a condition in which excessive sleep or sleepiness interferes with everyday life. There is no underlying cause found. People with this condition are sleepy throughout the day, despite sleeping for a very long time at night. They are struggling to stay awake during the day and are usually compelled to take frequent long naps. The excessive sleepiness may have a negative impact on the person's work, relationships and social life, and they may also have anxiety, depression, fatigue mood changes think or speak slowly poor memor

Acupuncture points, do you know anything about them? When you want to have acupuncture treatment, you see an acupuncturist. Your acupuncturist will put needles into your skin. However the treatment is not just put needles anywhere in your skin. The points for needling chosen are important to achieve best treatment results. There are 365 essential acupuncture points in the body and many more. Which acupuncture points to choose and right for your? Many people heard of tongue and pulse diagnosis. Do you know acupuncture points can contribute to the diagnosis and treatment? Acupuncture point is the essential factor in acupuncture diagnosis and treatment. There are pathological changes of the corresponding acupuncture points for particular conditions. For example, Diji (SP 8) is the most important and commonly used point for the treatment of dysmenorrhea. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), SP 8 is the Xi-cleft point of the Spleen meridian of Foot Taiyin, where th

Acupuncture regulates hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis and helps hormone balance.  The female reproductive system is controlled by the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. This feedback loop begins with gonadotrophin-releasing hormone being released from the hypothalamus, resulting in the secretion of the gonadotrophins (LH and FSH) from the anterior pituitary, which in turn controls estrogen and progesterone production in the ovaries. Estrogen and progesterone play a central role in female fertility by stimulating growth, differentiation and maturation of follicles, preparing the endometrium for implantation and maintaining embryonic development. Altered levels of hormones and other factors that are involved in maintaining control of the HPO axis can have negative effects on fertility and pregnancy Acupuncture promotes the release of beta-endorphin in the brain, which regulates gonadatrophin releasing hormone from the hypothalamus, follicle stimulating hormone from the pi

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disorder and it is a chronic condition featuring recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort associated with disturbed bowel function and bloating. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): is a common chronic functional bowel disorder. The symptoms include chronic abdominal pain, which is often associated with diarrhoea, constipation or bloating. Bowel habit is changed often with increased passing stool frequency and passage of mucus. IBS affects about 20% adult population globally and their quality of life is affected. The exact causes of IBS are not clear. The possible causes include intestinal motility and intestinal smooth muscle functional disturbance, visceral paresthesia, alterations in the brain-gut axis, psychological factors, gastrointestinal hormones and intestinal infection. Some evidences suggested that neurohormonal and immune responses to physiological stimulation or psychological stress etc are possible risk factors. Thi

What is ectopic pregnancy? Ectopic pregnancy is that the fertilized egg implanted outside of the uterus. The commonest site is in the fallopian tube. The egg will not develop a baby, but it is threatening condition for the pregnant women. Ectopic pregnancy occurs in 1% pregnancy. The risk factors include pervious pelvic inflammatory disease, infertility, tubal surgery, intrauterine contraceptive device and previous ectopic. Patient has positive urinary pregnancy test. Patient presents lower abdominal pain and slight vaginal bleeding. Ultrasound shows empty uterus and may identify ectopic embryo. If the egg dies before it can grow larger, the pregnancy terminates and the tissue is absorbed in the woman’s body. In this case, the pregnancy test becomes negative. If the pregnancy is left to grow, there is a risk that the fertilized egg grows larger and causes the tube to rupture which can cause life threatening internal bleeding. The signs of tube rupture are sudden severe sharp abdominal

Dementia is due to damage of the brain caused by many diseases. The symptoms of dementia are memory loss, communication problem, behaviour changing and having difficulty of everyday life. For example, you may forget what you said earlier in the day or where you put things etc. You may be having difficulty to recognise persons you are familiar with or unable to find familiar places etc. You may find it difficult to communicate with others and feel depressed etc. The symptoms might be different depending on individual, but generally the symptoms are getting worse over time. Dementia is due to damage of brain, which is caused by many diseases. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a most common form of dementia, which accounted for 70% of dementia. Alzheimer’s disease is degenerative which is caused by losing brain cells in the cerebral cortex and some other regions of the brain. This loss leads to shrink of the affected regions causing the symptoms mentioned above. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)

Obesity increasingly affects people’s health. It is well studied and extensively agreed that obesity has negative impact on fertility. Women with obesity are three times more likely to suffer from infertility than women with body normal weight. The impaired fertility has been seen in obese women naturally and obese women with assisted conception. Obesity reduced fertility by affecting ovulation, egg development, embryo development, endometrial development implantation and pregnancy loss. Obesity affects ovulation and period cycles. Obesity has effect on hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian axis which is important in regulation of sexual hormone production. If this axis is disturbed, normal hormone production is impaired leading to abnormal period cycle and anovulation. This causes infertility. Women with obesity respond poorly to ovulation induction. Weight loss only could restore normal period cycle and ovulation; it increased response to ovulation induction. Obesity affects egg quality and

If you go to see different acupuncturists, you would probably notice that different acupuncturists do acupuncture differently. Many different styles of acupuncture practice exist. Acupuncture is so individualized and there are no standard protocols on the optimal acupuncture treatment for any particular condition. If you saw different acupuncturists for the same conditions, you would end up with different treatments and some require more treatments than others. Birkeflet O et al did a research about the agreement of acupuncture diagnosis and treatment in 30 infertile and 24 previously pregnant women. These women were examined for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) patterns by two acupuncturists who would independently decide on the TCM patterns and the prescription of acupuncture points. They found that 39 different TCM patterns and 36 different acupuncture points were used. Poor to no agreement was found for the choice of acupuncture points. On one hand this makes acupuncture unique;

Acupuncture is originated from China thousands years ago and has been used since. It is now more popular than ever in all over the world. However mechanisms of acupuncture on the central nervous system (CNS) still remain unclear. New techniques are invented to study brain including Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), Electroencephalography (EEG), and Evoked Potentials (EP). fMRI can used to measure the brain's neuronal activity and the resulting regional changes in metabolism and circulation.PET can be used to measure the brain's regional blood flow, oxygen, or glucose metabolism and reflect the activity in the according brain region. EEG is used to measure brain activity. EP measurement reflects the number of cortical cells activated and the intensity of the stimulus. These techniques are applied to acupuncture research. Using these technologies, researchers are able to examine the acupuncture process in the brain noninvasively and

Dermal fillers or injectable fillers are soft tissue fillers which can be injected into the skin to help fill in facial wrinkles and restore a smoother appearance. Most of the fillers are temporary because they are eventually absorbed by the body. The effect lasts for about six months or longer. There are many different types of fillers; some are natural and some are synthetic, but they all work in similar way to improve the appearance of skin aging. They fill in wrinkles including fine lines and deep creases on the face or lips. plump up the cheeks and contour the face such as jaw line. Common side effects of dermal filler procedure include bruising, redness, pain or itching. Less common side effects include infections or allergic reactions, which may cause scarring and lumps that may require surgical correction. Serious side effects include such as blindness due to retrograde embolization into the ophthalmic and retinal arteries; delayed skin necrosis as a complication of embolizatio

When we say fat, one might instantly think of obesity. What is fat? Fat is one of the basic components that make up the structure of the body. It is necessary for normal, healthy body functioning. Body fat can be divided into two types: essential fat and storage fat. Essential fat is necessary for normal, healthy functioning. In men, essential fat is approximately 3% of body weight, while in women it is about 12%. This also depends on age. With increased age, the essential body fat increased. Storage fat is the fat increased when you gain weight and this is the fat that you want to lose when you lose weight. Most of people know that too much fat is not healthy. Too much fat increases your risk for developing heart disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, certain cancers and for an early death increases. Do you know too little fat is not healthy either. If a man’s body fat is too low, his health may be compromised and he may become more vulnerable to il

A tension headache is the most common type of primary headache accounting for about 90% of all headaches. It tends to start from the back of the head and moves forward to the top of the head. The exact causes are not clear. It is often linked to sensitivity to pain, stress and tension. It can be triggered by stress, anxiety, fatigue; and/or holding your head at one position for a long time, such as working on computer all day. The pain is bilateral and the head is like being squeezed or stabbed and the eyes are strained; The pain could be dull and feels like a band surrounding your head. Pain may involve the back part of the head or neck. A tension headache can be episodic lasting for days or become chronic. It can be debilitating, impacting our quality of life, lifestyle, mood and daily activities. Do you know acupuncture can release tension headache effectively? Here is some research evidence for it. More recently Granato et al analysed the current data about the effectiveness of ac

Piriformis syndrome is an uncommon neuromuscular disorder. In this condition the sciatic nerve is compressed by piriformis muscle which is a flat, band-like muscle located in the buttocks near the top of the hip joint. This muscle is important in lower body movement and it is used in almost every motion of the hips and legs. Through the piriformis muscle sciatic nerve passes and goes down the back of the thigh and leg. The spasm of the piriformis muscle can compress the nerve to cause some symptoms which include pain, tingling, or numbness in the buttocks. The pain can be sever and spread down to the leg and foot. The pain can be triggered by sitting for long periods of time, climbing stairs and running. Management of piriformis syndrome include avoiding positions that trigger pain. Rest, ice and heat may help reduce symptoms. Exercises and stretches may help reduce sciatic nerve compression reducing symptoms. Pain killers, muscle relaxants or local injection with corticosteroid or ane

Short luteal phase with infertility and miscarriage? acupuncture can help Women’s period cycle is divided into two phases: follicular phases when follicles develop and mature. The time for eggs to mature and release may vary between different women and same woman in different period cycle. This is the reason why period cycles vary to a great extent. When one of the eggs becomes mature, it is released from the ovary. As soon as egg is released, luteal phase began. Dwon KA and Gibson M studied body basal temperatures (BBT) charts and the luteal phase defect from three menstrual cycles of 20 normal women and 20 women with luteal phase defect. They found that luteal phase length in the normal women was 13.4 days and that of the women with luteal phase defect was 11.8 days. 30% of the women with luteal phase defect had luteal phases with less than 11 days and 5 of these women had severely endometrial problems. None of the normal women had luteal phase less than 11 days. Luteal phase does no

When women reach age 45, their ovaries may stop functioning. There is no egg supply and no ovulation. Hormone levels are changing. This is so called menopause. The signal for arrived menopause is stopped period which indicates the end of fertile life in a woman. This is a stage that every woman has to go through. For some women, their ovaries stop working before 40 years old. This is called premature ovarian failure (POF), or primary ovarian insufficiency (POI), or premature menopause or hypergonadotropic hypogonadism. POF is the result of premature exhaustion of the follicle pool or follicular dysfunction, such as due to mutations in the follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) receptor. This is a common condition, affecting 1-2% women younger than 40 years of age and 0.1% of women younger than 30 years of age. The cause for POF could be genetic, because there is family history found in 10-20% women with POF. It also could be due to poor ovarian blood supply. Autoimmune damage could contrib

Facial acupuncture rejuvenates the skin, this is not imagining, there is research evidence for it. How do you know your skin is aging? The skin is the largest organ wrapping around the body protecting us from harsh environment such as sun, wind, pollution and toxins The skin changes with aging. In harsh environment, skin itself can be damaged and age quickly. Also sometimes we don’t look after the skin causing skin damage by doing things like smoking, drinking, poor diet and stress which would accelerate skin aging. How the skin changes with aging? With aging the skin becomes rougher; becomes slack due to loss of elastin and collagen in the skin; becomes more transparent and fragile because of thinning of the surface layer of the skin; becomes easily bruised due to thinning of the blood vessel walls. Sun exposure accelerates skin aging. UV lights damage elastin and collagen in the skin causing the skin sagging and losing elasticity. Saying out of the sun can prevent skin damage and de

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 in the thigh. Anterior group include pectineus, satorius and quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus intermedius and vastus lateralis. Posterior group includes hamstring muscles (semimembranosus, semitendinosus and beceps femoris. Medial group include adductor magnus, adductor longus and adductor brevis and gracilis. The lateral is tensor fasciae which continues with iliotibial tract. The iliotibial tract, also known as the iliotibial band, is a thick strip of connective tissue connecting several muscles in the lateral thigh. It arises at its proximal end from the tendons of the tensor fasciae latae and gluteus maximus muscles and then travels along the lateral side of the thigh and across the knee joint, inserting on the lateral epicondyle of the tibia Thigh pain Thigh pain is a very common complaint. It presents constant aching, or th