Dr Maggie Ju Acupuncture London Chelsea, Kensington and Richmond

Neck pain is a common condition. Neck pain has a wide differential diagnosis, but most cases seen are musculoskeletal in nature. Neck muscles can be strained from poor posture. It is strongly linked to office and computer work. Most of the cases are muscular. Osteoarthritis also is a common cause of neck pain. The symptoms of neck pain include pain at the neck that is worse when you hold the head in one position for long periods of time. It is accompanied with muscle tightness and spasms, and reduced mobility of the head and neck. If the pain spread out up to the head and down to the arm, it can be associated with headaches and arm and forearm pain.  Neck pain can be classified into acute or chronic pain. Acute neck pain is pain that last for weeks to months, but the pain goes after this short period of time. Chronic neck pain is pain that last longer than 3 - 6 months.  About 50% - 85% of patients with acute neck pain will go on to develop chronic neck pain.  The causes of neck pain

What is miscarriage? A miscarriage is the spontaneous loss of a pregnancy before the 20th week. About 10 to 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage. An early miscarriage is the loss of pregnancy at ≤13 weeks’ pregnancy. About one in four pregnancies, where a woman has missed a menstrual period and has a positive pregnancy test, ends in early miscarriage. 3 or more miscarriages in a row are known as recurrent miscarriages. The impact of a miscarriage on women Miscarriage can be a physical and emotional challenge. It can have a potentially devastating psychological impact on the woman in addition to the physical effects such as bleeding and pain after all the excitement and expectation by discovering the pregnancy. It is very common to feel sad and tearful after being shocked by the tragic event. Feeling angry, jealous or guilty is also common. There are feelings of emptiness and loneliness that others cannot understand; feeling not able to cope with daily life. There is fear

Acupuncture is an effective treatment for relief from low back pain, even when compared with other interventions (sham acupuncture, usual care, or no treatment), with stronger effects observed immediately after treatment. Clinically significant reduction in pain is more reliably observed in chronic rather than acute low back pain (strength of recommendation: A, based on systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials [RCTs]). The American College of Physicians issued a clinical practice guideline recommending acupuncture as a first-line therapy for acute and chronic nonradicular low back pain along with other nondrug therapy including stretching, heat application, massage, and manual spinal manipulation. 5  The National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health considers acupuncture to be a safe treatment when done by trained acupuncturists using sterile needles. Research evidence from systematic reviews Systematic review

Skin blood flow significantly decreased with increase in age. Skin blood flow is 40% less at age 65 than at age 25. This is because skin blood flow decreases with decreased pumping blood from heart; skin blood flow significantly decreased with increase in total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure; less blood is redirected to the skin from other part of the body; blood vessel movement is impaired with aging and blood vessels are not relaxed to increase the blood flow. Acupuncture increases blood perfusion and reduces skin aging Acupuncture is used to treat many conditions in China. Its mechanism is based on meridian theory which is not accepted by Western medicine theory. Recent years researchers are trying to find how acupuncture works from a scientific aspect. Many research data suggested that acupuncture improves blood perfusion. For example, there was a study of acupuncture on 140 healthy volunteers. In this study, acupuncture was applied in LI4’ skin blood flow was measured usi

Enlarged prostate, can acupuncture help? Prostate enlargement, also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is a common condition in men. It is usually not a serious threat to health, but it does affect quality of life. If the prostate becomes enlarged, it can place pressure on the bladder and urethra. It may cause difficulty starting urination, a frequent need to urinate, and difficulty fully emptying the bladder. Current treatment options for BPH include watchful waiting, lifestyle modifications, alpha blockers, 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors, phytochemicals, and BPH-related surgery. Although most of the aforementioned therapies have various degrees of documented effectiveness in the management of BPH, the use of these interventions are limited to specific patient populations or have certain side effects that interfere with patient's quality of life Acupuncture is also used to treat BPH to improve the symptoms in china. Recent research provided evidence for the effectiveness o

Acupuncture helps implantation When an egg is fertilised by a sperm, an embryo is formed and developing. At the same time, there are also changes in the uterus to prepare the arrival of the embryo. When an embryo arrives at the uterus, it will implant into uterine wall. A successful implantation depends on the synchronous development of both the endometrium and embryo. Uterine inner lining gets thicker, uterine smooth muscles are relaxed after ovulation. There is also communication between the uterine cells and the embryo to get the best time of implantation. Delayed implantation time will lead to implantation failure or miscarriage. During the development of uterine inner lining uterine blood circulation is the key factor to get ready for implantation. After embryo implanted, the embryo initially takes nutrients and oxygen from maternal blood circulation system and removes the waste via maternal blood circulation system. Good uterine blood circulation is essential for early stage of

Acupuncture improves collagen production and resumes younger looking skin. How the skin looking, young or old depends on the nature and organization of dermal collagen and the elastic fibers network. The collagens give the mechanical strength of the skin, whereas the elastic fibers are responsible for elasticity to the skin. They give skin elasticity and provide firm skin so that skin can bounce back when stretched. The patterns of collagen organisation depend on the collagen types and other characteristics such as fiber length, fiber volume fraction and collagen molecular stretching, as well as the tilt angle of collagens determining its orientation. These change with age, becoming denser and begin to disorganise and contribute to the appearance of wrinkles and sagging skin. Both elastin and collagen production decline as people age. These two proteins can also become deteriorated by external factors over time, such as: UV exposure, smoking, pollutants in the environment, excess alcoh

Thyroid gland is located at the neck below the thyroid cartilage. It produces thyroid hormones including triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (tetraiodothyronine, T4). These hormones regulate the metabolism rate of the body and affect growth and function of other part of the body. These hormones are important to maintain normal reproductive function. It has been extensively agreed that there are significant associations between thyroid disorders and abnormalities of the reproductive system; both hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism in males and females affect reproductive function. Changes of the thyroid function can lead to infertility both in male and female. In male, hyperthyroidism is associated with low sperm count and low sperm motility. Erectile function is also affected by thyroid function. These factors may contribute to male infertility. Restore of thyroid function after treatment results in sperm count increased and sperm motility improved. Erectile function is also improved af

Diabetic neuropathy is that the nerves in the patients with diabetes were damaged which is caused by high blood sugar levels and decreased blood flow. In a high blood sugar environment nerve cells as well as repair mechanisms are more likely to be damaged. About 50% of patients with diabetes will develop nerve damage many years later after they have been diagnosed diabetes. Many nerves could be affected including cranial nerves (nerves in the skull), autonomic nerves (nerves for internal organs such as heart, stomach etc) and of course peripheral nerves (for instance, nerves for arms and legs). Symptoms may vary depending on which nerves are injured If peripheral nerves (nerves for the arms and legs) are damaged, this is called peripheral neuropathy which occurs in 50% of the diabetes 2 patients. The early sign of peripheral nerve damage is abnormal sensation such as pain and numbness often started in the toes and feet. The symptoms tingling and burning pain and numbness could be prese

 Absence of menstrual periods and acupuncture treatment Regular menstrual periods are a sign of well functioned reproductive system in women. Menstrual cycles are very important in women not only for reproduction but also for general health. If a woman’s periods are missing, this could cause infertility as well as some other health problems such as cardiovascular problems and osteoporosis. Absence of menstruation is called amenorrhea in medical field which is a condition that menstrual periods have stopped for more than three cycles. This is not rare condition and many factors affect menstruation. If your periods are missing, If your periods disappeared for some time, you need to get it checked with your doctor and you need to rule out of pregnancy and menopause depending on your age. If you are not pregnant and you don’t have periods, it is most likely that your ovary is not working. Common conditions that could cause absent periods are those affecting hypothalamus, pituitary gland, o

Women have monthly menstrual cycles which start from bleeding from the vagina for a few days. A typical cycle is 28 days and period last about 5 days. The blood is red on the heaviest days and it is pink, brown on the lighter days. There should be no vaginal bleeding between the periods. Some women have light bleeding between the periods or so-called spotting. This is considered not normal. There are many causes leading to spotting. Some of them can be serious; some of the cause of spotting cannot be found. Hormone imbalance is a common cause for spotting. Estrogen and progesterone are two hormones that regulate the menstrual cycles. If these hormones are out of balance and their levels drop causing uterine lining breaking down, spotting may occur. These two hormones are produced in ovaries, this could indicate that the ovaries are not functioning properly. Thyroid gland problem could be one of the causes. Of course, starting or stopping birth control pills can cause spotting. If you w

1 in 500 people are affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD), a condition caused by loss of nerve cells in the part of the brain. It is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s disease. These cells produce a chemical called dopamine. Because of the loss, dopamine production was reduced leading to three main symptoms of the condition, tremor, muscle stiffness and physical slow movement. Numerous nonmotor symptoms including neuropsychiatric disturbance, abnormal sensation, sleep disorders, and autonomic dysfunction are also present. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) plays an important part in the treatment of the condition. Lokk J and Nilsson M studied use of CAM in patients with Parkinson’s disease at a neurological outpatient clinic Sweden. They studied the frequency, type and factors associated with the use of CAM in all patients with PD 421 in the outpatient clinic. The patients received questionnaire. 172 men and 153 women responded the questionnaire

Motion sickness is known as travel sickness, seasickness, car sickness or air sickness. You may have dizziness, nausea and vomiting symptoms when you are travelling. In most cases, symptoms of motion sickness improve as your body adapts to the conditions causing the problem. However, some people do not adapt and have symptoms until they leave the environment that is causing them. Do you know that acupuncture can help, if you have motion sickness? There was a study on the effect of acupuncture on patients with motion sickness. In this study, sixty volunteers of motion sickness were randomized into an acupuncture group and a delayed acupuncturegroup, 30 cases in each one. In the acupuncture group, acupuncture was given at Baihui (GV 20), Sishencong (EX-HN 1), Neiguan (PC 6), Zusanli (ST 36) and Hegu (LI 4). The needles were retained for 20 min. The treatment was given twice a week and 10 treatments were required. In the delayed acupuncture group, acupuncture was postponed, meaning noacup

Restless legs syndrome is a common condition affecting nervous system. It causes an urge to move the legs and an uncomfortable sensation in the legs and sometimes arms, chest and face. It can also cause an unpleasant crawling or creeping sensation in the feet, calves and thighs. These symptoms can be mild or unbearable and are usually worse in the evening or during the night. These unpleasant sensations can often be relieved by moving or rubbing the legs. It can be difficult to sit for a long period of time. In severe cases, restless legs syndrome can be very distressing and disrupt a person's daily activities. About half of people with restless legs syndrome have some degree of lower back pain. Over 80% of people with restless legs syndrome also have a condition that is known as periodic limb movements (PLM). The symptoms of PLM are jerky or twitchy leg involuntary movements, usually at night while you are asleep. The cause of restless legs syndrome is not clear. A theory suggeste

 Anorexia nervosa with acupuncture treatment Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder and mental health condition. It is a severely debilitating psychiatric disorder characterized by relentless self-starvation with compulsive behaviour. It is associated with low rates of recovery and has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder. The neuro basis of anorexia is alteration of part of brain activity, abnormal brain circuit and reduced blood flow. From biochemical point of view, low serotonin level is present in patients with anorexia. The evidence for existing psychological and pharmacological interventions to treat anorexia nervosa is not strong. Use of complementary therapy to treat the condition could improve mental health outcomes for these patients. There was a pilot study for a further trial on acupuncture and acupressure and massage health outcomes for patients with anorexia nervosa. This study was by Smith C et al from Australia. There were 26 patients with anorexia rev

 Plantar fasciitis is the most common injury of the plantar fascia and is the most common cause of heel pain. It is associated with long standing. The main symptom is sharp heel pain which is worsen by bearing weight on the heel after long periods of rest for example after getting out of bed or after prolonged periods of sitting. After continuing walk, the pain symptoms is improved. There may be other symptoms accompanied the pain such as numbnesss, tingling, swelling or radiating pain. Acupuncture is effective to treat plantar fasciitis and realse the pain. There are some clinical evidences by recent research on this aspect. There is a study which investigated the efficacy of electro-acupuncture coupled with conventional treatments and compared it with the efficacy of conventional treatments alone in patients with chronic plantar fasciitis. Subjects in the control group received five weeks of conventional treatments, including stretching exercise, shoe modification and rescue analgesi

 There are discs sitting between the bones of the spine (the vertebrae). The inner portion of the disk can protrude through the outer ring due to injury or weakness. This is known as slipped disk, herniated, or prolapsed disk. Lumber disks are the common site to slip. This causes pain and discomfort at the low back. If the slipped disk compresses the nerves, pain and numbness may occur along the route of the nerve. The pain can happen on the back or neck depending on which disks are slipped. The pain is often beginning in the lower back and over time it spreads to other parts of the body. Sometime there is no symptom. This is because the slipped part of the disc is small which will not affect nerves or spinal cord. If sciatic nerve is affected the pain could travel from the low back, through the buttocks and down the legs to the feet. It could be also accompanied with numbness, tingling sensation in legs. Acupuncture does not send slipped the disk back, but acupuncture treatment can he