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update

Hand therapy/ with laser acupressure alleviates neck discomfort and restores proper neck range of motion

Case summary:

A 33 male patient came in recently complaining of neck discomfort.  The patient is  a hockey coach and explained he was body slammed by his students during a hockey training session 1 week back. He didn’t have any initial neck issues, but upon waking up, the next morning, the patient noticed it was very hard to move his head in any direction and it felt like he had a big, heavy weight on his shoulders.  The patient has a high pain threshold tolerance and did not use any pain killers or muscle relaxants. He simply iced his neck which over the next several days did reduce inflammation and restore some range of motion to his neck.  However, he did have this persistent pain restriction that emanated from the base of his neck when he would look down and to the right.  He couldn’t touch his chin to his chest. He felt the restriction in the muscles in the back of his neck, too. Also, he expressed restriction in his left arm as he demonstrated the motion to hit a hockey puck.  He wasn’t in pain , but had more neck discomfort due to the restricted range of motion of his neck.

As the patient preferred non-drug approaches to addressing this issue, he was open to trying acupuncture to restore proper range of motion to his neck.

There are many styles of acupuncture that can be helpful in cases like this.  One style of acupuncture that had an immediate impact on improving the range of motion of his neck is KHT(Korean Hand Therapy). In KHT, the whole body can be represented on the hand as seen below.

image source: https://maryland-acupuncture.org/event-2746553

Here is how I went about to treat the patient’s neck through his hands.

1.As the patient’s was experiencing left neck discomfort, I focused on the left hand.

2. With a probe device, I proceeded to find tender areas on the middle finger of the posterior hand that corresponded to the patient’s  discomfort area. In this case, I found tender areas between the DIP (distal interphalangeal) and PIP(proximal interphalangeal) joints.  This corresponds to the neck area between the first and seventh cervical vertebra.

3. Instead of using acupuncture needles, I used a laser device to stimulate these tender spots for 1-2 minutes. I would then recheck the tenderness. If the tenderness did not decrease,  I would re-stimulate the tender spot with the laser.

4. I would then have the patient recheck his range of motion of his neck. Usually, there would be an improvement.

5. I would keep repeating this procedure until the tenderness reduced and range of motion had improved substantially.

After 15-20 minutes , the patient could touch his chin to his chest without neck discomfort.  He initially presented with ropy like muscles on the back of the left side of the neck  After this procedure, these ropy like neck muscles were non-existent.

6.While the patient had a very good response KHT, he will have to massage the tender areas. Thus, I applied some pellets to the tender areas found upon examination. The patient will massage these pellets periodically to further promote the healing effect of this procedure.

7. The patient will follow up in a week.

The patient was pleased. He was expecting that I would be applying acupuncture needles to his neck, but the healing effect was all accomplished through his hands !!

 

infertility, update

Prebiotic fiber helpful in IVF

If I asked you what are prebiotics good for, what would you say? Some of you might say , prebiotics helps to support the growth of good bacteria and reduce the growth of bad bacteria in the GI tract. This is true. Some prebiotics can also help :

  • to regulate blood sugar levels.
  • to regulate blood cholesterol levels.
  • to regulate appetite and weight.

But what about fertility? It turns out a certain prebiotic fiber called guar gum has been shown  to increase the success of IVF. In this study, researchers were able to show that fertile women had higher levels of gut bacteria called Bifidobacteria compared to infertile women and that when infertile women took a guar gum supplement, the levels of a gut bacteria Bifidobacteria, increased.  12 out of the 18 infertile women who took the guar gum supplement had a successful IVF outcome.  While further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanism by which gut bacteria supports pregnancy success, this study does highlight that the benefits of a healthy gut microbiome extend beyond the gastrointestinal system.

acupuncture point specificity, update

Scientific validation of acupuncture point St36

St36 aka stomach 36 in acupuncture lingo is the 36th point on the stomach meridian and it is approximately 4 fingers below the knee cap just lateral to the shin bone.  From TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine) theory, this point is known to “tonify qi and blood” which promotes healthy digestion functioning. Now, Qi has many definitions in TCM depending on the context. Besides referring to energy, qi also refers to oxygen and blood flow.  So, when an acupuncture point is being stimulated, this is actually increasing oxygenation and blood flow to a particular part of the body. When blood flow and oxygenation is promoted, this supports healing.   But do we have any scientific validation of the physiological effect of this acupuncture point? We can look at this study by Watanabe et all to find out.  In this study, the authors were able to show that when St36 acupuncture point was stimulated in human volunteers, this elicited increase blood flow volume to the SMA(superior messenteric artery). What is the function of SMA? This is  an artery that supplies oxygenated blood and nutrients to the small intestines and pancreas which are crucial for digestion.

So, this is a nice study that validates ancient wisdom with modern science.

anti-aging, exercise, update

How exercise slows down aging and extend your life?

What do you think when someone tells you that they are getting older?  What comes to mind for most people is:

a. being slower in movement and thought

b. being in more pain

c.  experiencing poor sleep, and energy

d. having more disease burden

As seen from the diagram below, it is true that aging can impact multiple body  systems.

As we age, the following body systems decrease in function:

a. Brain

b.Cardiovascular

c. Lung

d. Muscle

In addition,  aging tends to decrease one’s resting metabolic rate,and increase one’s body weight.

However, this does not need to be the case. People can age gracefully and have productive lives in their old years and one way we can age gracefully is to engage in regular exercise.  Why is this? As the above diagram illustrates, exercise increase functioning of the brain, heart, lung and muscles. In addition, exercises positively effects cellular hallmarks of agings. One hallmark of aging is telomere shortening. What are telomeres? They are like caps at the end of the cell. Every time a cell divides, the telomeres reduces in size. All of us will have our telomeres reduce in size, but people who age faster will lose their telomeres quicker. What is the significance of this? This can result in cells being no longer functional and at an organ level, the organ becomes dysfunctional.

So, buy engaging in regular exercise, this can prevent telomere shortening.  How is this possible? Regular exercise can decrease oxidative stress and inflammation which can increase telomere shortening. How much is regular exercise? It is recommended for men to engage in 40 minutes of exercise , five days a week and for women to engage in 30 minutes of exercise , 5 days a week.

 

erectile dysfunction, update

Natural support for Erectile dysfunction

If you have been diagnosed with ED (erectile dysfunction) and are looking for natural support options, you have come to the right place.

ED can be due to low levels of NO (nitric oxide) in the blood vessels of the penis. Actually, NO exists in all blood vessels and its purpose is to relax the blood vessels, aka vasodilation. Vasodilation in the heart blood vessels can help to manage hypertension. Vasodilation in the penis blood vessels results in erection when a man is sexually aroused. Men who have a hard time achieving and maintaining an erection are given medicines like Viagra which have the effect of increasing nitric oxide. While this drug can certainly help with ED, Viagra does have side effects such as headaches, dizziness, and feeling sick.  In addition, if a man is taking nitrates for chest pain, taking Viagra may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure.   So, what are natural options for ED?

1. CoQ10: CoQ10 is an antioxidant that helps with energy metabolism. It turns out that ED results in oxidative stress and in this study, in men with mild ED and hypertensive, CoQ10 helped  improve ED by reducing this oxidative stress.

2.. Beet powder: Beets is a food source of nitrates which can increase nitric oxide in the body. Drinking beet juice has been shown to lower blood pressure within several hours.. While beet juice has not been studied specifically for ED, in theory, supplementing with beet powder several hours before engaging in sexual activity may help improve ED.

3. Arginine supplementation: Arginine is a direct precursor to NO and in fact, studies have shown that supplementation with arginine “causes a significant improvement in sexual function in men with ED without any side effects“.

4. Clear out senescent cells from the body: Senescent cells are cells that are no longer dividing and release molecules that can lead to dysfunction in the body. In fact, senescent cells are what contribute to aging. Clearing senescent cells are crucial for any dysfunction in the body such as ED.  Animal studies have shown that senescence contributes  to ED. While senolytics (compounds that reduce senescent cells) have not been. studied specifically for ED, they may be of benefit to ED.  Methods to clear out senescent cells include:

  • Exercise: The Mayo Clinic published a study that suggests strength training with enduracnc exercise reduces senescent cells in the elderly population.
  • Fasting: Engaging in intermittent fasting can clear out sensescent cells. Ideally, abstaining from food for 3-5 days , once every several months is beneficial for health promotion. However, this type of fastng may not be achievale by most people. There is an alternative called FMD (fasting mimicking diet) which consists of eating specific foods for 5 days that mimics the physiological effects of fasting without abstaining completely from food.  This is what I recommend in my ED protocol.
  •  Senolytic supplement -Fisetin -Fisetin is a type of flavonoid that is found in strawberries. Studies have shown that it has a strong ability to clear out senescent cells.

5. Eat nut: Eating 60 grams of nuts a day (about 2 handfuls ) led to improved sexual function. In the Fertinut study, eating walnuts, hazlenuts, and almonds improved sperm qaulity but not sexual function. In another study, these same nuts were shown to improve sexual functioning when added to a western diet that is high in animal fat, with minimal fruits and vegetables.

In summry, there are several natural support options for ED. For a complete list of supplements, check out my ED protocol.

For a consultation for ED, please click here.

anti-aging, update

Is NAD+, the “fountain of youth” pill ?

The image for this blog posting shows elderly women entering a fountain on the left side and appear to be rejuvenated as they exit the fountain on the right side.  While this fountain of youth pool may be a mystical concept, there does exist a molecule in the body that may indeed help to slow down the clocks of aging. This molecule is known as NAD+ (nicotine adenine dinucleotide).

What is role of NAD+ ?

Inside cells, NAD+ plays a role in boosting mitochondrial function. The mitochondria is considered the powerhouse of the cell where ATP, an energy molecule, is made.

As seen in the diagram below, NAD+ has another role in supporting health of various body organs.

As we age, NAD+ levels fall. Boosting NAD+ through exercise, diet, and supplements, can have systemic effects:

  • Improving cognitive function
  • Supports liver fatty acid oxidation, and glucose production
  • Supports fat metabolism in adipose tissue
  • Supports healthy insulin secretion in the pancreas
  • Supports healthy immune function in lymph nodes
  • Supports insulin functioning in muscles
  • Supports healthy kidney functioning
  • Supports healthy fertility

Dosing NAD+ can vary among people.  I recommend NAD+ as part of my anti-aging protocol. If you want to take NAD+, but you don’t know how much to take, please reach out to me for a consultation.

COVID-19, cupping therapy, update

Can cupping therapy improve efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines?

An article in Acupuncture Today suggests that cupping therapy may improve the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.  Acupuncture Today bases this assumption on this research article.  According the Acupuncture Today, researched performed on animals showed that “when a DNA based COVID vaccine was administered to animals with 30 seconds of suction technique at the injection site , a technique similar to Chinese cupping, the immune response was 100 times that of the vaccine alone”.  Given this information, the article goes on to state that acupuncturists who employ cupping therapy  can play a role in improving  efficacy of COVID vaccines , and thus, “reduce COVID-related hospitilizations and deaths.”

However, is this a correct assertion? I would say the answer is no for several reasons. First, this study is done on rats. Clinical trials should be carried out to see if an immune response truly exists in humans.  Second, the study used a suction pressure of 65 kPa(kilopascal).  I don’t know of an Chinese cupping device that can deliver a specific suction power. Thus, it would be hard for acupuncturists to replicate the specific suction pressure used in the study. Third, the study used a DNA based COVID vaccine whereas the current COVID-19 vaccines are mRNA based. While “both DNA and RNA vaccines instruct cells in your body to produce a protein that induces an immune response”, there isn’t enough information to deduce that cupping therapy would increase antibody production in those people receiving  COVID-19 mRNA vaccines.

Thus, while cupping therapy has documented benefits for musculoskeletal issues, for the reasons outlined above, it is wrong to suggest that cupping therapy can increase the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.

 

Adrenal fatigue, COVID-19, Functional Medicine, update

COVID-19 booster case study: Alleviation of fatigue

If you have received your COVID-19 booster vaccine you may have experienced one or more of the following side effects:

  • pain and swelling at the injection site
  • muscle pain
  • headache
  • fever
  • chills
  • nausea
  • fatigue

Generally, these side effects last two to three days, but for one of my patients, the fatigue became unbearable to the point where it was impacting his daily functioning.  The patient received the injection during the day and by bedtime, the fatigue began to set in.  Since he was approaching the weekend, the patient figured he would  rest up over the weekend and that he would feel better by Monday. Unfortunately, the fatigue never let up. He did go to work on Monday but struggled to be productive.  Usually, the patient is boisterous and has a collaborative spirit, but on this day, he was very reserved and to himself.  Since the patient was feeling worse Tuesday morning, he took a sick day and reached out to his PCP who acknowledged that fatigue is common in COVID-19 booster vaccine recipients, but did not offer any supportive options, other than to rest. After 11 days with no improvement in energy level (energy level was 2/10), this patient, ‘John’, sought  me out for natural supportive options.

When one has fatigue, the usual suspects are low functioning thyroid and/or anemia. Upon doing a history and physical intake, it was noted that John has a history of hypothyroidism which is being well managed with Synthroid and his most recent blood work ( 2 weeks prior) showed a TSH at 1.5 mIU/L (milli-international units per liter).  Normal TSH levels are between 0.5 and 5.0 mIU/L So, I could rule out thyroid being an issue. In addition, his most recent CBC(complete blood count), showed a red blood count and hemoglobin level within the normal range and thus I could rule out anemia contributing to fatigue.

When these usual suspects ruled out, I turned my attention to the adrenal glands when the patient noted that he becomes dizzy upon standing up and that this dizziness started after receiving the COVID-19 booster vaccine. What does dizziness have to do with the adrenals?

In brief, the adrenal glands sit above the kidneys and play a role in secreting hormones and neurotransmitters  that help the body adapt to stress, and impact  blood pressure and sugar cravings. When the adrenal glands are over taxed and can’t buffer the stress, fatigue can come about.  Dizziness can also  occur for many reasons: heart, inner ear issues.  Another cause is low blood pressure that results when standing up. The technical term for this is orthostatic hypotension.   The patient has a history of low blood pressure (110/80)  when lying down.  What do you think should happen to blood pressure when one stands up? It should go up, at least by 5-10 points. This is a normal response to the fact that when one stands up, blood initially pools in your legs and since less blood is going to your head, in order for the body to maintain proper blood flow to the rest of the body, the blood pressure has to go up, and what organ or shall I say, gland is responsible for increasing blood pressure when standing up?….  It is the adrenal glands.

For John, I measured his blood pressure when he was lying down. It was 105/79. I had him stand up and after two minutes, I measured his blood pressure and this time it was 95/74.  His blood pressure dropped 10 points ! So, this was a clue that his adrenal glands were not functioning well.  It is important to note that John did not have a pathological issue with his adrenal glands. In western medicine, there is a condition called Addison’s disease. This is a pathological condition called adrenal insufficiency where the adrenal glands are not putting out hormones and neurotransmitters to regulate energy levels, blood pressure and sugar cravings.  What John had was a dysfunction with his adrenal glands.  If his adrenal gland hormones were measured, it probably wouldn’t a show a reduction in these hormones.  John was in a grey zone where his fatigue was not a pathological thryoid, adrenal or anemia issue, but he was experiencing fatigue that suggested his adrenal glands were over taxed.  The blood pressure evaluation that I did on John in two positions is an example of  a functional health evaluation. Functional health is about assessing how well a body system is working.

Based on the functional health assessment, I made natural recommendations to support John’s adrenal glands  functioning: riboflavin and patothenic acid and vitamin c.  Within two days of starting these supplement recommendations, John’s energy began to improve daily ,and when his blood pressure started to increase from a lying down to standing position, this equated with John’s energy returning back to normal 10/10.

If you are experiencing fatigue after the COVID-19 booster vaccine and you think it is related to adrenal fatigue,  check out my adrenal fatigue protocol. These are the exact nutrients that helped John get his energy back.

asthma, Functional Medicine, update

What is Functional Medicine ?

In a nutshell, functional medicine is an approach to health promotion by strengthening weakened body systems using diet, dietary supplements and/or lifestyle changes. Instead of solely treating signs and symptoms, functional medicine attempts to identify the root causes of these symptoms. This is accomplished first by identifying weakened body systems and understanding the pathophysiology as well as the nutrient deficiencies, type of diet and lifestyle that resulted in these weakened body systems.  Based on this knowledge, specific nutrients, diet and lifestyle recommendations can then be made to strengthen these weakened body systems.  In line with this approach to health promotion, functional medicine results in a more personalized form of medicine instead of a one size  fits all approach as often seen in western medicine.

To illustrate the personalization of functional medicine and identifying the root cause of chronic diseases, we can examine the functional medicine approach to asthma. Person A is an 18-year-old college male student who has been recently diagnosed with exercise -induced asthma.  His diet is high in animal products and sodium and deficient in fruits and vegetables.   Person B is also an 18-year old-college male student, but his asthma is worse due to stress and IBS-diarrhea.  From a western medicine perspective, the cause of asthma  is bronchoconstriction and the treatment of choice would be a bronchodilator. However, a functional medicine approach would yield a  different assessment and treatment recommendations.

For person A, his diet suggests that it is high in omega 6 fatty acids, and sodium and low in antioxidants, all of which can impair proper lung function, and contribute to exercise -induced asthma. Consequently, a functional medicine recommendation for person A would be to increase his omega 3 fatty acid and antioxidant supplementation while decreasing consumption of sodium rich foods.

In contrast, for person B,  stress is impacting the autonomic nervous system which may manifest in asthma and diarrhea. In addition, a person’s B diarrhea contributes to magnesium deficiency which can compound the asthma  as magnesium has a natural bronchodilator effect. Consequently, a functional medicine recommendation for Person B would be to engage in mind-body exercises to strengthen the autonomic nervous system and take a magnesium supplement to address the possible magnesium deficiency.

In summary, by taking a holistic approach to  identify the root cause of a chronic diseases, functional medicine results in a patient centered and health promoting form of health care.

diabetes, magnesium, update

What is the role of magnesium in diabetes?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word diabetes? Carbohydrate counting? Insulin? Metformin?

How about magnesium? It turns out that blood levels of magnesium has a special relationship with diabetes. Read this post to learn more about magnesium and its role with diabetes, and then answer the quiz that follows to see how much you have learned.

First, here is a brief overview of magnesium.

  • Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body.
  • Magnesium assists over 300 enzymes in the body that regulate many biochemical reactions in the body such as:
    • protein production
    • muscle and nerve function
    • blood pressure regulation.
  • Magnesium helps with making energy.
  • Magnesium contributes to bone development and regulates potassium and calcium blood levels

Now that you have a overview of magnesium, lets understand the role of magnesium in diabetes.

First , it should be known that magnesium helps to regulate blood sugar by regulating insulin secretion from the pancreas. It also helps improve insulin functioning. Thus, low serum magnesium levels (hypomagnesemia) is associated with an increase in type 2 diabetes.   This hypomagnesemia is associated with blood vessel complications of type 2 diabetes such as

  • nephropathy (blood vessels supplying blood to the kidneys are damaged)
  • retinopathy (blood vessels supplying blood to the eyes are damaged)

Low serum magnesium levels are also associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).   What aspects of magnesium account for this?

  • Low serum magnesium increases oxidative stress in the body. Oxidative stress can increase peripheral neuropathic symptoms.
  • Low serum magnesium can increase inflammation in the body which in turn can increase peripheral neuropathic symptoms.
  • Magnesium can increase inositol within the cells which supports proper nerve function.

Although all the factors that contribute to DPN are not fully known, oxidative stress, inflammation and proper inositol levels are important factors  contributing to DPN and repleting serum levels of magnesium to normal levels may help  address DPN.

In summary, maintaining normal serum magnesium levels help diabetics by:

  • regulating blood sugar
  • improving insulin secretion and functioning
  • reducing blood vessel complications of diabetes: eye and kidney damage
  • addressing factors that contribute to DPN: oxidative stress, inflammation, maintaining inositol levels

Although this post did not address type 1 DM, the conclusions drawn from this post could also be applied to type 1 diabetes.

Are you ready for the quiz?