Is there scientific evidence that acupuncture works?
The answer to this question is an emphatic “YES!” there is strong scientific evidence that acupuncture works. If this is a topic that interests you, I encourage you to take ten minutes to watch this easy to understand video from my colleague Mel Hopper Koppelman, where she discusses the three types of scientific evidence that support acupuncture. Read More →
Shockingly grotesque yet amazing wonderful: the benefits of Gua Sha massage
A busy schedule, cold weather, recent stressful events, and a pillow desperately in need of replacement caused a crick in my neck that has been nagging at me for weeks. This morning I had a moment to finally take care of the problem and, in less than five minutes, I regained full range of motion and was completely free of pain using gua sha massage, which is a simple, hands-on technique that has been used in traditional Asian medicine for centuries. . The technique is painless, but it is definitely not pretty. This is what I looked... [Read more...]
Can getting your ear pierced REALLY cure migraine headaches?
A daith piercing Migraines impact the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans. They are difficult and expensive to treat and many patients are left suffering without effective treatment. So when last week the Huffington Post published an article titled Can Daith Piercings Stop Migraines? Here’s What You Need To Know About The Growing Trend a lot of people got really excited. The Huff Po article stimulated a flurry of follow up articles (including ones with optimistic titles like This Simple Piercing Has Completely Cured People’s... [Read more...]
Acupuncture for weight loss
One of the most common questions that I hear is “does acupuncture help with weight loss?” The answer is yes, but in most cases not nearly as fast and not to the extent that most people are hoping. (I do not offer ear stapling or stimulant herbal formulas. While these methods may offer quick weight loss, they do so at the risk of serious side effects.) It is very common for people to come to me for other concerns (such as back pain, allergies, or insomnia) and, after several months of treatment, report that they have lost 20... [Read more...]
One 10-minute exercise to cure texting disease (forward head posture)
by Tom Bisio (photos by Valerie Ghent), republished with the author’s permission The Texting Disease: What is Forward Head Syndrome? A few years ago I was sitting at the computer working on a book project, and my arm went numb. The numbness rapidly became a problem in the days that followed as I noticed I was getting low grade headaches, and had difficulty turning my head. It could have been a serious neurological problem, but in fact was simply due to sitting too much, with my head forward, staring at the computer, and not maintaining... [Read more...]
Acupuncture? Dry Needling? What’s the difference?
The Academy of Otolaryngology now recommends acupuncture for the treatment of allergies
Copyright 2015 Lisa Marie Price, L.Ac. Acupuncture is now a recommended treatment for allergies by the Academy of Otolaryngology. Comprised of primary care doctors, ENT’s and patients, the group reported a lot of great discussion around the growing scientific evidence that acupuncture is effective for allergy treatment. They also explored Chinese herbal remedies as part of the new guidelines but decided against it for now. The Evidence: Why acupuncture for allergies is good science The American Journal of Rhinology & Allergy recently... [Read more...]
Think acupuncture FIRST for pain management
Acupuncture added to Joint Commission standard on pain management In January 2015 the Joint Commission published a new standard of care for pain management and officially recognized acupuncture as an effective non-drug option. This change took place following an extensive review of the scientific literature and was made in light of growing awareness in the health care community of the risks of dependency, addiction and abuse of prescription pain medications. Twice as effective and safer Each week I care for dozens of patients in pain.... [Read more...]
Sandy Witliff, Waco TX
I came to Kristen as a last resort with allergies as well as problems with balance and not able to walk without pain. What she was able to accomplish was for me huge. I had not been able to take my dogs out to even throw a ball. I was able to share a picture with her of one of my dogs with a huge smile, ball in her mouth, and a big THANK YOU to Kristen. Read More →
What you must know before you try dry needling
EDITED 05/13/2015: A previous version of this article included a section titled “A few key facts about dry needling”. This section has been removed and I now encourage interested readers to consult a detailed and authoritative discussion of the same issues by the National Center for Acupuncture Safety and Integrity (NCASI) here. To this point I have not spoken out about this issue because I didn’t want to get embroiled in an ugly fight, but it has come to the point that I cannot in good conscience remain quiet about... [Read more...]
The danger of dry needling
As I wrote about here, it is my belief that so called “dry needling” is a danger to public safety. What is dry needling? Dry needling is another name for acupuncture performed by physical therapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists, athletic trainers, physician’s assistants, and other allied health professionals, typically after as little as 30 hours of training The video below is an excellent example of the very real risks associated with dry needling. The video shows a physician performing “deep dry... [Read more...]
Join me on Pinterest!
Are you on Pinterest? If so, let’s connect! There is some fantastic information on Pinterest, including lots of great recipes, self-care strategies, and info graphics that make healthy living easier and more fun. Please follow me so that you can stay up to date with everything I post there. Visit Live Oak Wellness Center’s profile on Pinterest. Follow Live Oak Wellness Center’s board About Me on Pinterest. Follow Live Oak Wellness Center’s board Acupressure on Pinterest. Follow Live Oak Wellness Center’s... [Read more...]
How to make stress your friend
I highly recommend taking the 15 minutes needed to watch this TED talk by health psychologist Kelly McGonigal. The gist of the talk is this: Stress, in and of itself, is not harmful to your health. What is harmful is the belief that stress is harmful to your health. According to McGonigal, properly understood, stress can be a source of empowerment, can exert a protective effect on our hearts and bodies, and can motivate us to make key social connections with others which make us physically and emotionally resilient. The problem is stress... [Read more...]
