Once I start, do I have to get acupuncture forever?
One of the biggest myths about acupuncture is that “once you start, you have to go forever.” First of all, it is entirely up to you how long you choose to continue to get treatments. Of course, like any other healthy habit, the longer you maintain it, the better your quality of life. But just to clear up some confusion, let’s look at the process of a comprehensive schedule of acupuncture care in another light. Perhaps the most apt analogy for continuing care for the meridian system is reconstructive orthodontics for your teeth. Both... [Read more...]
Are you stuck in first gear?
Imagine you are driving down the road with your gas pedal to the floor. Your car runs great and gets you to where you need to be. All is good. But then you look around and notice that everyone else is whizzing right by you. Determined to keep up with those around you, you take your car into the shop and have the mechanic give it a good once-over. The mechanic finds that while you have been getting to where you need to be, you have been doing so while driving in only one gear. In actuality, he discovers that your car has an entire set of... [Read more...]
Does it hurt?
This is the number one most common question that I get, whether I am talking to a prospective patient or if I’m chatting about what I do for a living at a cocktail party. The simple answer to this question is “no, not nearly as much as you would think”. Most first time patients are surprised and pleased to find that acupuncture treatment is a relaxing and pleasant experience. If I could have a nickel for every time a patient left their first appointment saying “if I had known it was going to be that painless and easy... [Read more...]
Kids love acupuncture!
Voa, age 3, loves acupuncture! She has nine needles in her body in this picture — they are so small that they are hard to see. Really?! Kids can get acupuncture? Yes! Acupuncture works by activating and focusing the body’s own self-healing capacity and, because children’s self-healing capacity is much stronger than that of most adults, we often see remarkably quick and dramatic treatment results in children. While many adults have physical or emotional health problems are very firmly entrenched, children often require much shorter... [Read more...]
Are we headed for a post antibiotic era?
In my last post I described a protocol for handling sinus infections without resorting to antibiotics. Over the weekend I read this article and it reminded me that it is important to spread the word far and wide — we need to stop resorting to antibiotics to treat ourselves and our children as routinely as we do today. Rather than trundling off to the doctor’s office for an amoxicillin prescription as soon as our child develops a sniffle or a fever, we need to take the common sense watch and wait approach that many public health... [Read more...]
Are you ready for the central Texas cedar season? Part 2
Click here for part one of this article. More so than other allergies, cedar allergies seem create a fertile ground for bacterial and fungal infections of the sinuses. It is very common for cedar allergy sufferers to be plagued by almost constant sinus pressure and headaches and to fall prey to at least one or two sinus infections each year, typically timed inconveniently to fall in the middle of the Thanksgiving or Christmas holidays. Your sinuses — a cozy home for bacteria and fungi Your sinuses are warm and moist and are therefore... [Read more...]
Are you ready for the central Texas cedar season? Part 1
When I moved here from Colorado ten years ago, I had never heard of cedar fever. I was accustomed to a Spring and Fall allergy season, but all the allergy sufferers that I knew in Colorado got a break from their symptoms during the winter. That is why I was surprised to meet so many people in Waco whose WORST allergy season starts around Thanksgiving and extends through January or February. And, even more so than other allergens, cedar allergies seem to lay the groundwork for some really nasty secondary infections — all the way from... [Read more...]
Live Oak Acupuncture moving to Westrock Center, Waco TX
Today is my last day of seeing patients at 305 Londonderry. I am moving to the Westrock Center on Hewitt Drive and will be open for business there on Monday November 4. I am excited about the new location, which I believe will bring all kinds of good things for my family and my patients. But moving is bittersweet because Londonderry has been such a cozy home for my practice and my family. As my kids said, “we have so many memories here!” I moved into the Londonderry office in 2006, when my twins were 10 months old and my oldest... [Read more...]
Exciting new NON-NEEDLE treatment available!
Perfect for those who are scared of needles I am excited to announce that I am now offering laser acupuncture. This non-needle treatment is perfect for babies, children, and anyone who is frightened of needles. This treatment is extremely safe and uses 450 nm (calming blue) and 635 nm (stimulating red) cold lasers to stimulate acupoints. The really cool thing about this treatment is that recent research suggests that acupuncture meridians function like optical fibers or “light pipes” and transmit light energy throughout the... [Read more...]
The Science of Acupuncture Documentary
A great and very informative documentary from the BBC. Thanks to Shae Doty-Whisenhunt for passing this onto me! Read More →
Getting more out of fewer acupuncture treatments
If you are like most people, you do not have the time or money to go to acupuncture on a weekly basis any longer than you absolutely have to. You are eager to get relief from your health concern and get on with your life! I completely understand and feel the same way when I seek acupuncture for my own health problems. People often ask me what they can do at home to support the acupuncture they are getting at my office. Here is a great article on this topic: The Five Best Complements to Acupuncture. By following the advice in this article,... [Read more...]
Auriculotherapy in the News
For the past ten years I have made frequent use of ear pellets, seeds, and tacks (also called auriculotherapy) to reinforce the effect of the acupuncture treatments I perform in my office. I have found this treatment to be of key importance in the long-term management of chronic pain in many of my patients. Auriculotherapy has been in the news a lot lately, from Penelope Cruz being photographed at a recent event with tiny gold balls on acupuncture points in her ears, to the United States Air Force developing an auriculotherapy protocol... [Read more...]
Chinese New Year — a second chance to get your new year’s resolutions right
It’s about a month into the New Year. Do you already wish you had a do-over for your New Year’s Resolutions? If so, you’re in luck. You do. February 10th is the Chinese lunar New Year. The celebration of the New Year, the Spring Festival, is China’s longest and most important holiday. Because it is based on a different calendar, it falls on a different date between January 21 and February 20 every year. You can think of Spring Festival as Christmas and New Year all rolled into one. Just like our holiday season,... [Read more...]
Kristen featured on KCEN news talking about acupuncture for migraines
kcentv.com – KCEN HD – Waco, Temple, and Killeen Read More →
When acupuncture doesn’t work
This article piggy-backs on my last post about How Many Acupuncture Treatments Will I Need? I couldn’t have summarized things any better than Mei Li has, so I will just link directly to her article — I highly recommend that you take the time to read it: When Acupuncture Doesn’t Work By the time people make it through my door, they are generally exasperated and desperate. This is because the acupuncturist isn’t the first stop for most Americans when they develop a health problem. Most new patients that I see have... [Read more...]
