Community Supported Acupuncture

"The lower doctor heals the illness; the median doctor heals the whole person; the higher doctor heals human society." - Sun Sze-Mo (a physician of the 8th cen. A.D.)

TempleBear Medicine is community oriented and strives to make natural healthcare available to a wide spectrum of incomes. I now only offer acupuncture as part of KORe Therapy. The reason I combine acupuncture with other modalities, is because the efficacy rate increases when I overlap more than one energetic system on to another. This has proven to be true in the over 30 years of experience I have had in this healing field. I am sensitive to the tough economic times we live in. With this in mind, my fee structure is on a sliding scale.
(see KORe Therapy)

What is Acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a part of an ancient (3000-5000 year old) holistic healing system from China. Today the training is called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and is taught as a 3-4 year intensive graduate program from accredited colleges. Upon completion we must sit for national medical board exams (4 parts). Then and only then will states issue us a license to practice our medicine. In some states such as California, we are licensed as "primary healthcare practitioners", just as Naturopathic physicians are here in Montana.

We are taught the five areas of Chinese Medicine: (1)Acupuncture, (2)Tui Na (medical massage and manipulation), (3) Food Therapy, (4) Qi Gong/Tai Chi (powerful therapeutic exercise programs), and (5)Herbs (although we do have the option of focusing on a wider variety of acupuncture styles, such as Japanese and Korean in place of herbs; which was the tract I followed). Acupuncture uses very thin needles inserted into designated points of the body to move Qi ( pronounced "chee", the energy force that animates our bodies and activates our physiology), either into areas of depletion( tonifying ) or to remove excessive Qi (sedation). This in turn allows our body to rebalance itself and eliminate disease and/or pain. Other Acupuncture techniques used are: Moxibution (burning an herb called mugwort on top of needles or separately to help warm and tonify cold & or clear stagnant areas of the body); Cupping (placing of glass or plastic cups on areas of the body, {after creating a vacuum under the cup} to pull toxins out through the skin or move stagnant qi or blood); and Qua sha (scraping the skin with horn or jade instruments to help move stagnant or toxic Qi).

Health Conditions We Can Address

Acupuncture is recognized by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to be effective in the treatment of a wide variety of medical problems. Here is a list of a few health concerns the acupuncture has been effective in treating:

Addiction-Alcohol,drug,smoking Anxiety Arthritis Asthma Bronchitis Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Chronic Fatigue Colitis Common Cold Constipation Dental Pain Depression Diarrhea Digestive Problems Dizziness Dysentary Emotional Problems Eye Problems

Facial palsytics Fatigue Fertility Fibromyalgia Gingivitis Headache Hiccough Incontinence Indigestion IBS Low Back Pain Menopause Menstrual Irregularities Migraine Morning Sickness Nausea Osteoarthritis Pain PMS

Pneumonia Reproductive Problems Rhinitis Sciatica Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) Shoulder Pain Sinusitis Sleep Disturbance Smoking Cessation Sore Throat Stress Tennis Elbow Tonsillitis Tooth Pain Trigeminal Neuralgia Urinary Tract Infections Vomiting Wrist Pain

 

What to Expect

Your Visits
Be sure to wear loose pants and top, so that your clothing can be rolled up to access the foot-to- knee and hand-to-elbow areas. Also make sure you have eaten a protein/carbohydrate meal, a few hours before treatment, so you won't be too light headed after the treatment. Part of our diagnosis is by observing your tongue, so do not brush or scrape it before your visit. Paperwork will take longer your first visit, so please arrive a little early.

Sensations/Reactions
Sterile (one use only) needles the size of a human hair are use in our profession. At the needle site, you may feel a dull ache, a warming sensation or an electrical impulse that may be localized or travel up or down the meridian. This means we have activated that point. These sensations are normal and should only last an instant, and as the treatment proceeds you may even forget that the needles are there! Pain that is sharp and continues is not a therapeutic sensation and means we have needled a hair follicle (an infrequent occurance). Please tell us immediately so we can remove the needle and reinsert it close by. From time to time minor bruising can occur at the needle site, however this will not affect the treatment. Your feedback is important, so please don't hesitate to communicate what your're feeling.