Acupuncture Herbs and Qi Gong

Acupuncture in Alaska

Virgil T. Miller LAc. — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 01:27:12 +0000

It has been a long couple months of transition I just moved to Palmer, Alaska from Portland, OR on the 18th of march. I finally started practicing acupuncture in Wasilla, AK last week at Mat-Su Integrative Medicine with Dr. Ty Vincent, Amy S Elder, Nurse Practitioner and staff. Going from practicing in one of the most saturated acupuncture markets to being the only licensed acupuncturist in town. I’ve had Five new patients in my first week, which is a good start. So for all of you acupuncturists debating on whether or not to leave a saturated market like Portland, OR for a more rural small town experience I would encourage you to make the move ASAP.

Acupuncture and pain!

Virgil T. Miller LAc. — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 06:01:59 +0000

Not everyone has had acupuncture, but it’s gaining a foot hold in our culture today and most people at least know someone who has. One of the most common uses for acupuncture is treating pain. I have a personal experience with acupuncture for wrist pain that led me to begin studying this mysterious medicine nine months later.

When I was nine years old I fell off my horse and broke my wrist and spent the summer in a cast. After that, every year around that same time it would flare up and hurt for about a month or so and then it would go away. Then one spring when I was finishing my undergrad degree at Bastyr University it flared up again and one of the Chinese medicine students offered to give me a few treatments. This was my first experience with acupuncture so I had no idea what to expect. I went to the treatment and told him what was going on and showed him where it hurt. Then he starts palpating the opposite foot and asking if different points were tender. Of course he found three or four in that foot and ankle, and needled them. Then he had me move my wrist around while he manipulated the needles and then let me rest for awhile. I went to two treatments and haven’t had the wrist pain since. It’s now five years later, and I’m an acupuncturist treating patients with pain and disease, using similar techniques.

How does acupuncture work? Good question! No one really knows, it just works, and if they tell you they know they know not!

Acupuncture and Chinese medicine for diabetes

Virgil T. Miller LAc. — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 23:43:02 +0000

Diabetes results from the bodies inability to regulate blood sugar as a result of dietary, lifestyle and/or genetic factors. It is broken down into type-1 diabetes and type-2 diabetes. Type-1 is the result of an auto-immune reaction where the body attacks the cells that produce the hormone insulin, which the cells of the body use to take up glucose from the blood. Type-2 diabetes results from the combination of high blood sugar, insulin resistance and insulin deficiency. Type-2 diabetes is formally known as adult onset diabetes because it was mainly found in adults and is now being found in younger populations due to increased sedentary lifestyles. It is a disease that can be easily avoided/and managed through proper diet and exercise. Both types result in poor circulation of blood due to increased concentrations of sugar crystals and/or ketone-bodies in the blood. Treatments vary between patients and it is there for recommended to get an individual assessment by a primary healthcare provider.

With diabetes becoming more prevalent in today’s society, patients need to know that there are alternative therapies that can help prevent and/or manage the disease and its negative effects on the body. In Chinese medicine you can have a whole body approach to treatment using acupuncture, herbs, diet therapy, moxibustion, massage and foot reflexology. By increasing the circulation of blood and activating the nerves acupuncture,moxibustion, massage and foot reflexology work wonders on diabetic neuropathy. With herbs and dietary therapy patients can strengthen revive their vital organs.

Happy new year 2010, The year of the Tiger!

Virgil T. Miller LAc. — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 06:45:51 +0000

Happy new year! This year is the year of the Tiger in Chinese astrology. It is a time to work hard and be
courageous. Chinese new year actually occurs on the 14th of February this year, have fun and be safe.

Qi gong

Virgil T. Miller LAc. — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 02:13:21 +0000

1000 Hands Buddha Qi Gong has been going great for the past 4-5 weeks. Seven students showed up last sunday the bigest class yet, hope to see it keep growing. For now, during the winter, we will focus on nourishing our roots, and developing our daily practice.

What to expect from acupuncture treatment

Virgil T. Miller LAc. — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 02:59:42 +0000

Acupuncture is practiced on an individual case by case basis. Treatment starts when the patient comes in the door of the clinic. Right away the practitioner may get subtle insights into their constitution and general health. This is done by simple observations of the patients presentation, like the color of their clothes, their body odor, the sound of their voice, how they’re breathing, how they walk, the brightness in their eyes, their skin tone and color etc… When they’re in the treatment room the practitioner asks carefully guided questions to get the specific details into their case. Then the patients condition is confirmed by reading their pulse and looking at their tongue. The treatment then follows what was found during observation. The points that will be needled or massaged can then be chosen based on palpation of the channels and meridians associated with the chief complaint, or the advanced intuition of the disease presentation. Acupuncturists learn to treat the same diseases with different methods and to treat different diseases with the similar methods, thereby creating a system where every patient is treated based on their individual constitution and their presentation of disease. With this in mind, any individual patient will react to treatment differently. As a general rule, if you have chronic and or acute pain or disease then the longer you have had it the longer it will take to fix it. For acute situations you can usually expect to get relief with fewer treatments, were as with chronic situations it may take several treatments over longer periods of time to find lasting relief. With that being said, there are plenty of exceptions to that rule. Sometimes two to five treatments can have lasting results with chronic conditions in which nothing else could fix.