- Tybee Acupuncture164 Chief Justice Cushing Highway
Cohasset, MA 02025617-515-5870 
Traditional Chinese Medicine
IBS: Relief with Acupuncture
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, otherwise known as ‘spastic colon’, is a common disorder that affects the colon and causes many disruptive symptoms.
Chinese medical theory equates it to a disharmony in the body, where the energy becomes stagnant through emotions such as frustration, anger, moodiness, and being under stress. It creates tightness in the body, and this encumbers proper digestion. What can result is acid, belching, nausea, abdominal distention and bloating. Diarrhea and/or constipation can also occur, or you may just experience irregular bowel movements.
Easing stress would be the most important aspect of the treatment plan to get to the root of the issue. Acupuncture improves flow in the abdomen and eases stress.
Another common cause of IBS is food sensitivity; many of these symptoms can be managed with a simple change in diet and lifestyle. Eliminating trigger foods has been shown to help symptoms tremendously.
Heart Afire: The Fire Element
The organs in Chinese medicine are more than just a physical representation; they include not only their physiological function, but also their mental, emotional, spiritual and elemental qualities that align with nature and the seasons.
Let’s explore the heart.
The heart season is summer, and heart is considered the most yang: hot, bountiful and abundant. Yang is what is bright, moving, outward, hot and loud. Yin is what is more inward, still, dark and cooler. The color the heart is associated with is red, the climate is heat, the flavor is bitter and it’s paired organ is the small intestine (many urinary issues are due to ‘heart fire’ heat descending). The sense-organ aligned with heart is the tongue, and the tissues associated with heart are the blood and vessels. The heart sound is laughing, and the emotion is joy. The heart houses what is known as the shen, which is the mind and spirit. continue reading
Going Deeper: The Kidneys
The organs in Chinese medicine are more than just a physical representation. They are an organ system, and include not only their physiological function, but also mental, emotional, spiritual and elemental qualities that align with nature and the seasons.
Let’s explore the kidneys…
In Chinese medicine each organ has an element associated with it: liver and wood, stomach and earth, kidney and water, for example. There is also an emotion, a color and flavor associated with the organ system.The kidney element governs water and is associated with the season of winter, where the energies are turning from the hotter yang months to the cooler yin of winter. For the kidneys, the emotion is fear, the color is dark or black and the flavor is salty. It also opens to the ear, has the direction of north and is paired with the bladder. The kidney element houses willpower and manifests in the teeth and luster of the hair. continue reading
Why Am I So TIRED…And How To Fix It!
A very common complaint that we acupuncturists hear from our patients is that they constantly feel tired. Sometimes this fatigue is related to lack of sleep; sometimes, however, no amount of rest seems to alleviate the sleepiness.
From an acupuncture and Chinese Medicine perspective, there are numerous imbalances in our bodies that can cause the constant fatigue. Here are some of the most common imbalances that can lead to fatigue, lethargy, lack of energy/motivation, and tiredness. continue reading
Alternative Treatment Options For Allergies and Asthma
Do you suffer from allergies or asthma? It’s a little-known fact that these two conditions are directly linked to each other. Asthma, which affects roughly one in 12 people according to the CDC, is characterized by spasms of the small airways and inflammation. Furthermore, about 90% of children under the age of 16 with asthma have allergies, while 70% of people between the ages of 16 and 30 have allergies, and 50% of adults over the age of 40 have allergies. continue reading