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Acupuncture

Why didn’t my doctor tell me acupuncture can help me?

Why didn’t my doctor tell me about this?

frustrated woman

When talking with newer clients, often hears them express frustration, and sometimes even outright anger, that their medical doctor didn’t tell them about _____________ (fill in the blank).

Why didn’t my doctor tell me about acupuncture and that it can help me?

Why didn’t my doctor tell me about the side effects of the medication they prescribed?

Why didn’t my doctor tell me about foods I can eat to help my condition?

Why didn’t my doctor tell me about vitamins and supplements I can take to help myself heal faster?

Why didn’t my doctor tell me to stop doing “this” as it was making my condition worse?

Why, why, why, why?!

Does this sound familiar? Have these words fallen past your very own lips, or perhaps from your loved one’s?

These really are common questions Dr Sandra hears over and over again. You are SO not alone in your frustrations.

While Dr Sandra cannot answer for certain as to “why,” there are a couple of factors that she thinks are important to consider.

woman at doctor's appointment

Time Factor

One is the time factor. The average medical doctor gets just 7 minutes to spend with each patient. 7 minutes. For simple conditions, this might be reasonable.

However, many of the people that seek out Dr Sandra’s care have chronic, complex, and complicated conditions. Her clients often relay that they have to wait for 6-9 months to even get in to be seen by their medical doctor! They definitely need more than just 7 minutes of her time 2x/year.

Unfortunately, they say it’s common to leave their appointments with many unanswered questions, being told that they can address those questions at their next appointment. Sometimes, having to wait another 6 months to even get to those questions! It’s a sad loop of frustration, overworked doctors, and under-serviced patients.

rainbow of fruit & veggie juices, holistic nutrition, health is wealth

Education

The next important factor to consider is education. What many people don’t know is that most medical doctors are not well trained in nutrition, vitamins, supplements, and diet and lifestyle influences on health.

They might briefly cover it in one class for just one day during med school. That’s it.

So, if a medical doctor has had only 3 hours of diet & nutrition education, or perhaps, let’s say they might have been in a better program and received 10 hours, that limited amount of time just isn’t enough to get into the details and confidently know what a body needs to heal using food and supplements.

If the doctor doesn’t know the information, or is not confident in the topic, it makes it pretty difficult for them to pass on the information to you, right?

Lady Justice

Liability

The third point to consider is liability. Medical doctors are responsible for their recommendations. No wise person, doctor or otherwise, would recommend something they aren’t confident in or trust, especially, especially, especially if they were going to be held accountable in a society so filled with lawsuits.

So, what can you do about this? You need more care and attention. How do you get it?

First off, let’s hopefully ease some of your frustration by sharing an analogy with you. It’s from one of Dr Sandra’s professors during her first year of medical school, and she thinks that it will really help you understand the situation.

So, here she was sitting in class when Dr Zheng drops this priceless pearl of wisdom:

“You need both Western medicine and Chinese medicine. Western medicine is like a firefighter; they're there for the emergencies. Chinese medicine is like the housekeeper; they're there to keep the house clean so you have fewer emergencies.”

Poof! Mind blown! Thanks Dr. Zheng!

This analogy has helped Dr Sandra and her clients understand and navigate the medical system and expectations with less frustration.

So, when we erroneously think that medical doctors are supposed to “rebuild our house after a fire,” we set ourselves up for frustration and disappointment.

We know, if we have a house fire, we have to hire repair people to come in and drywall, frame, paint, and possibly a myriad of other special contractors, dependent upon how much damage occurred to our house. We would not expect a firefighter to do those jobs… just like we cannot expect Western medical doctors to be our acupuncturist, holistic doctor, naturopath, chiropractor, or our diet, lifestyle, and nutrition expert.

The Western medical doctors are not drywallers, they are not painters. They put out the fire; they stop the emergency; they keep you alive. The rebuilding and repair process is done by other providers. In the Western medical realm, this might be physical therapists or cosmetic surgeons. Or…

grateful woman

for the day-to-day rebuilding, rejuvenating, and transforming your life and health, you will likely find more supportive resources using holistic medical providers - acupuncturists, chiropractors, naturopaths, Traditional East Asian Medicine doctors, too.

An Effective, Holistic Option

One of the best parts about Dr Sandra’s work is that she gets the honor of sharing this how-to-keep-the-house-cleaner wisdom with you to help you make empowered choices to enhance your health.

She invites you to step into her world and allow her to assist you to accelerate your healing. She loves what she does, and is passionate about empowering her clients to have the tools they need to live their lives to the fullest.

heartfelt offering of holistic healing

Dr Sandra can help you rebuild, restore, and rejuvenate your health to its innate vibrancy. Her healing work offers a combination of many healing modalities to get you healed as quickly, thoroughly as possible with long-lasting results.

She has specialized training in Western medical laboratory reports which enhances her Traditional East Asian medical foundation. It really is the best of both worlds and allows a greater understanding of what is going on in your body and what your unique needs are.


If you are tired of not getting your questions answered, need more time than your doctor can provide, want to be empowered to know what you can do to help yourself heal effectively, and want to live your best life:


Who is the WHO? And what do they have to say about acupuncture?

What does the WHO say about Acupuncture?

And who is the WHO anyways?

The World Health Organization (WHO) began in 1948 to direct and coordinate international health with the United Nations so all the inhabitants of the world “can live healthy, productive lives, regardless of who they are or where they live.”

They strive to work with policy makers and advisors to set governmental standards to improve the health of all world citizens to “ensure the highest attainable level of health.”

As of 2019, there are 194 (of 195) countries participating, according to their WHO Global Report on Traditional and Complementary Medicine. This is up from around 150 participating countries in 2003. 

Interestingly, of the countries that responded, 88% acknowledge use of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. (The other 12% did not reply or provide any information as to whether or not they used it.) It’s eye-opening and heart-warming that out of those that did respond, 100% acknowledge use of Traditional and Complementary Medicine there! 100%!

woman in 70s attire
 

Since 1979, acupuncture has been recommended as a benefit to health!

Yep, that’s right! It has been known worldwide since 1979 that acupuncture is a benefit to health as proven by WHO research! 

What conditions does the World Health Organization (WHO) recognize acupuncture to help?

It started back in ’79 with a list of 43 conditions. As of 2003, their latest Consensus Statement, it’s now over 100 conditions. To identify these conditions, they compiled evidence from 255 clinical research trials that were published prior to 1999 that showed acupuncture to be effective. 

Just think of how many more conditions will be added to their list when they add in the last 20+ years of research that has come out since 1999!


Below, you can find four lists from 2003 World Health Organization (WHO) that share:

1. List of conditions acupuncture was proven to help from controlled trials

2. List of conditions acupuncture has shown therapeutic effect

3. List of conditions showing therapeutic effect and acupuncture is worth trying because conventional treatment and other therapies are difficult

4. List of conditions for which acupuncture may be tried, provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment

I am also including a 5th list 1979 WHO list of what conditions acupuncture has been known to benefit and a 6th list I created that lists the pain conditions WHO recognizes.

1. WHO list of conditions acupuncture is proven to help from controlled trials:

  • Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy 

  • Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever)

  • Biliary colic

  • Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke) 

  • Dysentery, acute bacillary

  • Dysmenorrhoea, primary

  • Epigastralgia, acute (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm) 

  • Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders) 

  • Headache

  • Hypertension, essential

  • Hypotension, primary

  • Induction of labour

  • Knee pain 

  • Leukopenia

  • Low back pain 

  • Malposition of fetus, correction of 

  • Morning sickness 

  • Nausea and vomiting 

  • Neck pain 

  • Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and temporomandibular dysfunction) 

  • Periarthritis of shoulder 

  • Postoperative pain 

  • Renal colic

  • Rheumatoid arthritis 

  • Sciatica 

  • Sprain 

  • Stroke 

  • Tennis elbow

woman in pain
 
pregnant woman at doctor appointment

2. WHO list of conditions for which acupuncture has shown therapeutic effect:

  • Abdominal pain (in acute gastroenteritis or due to gastrointestinal spasm)

  • Acne vulgaris

  • Alcohol dependence and detoxification

  • Bell’s palsy

  • Bronchial asthma

  • Cancer pain

  • Cardiac neurosis

  • Cholecystitis, chronic, with acute exacerbation

  • Cholelithiasis 

  • Competition stress syndrome 

  • Craniocerebral injury, closed 

  • Diabetes mellitus, non- insulin-dependent 

  • Earache 

  • Epidemic haemorrhagic fever 

  • Epistaxis, simple (without generalized or local disease) 

  • Eye pain due to subconjunctival injection

  • Female infertility

  • Facial spasm

  • Female urethral syndrome

  • Fibromyalgia and fasciitis

  • Gastrokinetic disturbance

  • Gouty arthritis

  • Hepatitis B virus carrier status

  • Herpes zoster (human (alpha) herpesvirus 3)

  • Hyperlipaemia 

  • Hypo-ovarianism 

  • Insomnia 

  • Labour pain 

  • Lactation, deficiency 

  • Male sexual dysfunction, non-organic 

  • Ménière disease

  • Neuralgia, post-herpetic

  • Neurodermatitis

  • Obesity

  • Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence

  • Osteoarthritis

  • Pain due to endoscopic examination

  • Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans

  • Polycystic ovary syndrome (Stein-Leventhal syndrome)

  • Postextubation in children

  • Postoperative convalescence

  • Premenstrual syndrome 

  • Prostatitis, chronic

  • Pruritus 

  • Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome 

  • Raynaud syndrome, primary 

  • Recurrent lower urinary- tract infection 

  • Reflex sympathetic dystrophy 

  • Retention of urine, traumatic

  • Schizophrenia

  • Sialism, drug-induced

  • Sjögren syndrome

  • Sore throat (including tonsillitis) 

  • Spine pain, acute

  • Stiff neck

  • Temporomandibular joint dysfunction

  • Tietze syndrome

  • Tobacco dependence

  • Tourette syndrome

  • Ulcerative colitis, chronic 

  • Urolithiasis

  • Vascular dementia 

  • Whooping cough (pertussis)

 
woman with obesity
 

3. List of conditions showing therapeutic effect and acupuncture is worth trying because conventional treatment and other therapies are difficult:

  • Chloasma

  • Choroidopathy, central serous

  • Colour blindness

  • Deafness

  • Hypophrenia 

  • Irritable colon syndrome

  • Neuropathic bladder in spinal cord injury

  • Pulmonary heart disease, chronic

  • Small airway obstruction

 
woman in wheelchair

4. List of conditions for which acupuncture may be tried, provided the practitioner has special modern medical knowledge and adequate monitoring equipment:

  • Breathlessness in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

  • Coma

  • Convulsions in infants

  • Coronary heart disease (angina pectoris)

  • Diarrhoea in infants and young children

  • Encephalitis, viral, in children, late stage

  • Paralysis, progressive bulbar and pseudobulbar

 
person with IV in hand

5. 1979 List of conditions acupuncture can help:

  • Upper Respiratory Tract 

    • Acute bronchitis

    • Acute rhinitis

    • Acute sinusitis

    • Acute tonsillitis 

    • Bronchial asthma (Most effective in children and uncomplicated conditions.) 

    • Common Cold and Flu 

  • Eye Disorders

    • Acute and chronic pharyngitis

    • Acute conjunctivitis

    • Cataracts (without complications)

    • Central Retinitis 

    • Myopia (in children)

  • Mouth Disorders 

    • Gingivitis

    • Post Extraction Pain 

    • Toothache

  • Cardiovascular Disorders

    • Essential hypertension

  • GastroIntestinal Disorders

    • Acute and Chronic Colitis 

    • Acute and Chronic Gastritis 

    • Acute and Chronic Pharyngitis 

    • Acute Bacillary Dysentery 

    • Acute Duodenal Ulcer (without complications) 

    • Chronic Duodenal Ulcer (pain relief)

    • Constipation 

    • Diarrhea 

    • Gastric Hyperacidity 

    • Gastroptosis 

    • Hiccough

    • Irritable bowel and colitis

    • Paralytic Ileus 

    • Spasms of esophagus and cardia

  • Reproductive & Gynecological Conditions

    • Amenorrhea (Loss of Menstrual Period) 

    • Benign amenorrhea

    • Benign irregular menstruation

    • Dysmenorrhea (menstrual cramps) 

    • Excessive Bleeding

    • Impotence 

    • Incontinence 

    • Infertility 

    • Menopause syndrome

    • Premenstrual Syndrome 

    • Prosatatis 

    • Spotting 

  • Mental Emotional Problems 

    • Anxiety 

    • Depression 

    • Hypersomnia

    • Insomnia 

    • OCD

    • PTSD

    • Somatization disorder

    • Stress 

  • Neurologic and Musculoskeletal Disorders 

    • Arthritis

    • Back and Knee Pain 

    • Carpal Tunnel Syndrome 

    • Cervical-brachial syndrome

    • Cervicobrachial Syndrome 

    • Chronic Fatigue

    • Disc problems

    • Facial Palsy (early stage, i.e., within 3-6 months)

    • Fibromyalgia 

    • Frozen Shoulder 

    • Headache

    • Intercostal Neuralgia 

    • Low Back Pain 

    • Meniere's Disease 

    • Migraine 

    • Muscle pain, swelling, stiffness and weakness

    • Neurogenic Bladder Dysfunction

    • Nocturnal Enuresis (bedwetting)

    • Osteoarthritis

    • Pareses Following a Stroke 

    • Peripheral Neuropathies 

    • Sciatica

    • Sequelae of Poliomyelitis (early stage, i.e., within 6 months)

    • Sports Injuries and Pains 

    • Tennis Elbow

    • Traumatic injuries such as contractures, spasms, sprains, strains, and Tendonitis

    • Trigeminal Neuralgia

    • Work related injuries

  • Other Disorders

    • Appetite suppression

  • Withdrawal from street and pharmacological drugs

 
woman biting pencil
 
woman in pain
 
woman running in a race
 
elder woman

6. Pain conditions summary from the WHO list of controlled clinical trials:

  • abdominal acute gastroenteritis 

  • acute spine pain 

  • biliary colic 

  • cancer pain 

  • coronary heart disease- angina pectoris 

  • dental pain

  • dysmenorrhea

  • earache

  • endoscopic examination pain 

  • epigastralgia 

  • eye pain from subconjunctivial injection 

  • facial pain including craniomandibular disorders 

  • gastrointestinal spasm 

  • headache

  • herpes zoster

  • knee pain 

  • labor pain

  • low back pain 

  • neck pain 

  • osteoarthritis 

  • plantar fasciitis pain 

  • post herpetic neuralgia 

  • postoperative pain 

  • radicular and pseudoradicular pain 

  • renal colic 

  • rheumatoid arthritis 

  • sciatica

  • shoulder periarthritis 

  • sore throat 

  • spontaneous limb pain 

  • post stroke 

  • stiff neck 

  • strain 

  • temporomandibular joint dysfunction 

  • tennis elbow 

  • thromboangiitis obliterans pain 

 
woman in a wheelchair by river
 
woman in pain

PHEW! You made it!

Did you know that there were so many conditions that could be helped by acupuncture? Isn’t it amazing!?

If you’d like to see how you can receive the benefit of this incredible and effective medicine, go check out our Healing Programs. We’d be honored to assist you!


What can acupuncture and Traditional East Asian Medicine help?

What conditions can Acupuncture and Traditional East Asian Medicine help?

Acupuncture can benefit many conditions; it’s true!

If you’ve been wondering if acupuncture actually works and what it can best treat, this post is for you.

Here in the Western world, many people have not been exposed to acupuncture. Dr Sandra shares that she didn’t even know about it until she was 19. Her first exposure was when reading a magazine, and saw an ad for a Masters degree program in Acupuncture.

magazine with tea mug and plant in background

She paused for quite some time wondering what acupuncture could be, as obviously it was important because you could get a Masters degree in it!

It wasn’t until 7 years later, when she was 26, and already enrolled in her Traditional East Asian Medicine (TEAM) program, that she finally received an acupuncture treatment herself!

That’s right, she started acupuncture school before she ever even had an acupuncture treatment!


Often times, if someone has been exposed to acupuncture, it’s through movies or other media where the acupuncture is sensationalized and not portrayed accurately … and where the person has hundreds of needles in.

Maybe you remember memes like this that were circulating years ago:

acupuncture what society thinks i do/can do/afraid i'll do, what patients think i do, what i think i do, what i actually do

Dr Sandra can recall an old insurance commercial where a man was told to jump out of a window while he had hundreds of points in. Or another video where someone has hundreds of points in their face and says it’s cosmetic acupuncture.

These types of portrayals hurt not only the acupuncture industry but also the people watching as so many viewers don’t realize it’s not accurate or reflective of what an actual acupuncture treatment would be like. If that was what a real treatment was like, there is NO WAY Dr Sandra would receive acupuncture herself!


Since many people aren’t exposed to what an authentic acupuncture treatment looks like, it’s no wonder Dr Sandra often gets asked,

“Does acupuncture actually work? I mean really, no foolin’ actually work?”

“Is acupuncture voodoo?”

“Does acupuncture hurt?”

The short answer to these questions is, in order: YES, NO, and NOT USUALLY.


To give you an idea of just how many conditions acupuncture can benefit, see this poster Dr Sandra made:

 
List of conditions acupuncture can treat
 

Are you surprised at how many conditions acupuncture can help? Did you find a condition you are suffering from on there? Did you have a moment where you thought about a family member’s or friend’s illness and can’t wait to tell them acupuncture can help them too?

If you’re wanting to get started ASAP so we can help you recover your health, here are some helpful links:

There are SO many conditions that acupuncture can benefit and treat!


Many people first come to try acupuncture when they are desperate for relief, when they are at their last resort and have tried everything else.

You need to know that you don’t have to experience months, or years, of illness, disease, and pain before you get relief!

Acupuncture Works!


If you’d like to see what the World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes acupuncture to help, click the WHO link. If you didn’t see your condition on the poster above, perhaps you will find it in the WHO lists.

You need to know that by no means are WHO lists or the acupuncture poster Dr Sandra made a complete, comprehensive inventory of the ONLY conditions that acupuncture can treat. There are many, many, MANY more conditions that acupuncture has benefited. 

Some conditions Dr Sandra has successfully helped but are not on these lists include:

  • Childhood Developmental Delays - including crawling, walking, talking

  • Sarcoidosis

  • Cancer (more than just the symptom of pain)

  • Chemotherapy Sequella

  • Lyme’s Disease

  • Broken Bone Healing and Pain

  • Auto Accident Injuries

  • Crush Injuries

  • Worker Injuries

  • Phantom Limb Pain

  • Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome

  • Autism

  • Environmental Sensitivities

  • Empathic Sensitivities


If you are ready to go from feeling like this:

woman in pain

to this:

happy woman with arms above head in field of sunflowers
 

we would be honored to assist you in your healing journey.

You can get started by checking out our Healing Programs or by Booking A Consultation.