2011-10-04T13:46:00.005-06:00

Doing Away With Urinary Tract Infections

UTI's account for over 8 million doctor visits in this country. 1 out of 5 women develops at least one infection in her lifetime. What is causing this?

Though men can get them, women are more prone due to the fact that the urethra is much shorter making it easier for bacteria to reach the bladder and multiply. Once this happens, you've got burning upon urination that may or may not contain trace amounts of blood, she feels heavy in the lower abdomen, there may be a fever, and she feels like she needs to use the bathroom like it's going out of style. Left untreated, a UTI can eventually turn into a kidney infection with serious complications. Often the method of treatment is trotting into the doctor's office, peeing in a cup, waiting, getting prescribed antibiotics, and welcoming the bill. Sadly, this often becoming a repeat process once it starts.

It has become, as of late a concern that many bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics. This makes treating the infections we are dealt with increasingly difficult and tricky. However, UTI's are complicated for reasons beyond this. It is not sheer drug resistance. We need to be least open to exploring notion that antibiotics may not be the best method of treatment, or at least the sole method. The bladder walls need to expand and contract as fluid levels fluctuate, like a balloon expands and deflates. This mechanism provides a wonderful opportunity for the bacteria to creep up and "hide out" in the cellular folds and crevices. So often times, the infection comes back after having seemingly been done away with after days, weeks or even months later.

Antibiotics are just not that clever or thorough enough to kill all the bacteria. However, plants, are! Think of how eclectic their growing habits can be: they can creep and crawl, thrive in full sun or shade, grow in cool or hot environments, dry deserts or the tropics. This is how they treat ailments too. Plants are clever, we don't give them enough credit. Plants can often do the job as well if not better than man made drugs in many instances. This is one of them.

More on that later, but another complication that may be all too familiar with some women is that they present all of the symptoms of the UTI, but their samples turn up negative for infection. This is usually seen after chronic use of antibiotics. These situations are now cycles and take measures beyond another course of antibiotics to break. This is also where herbal medicine can really help.

A plant's chemical chain is long and complicated. Plus, an herbal formula most often contains several herbs partnering up to combat infections. This makes it next to impossible for bacteria to resist the way they can antibiotics. Chinese herbs are extremely successful in breaking the chronic cycles of having to use antibiotics. In my clinic, I have found that acupuncture can help with the acute stages of activating the immune system, but then I send people home with their herbs. From there periodic acupuncture treatments tapering out to not having to come back can help prevent further ones. The number of acupuncture sessions needed vary by the severity of infection(s) and patient compliance involving taking the herbs and being open to modifying their diet and lifestyle. Normally people feel better in a day or two, faster than antibiotics.

Additionally, I might have a conversation with a client regarding her relationship with her partner. Often UIT's arise in sexual relationships and in Chinese medicine there is a fascinating connection between the heart (fire element) and the bladder/kidneys (a paired organ system under the Water element). There needs to be a balance between the fire and water. The kidneys relate to the sexual drive...the kidneys and bladder can often fall victim to a combative or passionate sexual relationship. If her heart is anxious or unsure in any way with her partner, (Can even be excitement! This is often even seen on honeymoons!) the heat from the heart- or fire element- burns the water element....hence the burning urination, blood and fevers....again, back to acupuncture, the points used are very much related to addressing this.

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So, recall how the article mentioned earlier that UTI's are more complicated than our Western model has us think? This doesn't mean that the treatment has to be. We just need to be open to the idea that antibiotics may not be the sole treatment approach. Explore other options for your health. We are not at the mercy of walk in clinics and antibiotics.

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2011-09-08T17:05:00.003-06:00

Todays Topic: Dry Needling

So a dear friend of mine suggested that I discuss this trendy term this morning. I think she's got a good point. It's a bit of a hot topic and quite "in" among a blend of professionals from physical therapists to chiropractors. Lets start with the basics:

What is dry needling: Dry needling is essentially what all acupuncturists do. We don't employ the use of fluids as we don't inject them or retrieve them (unless he/she does injection therapy which the state of Colorado graciously allows us to do legally, however this is not acupuncture and therefore another topic). So, our needles are solid not needing to be hollow to transport fluid, allowing them to be nice and small... and not scary. So all acupuncture is essentially by default, dry needling.

But this term is taking on a new meaning. As muscular-tendon acupuncture has proven to be quite effective and at times, veering away from meridians therefor arguably away from TCM (traditional Chinese medicine), the term dry needling has been reshaped to imply the use of a needle to blast a trigger point or insert in/around the site where the pain or inflammation is, and this can be done by a physical therapist, acupuncturist, MD, or anyone else legally allowed to have a needle in their hand. This language effectively allows them to do this without having to have the credentials of an acupuncturist. It also spares us from them butchering acupuncture as an overtly simplistic bastardization form of it reduced to sticking a needle into the hamstring because it's tight and calling it "acupuncture".

Oddly, I have had many clients come to seek acupuncture from me because the dry needling didn't work from their chiropractor or physical therapist (the most common professions I hear doing this). I think that often dry needling does work. In theory I think it should work often and easily. But why does it not work in the cases it doesn't? Esp. when it doesn't work in the PT's office, but it does in mine?

Here is what I suspect. As an acupuncturist, I understand that there is a vast selection of types of solid needles and needling techniques. A needle is not just a needle. And merely sticking a needle in the muscle knot is not how it's done. Some needles are coated, some are rough (like fish scales). The decided coating, size of needle ect. can make a huge difference. Also, considerations of muscle fibers plays an important role as well. Are you going against the fibers? With the fibers? Do you insert oblique, transverse, perpendicular? How about muscles that are stacked like many back muscles are where they overlay or cross one another? How long do these needles stay in? I am hearing that "dry needling" is a quick process, but I also think this is where it might fail to produce results. Often the real work begins when I leave the client with the needles in. Additionally, tendono-muscular acupuncture is actually going to be more extensive than the "dry needling" of another professionals, as we by default always view the body holistically, in it's entirety....for example, a client will come in with elbow pain, I "dry needle" the terres muscles to effectively eliminate the elbow pain or the glutes for knee pain, but this is where other modalities often don't think to expand outside the realm of the sight of the pain in the body.

Perhaps handily, I expect results immediately. I want my clients to either be more sore, have their soreness reduced, have better range of motion, see a reduction in swelling, redness or bruising (as in broken bones/surgery) etc., all depending on the injury. Some shift must have occurred before I am comfortable letting this client leave the office. This is where often I am grateful to be an acupuncturist as I may if necessary utilize cupping or traditional acupuncture when and where it's needed.

So the bottom line: dry needling from many professionals can be of great benefit. The masters of dry needling however may lie in the hands of the inventors of it who are most trained and most experienced in it, which would be the acupuncturists. But I might be biased. Who can say. But I do wonder....why would you seek someone else who is less trained and experienced in a particular skill?

Health Care: Eastern, Western & In Between Thoughts