General Health
Pain
Acupuncture can help with many different types of pain
- Acute and chronic musculoskeletal pain/sports injury
- back, neck, shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle etc
- back, neck, shoulder, elbow, knee, ankle etc
- Migraines/headaches
- Menstrual cramps
- Abdominal pain
- Post surgical pain
I think Julie is excellent at what she does. She’s very invested in working with me to resolve this issue and I find her to be a very knowledgeable resource. I thought of acupuncture as a non-essential treatment option. However, once I started getting results, it became my most essential tool for recovering a frozen shoulder without any medications. Over the course of 2-3 months, the range of motion in my shoulder has improved considerably. I could see improvement with every treatment. My Dr. recommended it [acupuncture] and I was running out of non-medicinal treatment options. I felt so energized after every treatment. I noticed improvements in my digestion and sleep as well. My expectations were not high. I just started the treatments with an open mind and decided I would continue them if they worked and stop them if they didn’t. The most significant change was a gradual restoration to the range of motion in my shoulder. After the first treatment, I think it improved by about 30% each visit. I am now lifting weights again and this was an activity that I had to previously put on hold due to limited range of motion in my shoulder. I can also sleep pain free and in positions that I like.
A new study of acupuncture — the most rigorous and detailed analysis of the treatment to date — found that it can ease migraines and arthritis and other forms of chronic pain.
Financed by the National Institutes of Health and carried out over about half a decade, the new research was a detailed analysis of earlier research that involved data on nearly 18,000 patients.
The researchers, who published their results in Archives of Internal Medicine, found that acupuncture outperformed sham treatments and standard care when used by people suffering from osteoarthritis, migraines and chronic back, neck and shoulder pain. Read More…
Digestion
Digestive conditions treated by acupuncture and Chinese medicine
- IBS
- IBD
- Chronic constipation
- Gastritis
- Crohn’s
- Ulcerative Colitis
- GERD/reflux
A Study from the Guangxi college of Traditional Chinese Medicine concluded that acupuncture was effective in the treatment of chronic gastritis, resulting in a 95% effective rate. J. Traditional Chinese Medicine, 2003 Ded.;23(4):278-79
Acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome provided an additional benefit over usual care alone. The magnitude of the effect was sustained over the longer term.
Acupuncture should be considered as a treatment option to be offered in primary care alongside other evidenced based treatments. Read more….
Stress
My acupuncture experience with Julie Allison was beyond my expectation. Her space is clean, quiet, relaxing and professional. Julie did a wonderful job explaining the treatment to me before and during, so nothing came as a surprise. I highly recommend Julie Allison’s acupuncture services!
In the short term, stress helps you cope with tough situations. However, chronic stress has debilitating effects on many systems in the body, for example:
- Central Nervous system
- anxiety and depression
- Endocrine
- hormone imbalance, mood swings
- Cardiovascular
- heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke
- Respiratory
- Shortness of breath, more frequent asthma attacks
- Musculoskeletal
- muscle tension leading to sprains/strains, tension headaches
- Immune system
- more frequent illnesses, autoimmune disease
In the treatment of insomnia, acupuncture yields significant results with a total effective rate of 90.44%. It also improves the quality of sleep and overcomes complications induced by sleep medication. Sok, SR, et. al., The effects of acupuncture therapy on insomnia. J. Adv Nurs., 2003 Nov;44(4):375-84.
Sleep
- Acupuncture is commonly used in treating insomnia in China
- Clinical studies have shown that acupuncture may have a beneficial effect on insomnia compared with Western medication.
- Lack of sleep causes the body to over produce “stress hormones” such as adrenaline and cortisol, which can cause anxiety and nervousness.
- Increased levels of Cortisol due to chronic stress is also linked to high blood pressure, suppressed immune system and weight gain.
Mood
Studies have shown that subjects receiving acupuncture for major depression significantly improved by a greater margin than those not receiving treatment.
Another study suggests that electro-acupuncture can produce the same therapeutic results as tetracyclic drugs, but with fewer side effects and better symptomatic improvement.
It’s estimated that 20% of the population suffer from depression at some point in their lives, and an even greater number experience anxiety due to stress and other factors.
Acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help with many different forms of mood disorders
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Panic attacks
- Eating disorders
Patient Testimonials
See what my Charleston/West Ashley patients have to say about their experience.
I have gone to many acupuncturists over many years and I found Julie to be excellent. She was exceptionally knowledgeable,caring, and effective in her treatment as well as her prescription of herbs. She was able to loosen and clear a deep rooted chest infection sparing me from taking antibiotics and steroids. I would absolutely recommend Julie Allison!