Zantac, the brand-name medication widely used for indigestion and heartburn, has been in the news lately, and as we've increasingly come to expect with many medications, not for a good reason. Late last year, the Food and Drug Administration found unacceptable levels of a cancer-causing compound, nitrosodimethlyamine in both Zantac and its generic equivalents (apparently drugs can have acceptable levels of cancer-causing compounds), prompting worldwide recalls and litigation.
Fortunately, a safer, natural alternative to medication has also been in the news lately: acupuncture. In fact, a new study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that 12 treatments (three per week for four weeks) helped relieve postprandial distress syndrome – a common type of chronic indigestion that includes symptoms such as postprandial fullness, upper abdominal bloating, and early satiation when eating.
Researchers compared acupuncture with sham treatments among 278 patients ages 18-65, all of whom had been diagnosed with postprandial distress syndrome. In the acupuncture group, more than 80 percent responded to treatments by the four-week mark, compared to just over 50 percent in the sham group. Nearly 30 percent reported complete elimination of their primary symptoms (27.8 percent) versus only 17.3 percent of sham group participants.
According to findings, these benefits were maintained during 12 weeks of follow-up. Researchers also stated, "[t]here were no serious adverse events" – a claim that apparently can't be made with Zantac and similar medications these days.
Source: Wang J-W, et al. Effect of acupuncture for postprandial distress syndrome: a randomized clinical trial. Ann Intern Med, 2020 May 12 (online first).
People today want convenience, whether it be from their bank, credit card, favorite retail store, or restaurant. They demand it from the companies who hold their loyalty, including their health care providers (you). They don’t want to call and possibly be put on hold, and they want to use an app or schedule an appointment on your website. Here are three reasons your practice can gain by switching to online appointment scheduling.
While there aren’t any meridians associated with fire that cross the pelvis, that doesn’t mean the lower tan tien is void of fire. Fire has a more ethereal quality to it in relationship to the pelvis and can be connected through discussion of the lower tan tien, the lower san jjao, the ming men, and the bao mai. In this article, we’ll journey through the anatomy of subtle fire in the pelvic bowl and look a bit at how it is kindled, carried and cultivated.
In 1997, the World Health Organization and the National Institutes of Health convened a multiday conference on acupuncture to evaluate its clinical utilization and mechanisms of action. The resultant document recommended acupuncture for a wide variety of clinical issues; and also recommended acupuncture be taught in medical schools and brought into mainstream medicine.Twenty-eight years later, acupuncture is far from integrated in the way that the document portends.
