Dr. Alyssa Risi holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Acupuncture from Tri State College of Acupuncture in New York City. and completed a transitional post-grad program to earn her Doctorate of Traditional Chinese Medicine in April 2023 through 5 Branches University. She is certified in Clean Needle Technique (CNT) and trained in three different styles of acupuncture: TCM, Kiiko Matsumoto Japanese Style Acupuncture (KM), and Acupuncture Physical Medicine (APM - “dry needling” / trigger point). She is also educated in various non-needling techniques that are either incorporated into treatment sessions or that can be used in place of needles completely, such as cupping, gua sha and tuina.
Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS) affects more than 15% of the U.S. population but evades most practitioners’ radar. Just five years ago, it wasn’t even on my radar, despite already having 20 years of experience as a clinician at that time. The more I dug (similar to leaky gut and post-COVID syndrome), the more I found my patients were suffering from this disorder.
Research supports the effectiveness of selecting the distal acupuncture points for the treatment of microtrauma and for relieving pain, particularly in cases of chronic shoulder pain. But to make the treatment results long-lasting, clinical experience and research suggest that instead of treating the most painful structure first, we identify the inhibited driver, restore reliable recruitment, confirm it with immediate re-testing, and only then address the painful area as a branch of a deeper pattern.
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The motivation behind our practice of medicine is important, impacting not just our experience but also the experiences of those we treat. It is perhaps for this reason that the aspiration to help not just some, but all beings heal, has historically been an important part of the medical tradition. To explain this, we need to consider how medicine is interwoven with other social domains.