James Padilla, DC

The most important relationship I seek to nurture in the treatment room is the one a patient has with their own body. We live in a culture that teaches us to override pain, defer to outside authority, and push through discomfort. Patients often arrive hoping I can “fix” them, but the truth is, we can’t do the work for them. We can offer guidance, insight and support, but healing requires their full participation.

In the U.S alone, approximately one in nine adults (11.1%) report experiencing subjective cognitive decline. A comparable percentage will go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. As researchers and clinicians seek integrative solutions outside of conventional pharmacological approaches, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) emerges as a promising, multimodal strategy in the prevention and treatment of cognitive decline.

Diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) causes chronic diarrhea and abdominal discomfort that significantly impacts quality of life. Current pharmaceutical treatments have limited efficacy. Recent research highlights the role of gut microbiota in IBS-D development and recovery. This study compared how acupuncture and moxibustion at a single acupoint perform against pharmaceutical treatment in restoring bowel function and rebalancing gut microbiota.