Whilst studying Chinese medicine I was introduced to the the idea that our bodies are in tune with nature and that we can and should adapt our behavior in response to nature. At the time this was news to me but over the years I have appreciated the wisdom of taking my cues from [...]
Everyone feels anxious sometimes but if you find yourself feeling anxious a lot of the time or are generally anxious without reason you may find it helpful to tell your doctor and enlist the help of an acupuncturist. The NIH (National Institute of Health) has supported acupuncture as a treatment for anxiety since 1997 and [...]
Blogging today – YinOva Acupuncturist and Herbalist Laurel Axen Carol. Laurel specializes in using Chinese medicine to treat female reproductive issues, a subject she currently teaches at graduate level.
Laurel says – Getting a diagnosis of a breech presentation is not fun. I have had two myself, one frank and one transverse, so I am no [...]
“It started with a few extra strands on my hair brush and before I knew it there were patches so thin you could see my scalp” Diana is a beautiful woman in her mid-thirties who was understandably devastated when her hair began to fall out. She had tried a variety of medicines [...]
This is the time of year when our YinOva Center patients ask us about jet lag. We all tend to travel more in the summer and as a result our patients are looking for safe, natural ways of limiting jet lag or desynchronosis to give it it’s proper medical name.
A long flight on a stuffy [...]
Birds do it… bees do it…. sometimes my patients feel as if the only person who isn’t doing it is them. Time and time again women confide in me that they rarely feel in the mood for sex. They miss the connection that sex gives them and feel guilty that they have let this part [...]
YinOva acupuncturist Laurel Axen Carroll blogs about acupuncture before labor.
I have had really great success treating pregnant women and helping them to go into labor “on-time”. These days not many doctors will allow their patients to carry past 41 weeks. Unfortunately, babies do not always know the time line which, leads to anxious moms [...]
How to keep low back pain from getting in the way of your summer fun.
For many years I practiced acupuncture in a hospital setting so I was interested to see this research from Duke University Medical Center that using acupuncture during surgery alongside conventional anesthesia can speed recovery and decrease discomfort for patients. You can watch a video about this ground breaking program here
Anesthesiologist Dr. T.J. Gan, prompted by [...]
We treat a lot of teenagers at the YinOva Center and it makes me so happy that they feel comfortable coming in to see us and are able to use Chinese medicine as a way of taking care of themselves. As a mother I know, first hand, that teenage girls can be sensitive and vulnerable [...]
Carpel Tunnel Syndrome refers to a collection of symptoms such as wrist pain, numb and tingling fingers and weak hands. It happens when the median nerve gets compressed because of inflammation leading to constriction in the narrow passageway between the bones and ligaments on the underside of the wrist. In my experience Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [...]
When I worked as a hospice acupuncturist I had the great privilege of being with people as they died. It was tremendously rewarding to be able to be of service to patients and their families at such an important point in their journey. I was at the beginning of my career in those days and [...]
This week I was interested to read a new study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology which showed that ear acupuncture can significantly reduce low back and pelvic pain in pregnant women. You can read the full text of the study here. This is not the first research study to look at [...]
People feel so relaxed and pain-free after acupuncture that they regularly ask me “What’s in those needles?”. The answer is NOTHING.
Acupuncture needles couldn’t be more different from the needles used to give you a shot. They are so thin you could tie them in a knot if you needed to. So why do you feel [...]
Recently I blogged about how we at The YinOva Center help couples going through IVF. Some of you emailed or called and asked if we would offer a discount for people who are scheduling an assisted reproductive technique and need to book a series of appointments. We hadn’t thought of this and are grateful [...]
Patients who have been diagnosed with unexplained infertility often find it a great relief that their seemingly random collection of symptoms make sense from a Chinese medicine perspective. They have usually undertaken a battery of tests by the time they visit us at the YinOva Center and their first question is, “If nothing is [...]
In our new book Making Babies: A Proven 3-Month Program for Maximum Fertility Dr. David and I warn women not to rush into IVF. In our experience many women who undergo costly and exhausting IVF treatments don’t actually need them. You can read more about our views in this interview we gave to the UK [...]
For most of us the New Year is a time to think about the changes we want to make in our lives. Many of us resolve to drop some bad habits or pick up some good ones. Here at The YinOva Center we hear from a lot of people who are trying to give up [...]
Although people often refer to a UTI as a bladder infection, any part of the urinary system, including the kidneys, can become infected. The most common infection, however, is in the bladder and urethra and accounts for 8.3 million doctor visits each year. A UTI is more likely to affect women than men, for [...]
As acupuncturists who specialize in women’s health, we meet plenty of women who suffer from menstrual cramps. Dysmenorrhea is the technical term for the dull throbbing abdominal pain that some women experience during their periods. It can range from a mild annoyance to the kind of severe pain that can ruin several days each month. [...]
At this time of year so many of us seem to be sniffling. The common cold is a viral infection that affects the nose and throat. There are more than 200 viruses that can cause a cold so symptoms vary a bit. It takes about 7-10 days to recover from a cold but in our [...]
Many of you have mentioned that you saw a recent article in the New York Times about acupuncture and headaches. Ten years ago the National Institutes of Health wrote that acupuncture was a promising treatment for chronic headaches but warned that more studies were needed to draw firm conclusions. Those studies have now been done [...]
Earlier this week the BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (1.) released a report that found that acupuncture can help women suffering from pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy. This is not the first research study to look at this. In fact in 2005 I was interviewed by ABC news about the same topic. [...]
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and so we have been focusing on this disease here at The YinOva Blog. Last week I wrote about breast cancer prevention and the week before I wrote about a new study that shows how helpful acupuncture can be to women who are undergoing breast cancer treatment. I thought [...]