Right before we closed due to Covid-19, we were lucky enough to welcome aboard a new acupuncturist in Chapel Hill that brings with him an impressive array of professional skills as well as being an absolutely charming and caring person.  Jude Roman has over 23 years of experience working as a licensed acupuncturist and physical therapist.  His most recent work experience came as an outpatient physical therapist and acupuncturist with the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Kernersville, NC where he treated a wide variety of conditions including chronic and acute pain, vestibular and balance disorders and postsurgical patients. You can get to know more by reading the interview below.  We can’t wait for you to meet Jude and take advantage of his knowledge and experience. 

You started your professional career as a Physical Therapist. What drew you to the field of acupuncture? 

In my last year of school for physical therapy, I came down with the flu. A few weeks later, I was visiting a friend in Oregon but still felt run down and fatigued. My friend suggested that I visit a nearby acupuncture school that offered free treatments. This was my first experience with acupuncture and it had a profound effect on the way I felt physically and left me intrigued. At the time, I had a fairly solid understanding of the western view of medicine and how the body functioned but I could not figure out how or why acupuncture worked. I was amazed so I decided I needed to study acupuncture. 

How do you use acupuncture in your practice and is your current treatment style a blend of PT and acupuncture? 

I’ve practiced acupuncture for almost twenty years and have learned to incorporate several styles of acupuncture when treating patients. I consider the unique needs of each patient and apply the techniques that will help achieve the patient’s goals for their health and wellbeing. Simultaneously, I draw on my experience and training as a physical therapist to expand my therapeutic approach. 

Acupuncture works well to restore proper flow in the body and physical therapy builds strength and stability. The analogy I often use is that your body is like farmland. Acupuncture improves the body’s energy and flow and physical therapy helps you cultivate it. Acupuncture helps nourish the land by regulating the flow or stream to your farmland and physical therapy and exercise is like plowing, planting, and weeding. 

What health conditions do you enjoy treating and find most responsive to your style?

My initial goal is to help my patients feel better and find relief in the moment so that over time, we can work on improving their overall health. While this approach works well with many different health conditions I do have a lot of experience treating pain and various orthopaedic conditions which are especially responsive to the combination of acupuncture and physical therapy. 

You also have advanced training in herbal medicine and enjoy this branch of Chinese Medicine. How do you find herbal medicine to be most helpful to patients?


Herbal medicine is an important adjunct to acupuncture. I find herbs can extend and maintain the effects of acupuncture over time which many patients find helpful for chronic or recurring conditions. Other times, treating acute conditions such as colds and flus with herbs can be very effective. 

What are your other interests outside of work? 

I like to practice Tai chi and play tennis with my family. I spend a lot of time working in my yard and though I wouldn’t say I like it, I am now pretty good at painting the inside of my house. Three rooms completed so far since Covid19 and two to go...for now. 

Most of us have a little extra time on our hands without commuting or running errands every day. We also have a bit of extra stress and worry throughout these long quarantine days.  So – what do we do to take advantage of the extra time and make it productive for reducing stress?  Here are 3 of my favorites that I do at least every day, sometimes all three in one day if I need it!

Yoga With Adriene

A treasure on YouTube, Yoga with Adriene is an amazing resource for free at-home yoga.  Adriene has been making these free videos for many years and you can’t believe all of the content she offers.  Her yoga is for all levels, all bodies and she makes it enjoyable with her fun-loving personality.  You will breathe deep and you will probably giggle a couple times too. 

Insight Timer

Insight Timer is one of the best free meditation apps you can download from the app store onto your phone with no regrets. Calm your subconscious worry-brain with easy guided meditations.  These don’t require any “trying to meditate” efforts, you just get comfortable and listen.  They have added a bunch of topical stress meditations to listen to right now.  So many options to choose from, ranging from 5 minutes to an hour. Easiest way to reclaim your breath and feel restored. 

Qi Gong with Lee Holden

A friend and fellow classmate from our graduate school program in Acupuncture, Lee Holden has been teaching qi gong for more than 25 years. His style of qi gong blends exercise with relaxing, fun, contemporary and effective qi gong movements. Suitable for all ages, it is a fun thing to do with kids that instills some calm and body-awareness.  You will be glad you tried this and will likely become a Lee Holden fan for life!  He released a Free Immunity Emergency Kit that you can find at www.holdenqigong.com.  You can also find Lee Holden on YouTube and try some of his exercises there.    

We’d love to here what you are doing to stay well during these long few weeks!  Feel free to respond to this post and share with our group. Thank you and in Health and Wellness, 

Katherine

Anxiety is running high right now with the fear of getting sick from coronavirus.  The best way to deal with this worry is to have a plan and stick to it.  We wanted to share our updated policies with this new threat to help keep our community safe.  In the past we have encouraged patients to come in when they are sick as there is a lot that acupuncture and herbs can do for colds.  Now we would prefer if patients took extra caution and stayed home, instead please call us if you are concerned about any cold or flu symptoms you have.  If you are sick, we are happy to do herbal phone consults and have herbs delivered to you directly if you need them.  In China, the hospitals have been employing the use of Chinese herbs to help fight the cases of Coronavirus lung infections with significant benefit.  We have access to their protocols and are ready to help you with any of your symptoms should you need.  

• Please stay home if you have a cough or fever 
• Our staff will also take a sick day if they have a cough or fever
• We are stepping up our office cleaning policies to ensure a safe clinic space

Tips for staying healthy:

1. Make your own spray-on hand sanitizer by reusing a spray bottle and blending 90% isopropyl alcohol with water in a 3:1 ratio and add 2 drops of dish soap.   Keep this in your bag with you at all times.  
2. Use this hand sanitizer spray to clean your cell phone daily, and your computer keyboard regularly, as well as any other surfaces that you touch often.  
3. Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds often – once an hour and more if you need.  
4. Get extra sleep!!  Your immune system will take care of you if it has a chance to, and this means you need to aim for 8-9 hours/night.  If you get less, try a couple 10 minute power naps during the day.  Sleep is the best mode of defense that your body has because it allows your immune system to work optimally. 
5. Do a sinus rinse every day (this is also helpful for the allergies we see popping up already).  You can add 3 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract to the saline water in your rinse for an extra dose of anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-bacterial effect.  

Painful periods (also known as dysmenorrhea) and chronic pelvic pain are common conditions we see every day at Triangle Acupuncture Clinic.  We improve symptoms for moderate-severe pain with the period as well as more complex issues such as tight pelvic floor muscles and pain with intercourse.   The acupuncture helps to relax muscle spasm and causes changes in the central nervous system that decrease the level of perceived pain in chronic pain patients. 

A study in 2008 showed that participants had a substantial reduction in the use of NSAIDs as a consequence of pain control by acupuncture.  The study also showed the significant pain control during the menstrual period was maintained up to 6 months in 50% of the cases, confirming that acupuncture obtains more than just a temporary symptomatic effect. 

In our clinic, treatment is generally once/week or every other week for three months.  With primary dysmenorrhea we need the patients to schedule treatment the week before they expect their period.  Results tend to last for over a year, many continue to come for acupuncture once/month to maintain the benefit.  Patients love the acupuncture as it is very relaxing, and we work on other lifestyle and diet factors that promote feeling healthy and great.

Getting older happens. Whether you’re staring down your 30’s, 40’s, 50’s or beyond, we believe it is always important to cultivate wellness.  We find that many of our patients continue to stay well by incorporating acupuncture and herbal medicine  along their life journey.  It isn’t uncommon for us to treat someone for a couple of months and then see them back in a year for something completely different.  We are always here for you, no matter what challenges life throws your way! Do you identify with these age-related conditions we see most often?

Pain -

Are you hitting mid-life and deciding to train for a half or full marathon?  Or, are you 50+ and keeping active but nagged by aches and pains?  Acupuncture once/monthly as part of your training will keep your joints, tendons and muscles healthy as you turn up the heat.  Should you develop any injuries that prevent you from reaching exercise milestones, we have the best acupuncture pain specialists in town.   

Digestion -

As you age are you discovering that certain foods make you feel inflamed or result in unwanted digestive woes?  Having to give up food groups like dairy and gluten can be helpful in the short-term but nobody wants a strict and limited diet for the rest of their life.  There are many ways acupuncture and herbal medicine can reclaim your digestion and get you back to eating the healthy foods you love – in moderation of course.  

Sleep –

Sleep is the all-important anti-aging tool.  It is very common to find that you can’t get a solid night’s sleep as you get older. For women, menopause often equals poorer sleep quality.  For men, stress and pain often keep them up.  We always work on the underlying problem that is keeping you awake whether it is hot flashes or joint pain.  If there is just plain old insomnia for no reason in particular, acupuncture on specific points to relax the nervous system can help with more restful sleep. 

Fighting Wrinkles –

Cosmetic acupuncture treatments can soften, lift and tone the face and neck.  We use tiny needles along with special facial cupping and gua sha tools to bring circulation to the delicate facial tissues and enhance lymph drainage.  The result is a more radiant you without any cutting or poking or peeling!

Using acupuncture to treat pain is what we do.  No matter what a patient comes in for as their primary concern, we inevitably include points for a tense upper back or headaches, a foot that aches or what we call “computer arms” (tendonitis near the elbow).  Pain is a part of our modern lives but thankfully you have acupuncturists just a phone call away!

There are quite a few ways we can address pain, depending on how long you’ve had it and the exact nature of the problem itself.  A herniated disc will get different treatment than say, sciatica or a post-surgery knee.  The points that we choose and the depth and technique that are applied all matter a great deal in getting results.  For instance, sometimes we need to treat the muscles and do deeper needling into trigger points like you see in dry needling.  Other times the needling is much more precise and adding moxibustion to warm the needles or electro-stimulation is more effective.  We also add cupping when appropriate to lift the skin and fascia and allow for more circulation and healing.  

Did we mention that all of these techniques are comfortable?  One thing we always try to do is make sure our treatments feel good.  The warmth of moxibustion is heavenly on sore aching joints.  Cupping is like a massage and at times we’ll do it just to relax someone who is stressed and tense.  Electro-stimulation sounds painful but the sensation is actually very gentle. 
 

This ongoing case illustrates a common treatment plan:

A 35 year old woman presents with chronic but severe neck pain.  It began about 3 months prior to her first visit, after working long hours at her computer under high stress conditions at work.  She was having trouble with range of motion – couldn’t turn her head to the right without pain.  She also experienced TMJ and headaches in conjunction with the tightness in her neck.  In an effort to avoid taking too much ibuprofen which hurt her stomach, she was searching for another way to deal with the pain.  

The treatment plan was acupuncture with electro-stimulation once per week for 8 weeks.  Points included were along the back of her neck and upper back with a couple distal points on the feet and hands.  After the fourth acupuncture treatment she noticed a lot of improvement in her pain level and range of motion.  By the eighth visit she was doing quite well, pain free and restored range of motion that would hint at coming back but always improved with a good nights sleep.  We switched to acupuncture every other week for four more visits and then she has continued once/month for a year.  Because she can’t avoid using her computer and working some long hours, this maintenance of once/month keeps her feeling good and she has avoided any type of relapse.  

You’re pregnant!  It is such a special time and you are likely nervous and excited.    Unfortunately, the majority of pregnant women start to also feel hijacked as nausea and overwhelming tiredness set in around week six. This can make the first trimester seem like it lasts forever.  Acupuncture can make a big difference in how you feel during pregnancy, starting with that first trimester. 

First trimester:  We see some women weekly, some twice/week if they’re very nauseas and others come bimonthly or monthly.   Your practitioner can let you know what’s recommended for you.   First trimester issues we see most often are:

• Nausea or Morning Sickness – acupuncture is excellent at reducing nausea and vomiting during the first trimester.  
• Anxiety – stress can trigger your body to convert progesterone to cortisol.  Using acupuncture to keep you out of “fight or flight” mode can be very helpful to support early pregnancy hormonal balance and keep progesterone levels stable.  
• Headaches – as hormone levels change, some women can have a hard time with headaches. Acupuncture can provide fast relief. 
• Recurrent Miscarriage – acupuncture is recommended more consistently for these women. Research suggests that the supportive care of acupuncture during the early weeks of pregnancy can reduce miscarriage rates when there is unknown cause.  Sometimes herbal medicines are also prescribed.  

Second trimester: During the second and third trimesterwe recommend acupuncture every 4 weeks to stay ahead of hip and back pain and address any other issues that crop up. If pain does develop, it often just takes 1-2 acupuncture treatments to help you get on your way.  We commonly see pain in the hip, back, pubic bone, ribs and wrists.  

Third trimester:  At 36 weeks it is time to start coming once/week again to help your hormones shift into delivery-mode.  We use acupuncture for labor promotion to assist you from going over your due date.  It is very successful if you come in starting week 36 for weekly treatments.  

Please ask us if you have any questions about using acupuncture during pregnancy!  We have lovingly been providing safe and effective acupuncture to moms throughout the Triangle for over 15 years.    

Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome or PCOS as it is widely known, is an infertility diagnosis that has risen significantly in the past several years.  While the cause of the disorder is still not well understood, PCOS is an endocrine disorder that includes dysfunction in cortisol, insulin, testosterone and other reproductive hormone levels.  This means that stress, weight gain, inflammation and too much sugar in the diet all come together to form this syndrome.  While women with PCOS can vary in their severity of symptoms, most will have irregular menstrual cycles and ovulation issues and some can have cystic ovaries, excessive hair growth, and difficulty losing weight as well. 

We see many patients in our clinic with PCOS every week and it can be a very frustrating diagnosis.  If a woman is overweight, often even a little bit of weight-loss will positively impact this hormonal syndrome and increase their fertility greatly.    If a woman is thin, young and maintains a healthy lifestyle she often feels lost as to what else she can do to improve her situation. Clomid and Femara are low-intervention fertility medications that can sometimes get ovulation back on track but they do not address the hormonal imbalance that is driving PCOS.  Thus, Clomid and Femara can have some very negative side effects such as increasing the number of cysts, causing hyper-PMS symptoms, hot flashes, etc.  

Many women take these medications and get pregnant very quickly, and when that happens we can all feel happy.  But what about the women who have tried these low-intervention therapies and have not had success within 3 cycles?  They are often left to move onto IVF, a very expensive undertaking.  

What we have seen in treating fertility and PCOS with Chinese Medicine over the past decade is very inspiring.  Because PCOS affects many different hormones, a holistic approach to re-balancing the endocrine system is very helpful in creating the optimal environment for healthy eggs and a healthy pregnancy.  A study published in the American Journal of Endocrinology, Physiology, and Metabolism concluded that a series of acupuncture treatments over the course of 12 weeks reduced the metabolic effects of PCOS and increased ovulation frequency.  The proposed mechanism is that the acupuncture points peripherally modulated the sympathetic nerve stimulation to the ovaries.  Reducing the sympathetic nervous system effects (the part of our nervous system that responds to stress) has a broad impact on the different hormonal functions in our bodies.  

In our clinic we pair these acupuncture treatments with specific herbal medicines, diet and exercise suggestions to achieve results even more quickly.  Often women who are not ovulating regularly will have menstrual cycles that are more balanced and fertile within 2-3 cycles. By not bypassing the root of the disorder we help restore fertility naturally. 

Here are a few tips to get you started if you have been diagnosed with PCOS:

1. See an acupuncturist who specializes in treating PCOS and can get you started on an herbal formula that is right for you.  There are several types of formulas specifically geared to restoring ovulation. Paired with an acupuncture plan, your likelihood of achieving a normal menstrual cycle is high.  
2. Exercise! Getting 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity exercise helps stabilize blood sugar and reduce the sympathetic nervous system effects driving PCOS.  
3. Take steps to reduce inflammation – this usually means limiting foods made from flour, sugar, and alcohol to start with.   Often women with PCOS can really benefit from a gluten and dairy free diet.   
4. Reduce your environmental estrogen over-load.  Choose organic meat products, use natural body care products, reduce soy, eliminate processed foods and stay away from plastic water bottles and using plastics in your kitchen to get you started.   

Please share this with anyone you know who may be struggling with PCOS!  We are happy to help end the frustration of trying to conceive with this disorder.

It’s that time of year again, back to school and often a more grueling weekly routine.  This is also the time of year that more viruses start to make their rounds through schools and the workplace.  Here are a few tips to keep your immune system in good working order this fall and winter:

• Prioritize a healthy sleep pattern – this is the first and some can argue the most important part of our day when you’re talking about immune system health.  Aim for 8 hours minimum per night, you will feel so much better that it becomes an easy habit to continue. 
• Clean up your diet – minimizing sugars and gluten for two weeks is a great short cleanse to get your gut biome, metabolism and blood sugar back on track.   Adding in extra boosts of foods like bone broth, green veggies and healthy fats will give your body the fuel it needs to run optimally this time of year. 
• Get Acupuncture - the National Institute of Health and many published studies concur that acupuncture has far-reaching effects on immune system health from increasing red and white cell counts in compromised patients to increasing lymphocyte proliferation and natural killer cell activity in patients fighting illness.  Other effects of acupuncture relax the body, help a person sleep and promote healthy digestion all of which support a healthy immune system.
• Stock up on your Chinese herbs – we utilize many different herbal formulas to not only boost the immune system but to also treat colds and flus symptoms once you’ve come down with one.  Different herbs act to dry excessive mucus, relieve sore throat and sinus pressure, clear lung congestion and open airways.  Call or stop in for an herbal consult if you're interested in learning about what can help you this fall.  

Body Care Products

Body creams and lotions that we rub into our skin can contain high amounts of xenoextrogens. The big problem is that many of these estrogenic chemicals are introduced topically and go right into our bloodstream, and on into our tissues and organs.  There are three major chemical groups to avoid in lotions, household products and sunscreens.  The first is the category of preservatives found in body care products known as methyl-, ethyl-, butyl- and propylparaben.  You may notice many lotions say "paraben-free" on their labels now, this is a good thing.  Second is phthalates, these chemicals make lotions and household products smell good.  Pthalates are found in everything from body lotions to laundry detergents and cleaning products as well as air fresheners. Third are the chemicals commonly found in sunscreens, PABA and 4-MBC.  These are also highly estrogenic and we usually rub them over most of our body surface area giving us a big dose of extra estrogen.  Here's what you can do:

·      Read the labels on all body care products that you purchase. Avoid parabens, phthalates, PABA and 4-MBC. 

·      Don’t use air fresheners or cleaning products with artificial scents.  Try an essential oil diffuser instead – these fragrances are plant derived and nontoxic.  

·      Visit the website ewg.org to learn more about which brands of body care products, foods and household cleaners are safest. 

Adopting these few changes can make a huge difference in your hormonal wellbeing.  Getting rid of these extra chemicals has profound effects on women who suffer from severe pain with their periods, to couples struggling to have a baby, to girls who are entering puberty at younger and younger ages and to the millions of women battling breast and cervical cancer in the world today. We do not deserve to be made sick by the food and products we buy. You can make educated choices when shopping to decrease the amount of estrogen in your body and our environment!

Go to www.ewg.orgto see the Environmental Working Group’s lists of healthy products and searchable database of skin care and cosmetics.  They also have an app you can put on your phone for easy access at the store.