The most commonly seen digestive disorders are as such:

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD): A feeling of heartburn or chest pain due to stomach acids go up into the esophagus, the cause varies, but most commonly due to inflammatory GI tract and lower esophageal sphincter functioning abnormally.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): Alternating diarrhea and constipation accompanied with abdominal pain.

Inflammatory bowel disease: including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Both involve a condition which causes inflammation and irritation in the digestive tract, Crohn’s disease can be the entire GI tract where ulcerative colitis is only the colon.

Chronic constipation: a condition which people have hard time with passing stools, often companied with abdominal pain, bloating and less bowel movements.

Celiac disease: a chronic digestive and immune disorder which damages the small intestine, triggered by food with gluten, it will cause chronic digestive problems and alter nutrients absorptions

How can acupuncture help?

Acupuncture helps treat digestive disorders by stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system, parasympathetic nervous system is a wide net of nerves that function together to keep us moving, sensing, eating and more. The nerve fibers shoot out from the brain and extend to the organs they act on, needles are inserted to acu points to activate these specific pathways(channels) based on the Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis, to either boost its function or reduce inflammation, it acts as “catalyst” to make chemicals reactions inside body happen easier and faster without harming the body.

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Acupuncture works by reducing local soft tissues inflammation and swelling, sometimes electrical stimulations is used to activate nerve fibres for paralysis or numbness. There are a handful of articles with high degree of research on acupuncture for facial paralysis, the control group(with acupuncture) show significant improvement comparing to other group, and also the use of acupuncture and western drug together show a greater recovery rate as well is quite encouraging.

In Traditional Chinese medicine, Bell’s palsy or facial paralysis is a result of wind invasion(environmental factor), this alters the normal circulation of channels, causes stagnation within the vessels of qi and blood, it’s often temporary and as the body regains back its normal circulation, symptoms slowly goes away, acupuncture can greatly shorten the amount of recovery time and very effective in the first few weeks following the incident.

Insomnia symptoms may include:

Insomnia may be caused by:

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Despite the many possible causes of insomnia, from the view of oriental medicine, the cause of insomnia is due to the state of hyperarousal, it may be due to both physical and mental conditions. Acupuncture treatment for insomnia target both the central nervous system(CNS) and autonomic nervous system(ANS), there are researches proven that acupuncture can trigger different effects on the autonomic nervous system, like facilitation of parasympathetic and suppression of sympathetic activities. Its ability to regulate or affect many neurotransmitters and hormonal factors such as the endorphin(natural pain killer), serotonin, norepinephrine, adrenocorticotrophic hormone(ACTH), cortisol, acetylcholine (Ach), melatonin, substance P(anti-inflammatory) and other neuropeptides can play an important role in insomnia treatment and other health concerns.

The acupuncture points  are decided by Traditional Chinese Medicine diagnosis, whether it’s heart qi deficiency, or liver qi stagnation or other Traditional Chinese Medicine syndrome differentiations, the aim of acupuncture is to rebalance the body and mind, to harmonize body as whole.

What are the common causes for male and female?

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Acupuncture and herbs have been widely accepted in Asia for infertility treatment. These ultra-thin needles are inserted into different groups of acupuncture points, the points are selected based on Chinese Medicine syndrome differentiation, then these specific points selected will trigger and regulate certain functions with no side effect.  The goal is to help the body rebalance and conception happen naturally. Acupuncture helps by reducing stress level, improving the sperm and egg quality, balancing hormones, regulating energy and blood flow, resolving stagnation and blockage, and triggering nervous systems.

Some of the common Traditional Chinese Medicine differentiations are liver qi stagnation, phlegm and dampness retention in the Lower abdomen, kidney qi deficiency and blood stasis in the lower abdomen; these are determined based on the intake of every individual and different treatment plans then are prepared. For example, there are points in the lower abdominal region to promote energy flow to the reproductive organs, there are points to resolve stagnation( such as cysts), and points to treat hormonal imbalances. Often times herbs are also used along with acupuncture for better clinical results.

Some general symptoms include:

In general, the skin fails to offer proper protection so it loses moisture and quite vulnerable against environmental factors, irritants and bacteria. The immune system is triggered and becomes overactive, areas where skins commonly rub against one another such as the creases become irritated.

How does TCM(Traditional Chinese Medicine) help treat it?

Atopic dermatitis(eczema) is a allergic inflammation disease as the name implies, western medicine treatments usually use antihistamines and steroids as the main method of treatment to moisturize the skin and reduce the local inflammation. Traditional Chinese medicine’s approach is quite different, it’s an entire different system where the aim is to find the imbalance between different systems within the body and cure it from its root cause based on its own diagnostic method. Acupuncture is used to stimulate the autonomic system, to calm our immune system thus reducing inflammation. Chinese herbs and topical creams are used combining with acupuncture to cure the damaged skin and pores for immediate comfort. The fundamental of TCM is to see the body as a whole and focus on harmonizing the imbalances between systems within the body.​

We have our own eczema treatment protocols including acupuncture, herbs and cream, the herb and cream formulas have been used for decades in China with great results and now we hope to help many of you feel better here at Toronto!

Tension headache: Likely caused by tightness around neck and shoulder area, the pain is often a feeling of tightness or stiffness and often on the back side of your head, it however can be on any parts around the head.

Cluster headache: One of or the most severe/ painful headache patterns, abnormalities in the hypothalamus often plays a role. people will feel sharp, stabbing pain in or around one eye on one side of the head, it can last from weeks to months

Migraine: Genetics and environmental factors are considered to be the most common reasons. Brainstem and interactions with trigeminal nerve sometimes can alter brain chemicals’ secretions and thus cause migraine. The pain is often severe and throbbing with a pulsing sensation, mostly one side only and accompanied by nausea, vomiting and extreme sensitivity to light and sound.

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine has been treating headache and migraines for thousands of years. Many people in Asia seek only acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine for their headaches. While pain killer only works temporarily; by inserting needles to trigger certain acu points on the body, acupuncture can restore normal functions of the head, the treatment varies largely on the kind of headaches but typically acupuncture is done to stimulate the peripheral nervous system in order to regain the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic system.

We are very proud to be one of few acupuncture clinics in GTA focusing on treating headache & migraines, especially those caused by neck/shoulder tensions, stress and bad posture issues from childhood. Almost everyone will see some kind of improvement over the treatment sessions, roughly more than 80% of individuals will be pain free and only need to maintain few times a year, some with proper posture training do not require further treatments.

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Acupuncture can reduce local muscle swelling and inflammation by inserting needles precisely at the trigger points or sore areas, increase local blood and chemicals circulation by activating acu-points on the body. For acute damage, needles can be used to resolve the knots and tension in the connective tissues immediately and greatly shorten the recovery time. For relative mediate to deep muscle tension and teres, needle is very effective as it can be used to alleviate the pressure deep inside; for acute conditions with stagnation of blood and body liquids due to injury or posture, often those individuals have a hard time moving their arms after the incident, we use acupuncture plus suction tools to eliminate these stasis and muscle tension, individuals will feel a great relief right away.

The severity varies a lot and the symptoms are often described as:

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Acupuncture can reduce local muscle swelling and inflammation by inserting needles precisely at the trigger points or inflammation areas, increase local blood and chemicals circulation by activating acu-points on the body. For acute damage, needles can be used to resolve the knots and tension in the connective tissues immediately and greatly shorten the recovery time. For deep muscle tension and compression, needle is very effective as it can be used to alleviate the pressure deep inside; and for sciatica related conditions, needles are purposely inserted along the sciatica nerve pathway to either calm the nerve or activate them; for acute conditions with stagnation of blood and body liquids due to injury or posture, often those individuals have a hard time walking or moving after the incident, we use acupuncture plus suction tools to eliminate these stasis and muscle tension, individuals will feel a great relief right away.

Some severe cases involve:

How does acupuncture help treat it?

Acupuncture is quite effective for neck and shoulder pain, needles are inserted distally and locally to alleviate local swelling and inflammation, trigger release of endorphin(natural body pain killer), adjust local tension between soft tissues and connective tissues and promote better energy and blood circulation for a better recover speed.

We are very proud to be one of few acupuncture clinics in GTA focusing on treating neck/shoulder tensions with advanced micro-acupuncture technique. Whether it’s from spinal issues and or bad posture, almost everyone will see improvement immediately after the treatment sessions, roughly more than 80% of individuals will be pain free and only need to maintain few times a year, some with proper posture training do not require further treatments.