Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine
How It Works & Tools of the Trade
Acupuncture
More than 3,000 years old, acupuncture is a TCM treatment that promotes healing by offering small, electrical prompts to the body to help restore homeostasis and balance. Each acupuncture point acts as a gate, sending energetic information electromagnetically via the fascia deep into the body. As a natural analgesic, acupuncture interrupts pain signaling alleviating physical discomfort. It also reduces inflammation and helps balance hormones by influencing the body’s biochemical responses via the nervous system.
During a typical acupuncture treatment, small, disposable needles are inserted through the skin into points that relate to your specific diagnosis. The endorphins released during treatment relax the body, regulate serotonin in the brain, and enable the body to restore balance and heal itself. In addition to treating your specific concern, acupuncture facilitates a sense of overall well-being and contributes to better health over the long-term.
Heat, electrical stimulation, and other forms of TCM tools, including moxibustion—a rolled baton or cone of mugwort—are often used in conjunction with your acupuncture treatment. TCM is its own system of medicine and can treat an array of ailments from muscle and bone injuries to internal medicine concerns.
Herbs
Herbs are used to restore energy balance in the body and, when combined with acupuncture, often support patients in reaching their health goals much faster than acupuncture alone. Herbal formulas are customized specifically to each patient and diagnosis and may change according to menstruation cycles, how well the patient is progressing, and/or how herbs are affecting the body. Herbs can act as powerfully on the body as some pharmaceutical drugs. As such, Christiane monitors those taking herbs closely and may alter the formula to better support one’s healing.
Herbal formulas are made from animal, mineral, plant, fruit, and seed sources and may be prescribed in tablet or granular tea form. Remedies typically include a combination of at least two herbs, though each formula is customized according to your individual needs and can include up to 20 plus different Chinese herbs. Herbal tea comes in a powder form that only requires hot water. Typically, patients will drink this tea two times/day. One can be prescribed a formula for a week or several months to see a change or reach a goal.
Gua sha
Used throughout East Asia, Gua sha is a TCM technique used to help stimulate blood stagnation, increase circulation, regulate organ and metabolic function, reduce stress and fatigue, and ease musculoskeletal discomfort and sports-related injuries.
During a Gua sha treatment, Christiane uses a round-edged instrument to apply concentrated strokes of light to medium pressure. Redness on the skin associated with treatment typically fades after a few days. Common areas treated include the neck, shoulders, back, and limbs, though Gua sha is also used on other areas of the body, including the face, to support circulation and increase skin elasticity and firmness. Its ability to produce an anti-inflammatory and immuno-protective effect can help alleviate upper respiratory issues and acute and chronic internal organ disorders.
Those suffering from sports-related injuries or musculoskeletal pain may find Gua sha particularly helpful. Pain relief and decreased stress and fatigue can be felt immediately following treatment and last for several days or weeks.
Christiane completed her Gua sha Certification with Arya Nielsen, an internationally-renowned acupuncturist who is considered the Western authority of Gua sha. The course deepens practitioners knowledge of the history, research, and applications of Gua sha, as well as how to use the modality in clinical settings and with specific disorders. It is considered the most complete and in-depth training available.
Moxa
Moxibustion is a method of heating specific acupuncture points by burning an herb, mugwort (Artemisia vulgaria), close to the skin. Any type of heat applied to the body can increase the flow of qi and blood, but the properties of mugwort are particularly beneficial. Moxa can help strengthen the organs and immune system and can be used alone or in combination with acupuncture.
Moxa is particularly beneficial for gynecological conditions, used to treat heavy menstrual and uterine bleeding and to increase blood circulation to the pelvic area to treat menstrual pain. It is also used to turn breech babies into the head-down position before childbirth.
Cupping
Cupping is commonly used as a complementary therapy to acupuncture to treat a range of concerns, including muscle pain and soreness, respiratory and sinus infections, congestion, depression, and fertility-related issues. For patients with sports and musculoskeletal injuries, cupping can help relieve pain and inflammation, particularly in the back, shoulders, neck, and knees, and elbows.
In her practice, Christiane uses a more modern style of therapeutic cupping with silicone cups of varying sizes. During treatment, she uses cups to pull the skin and superficial muscle layer on a particular region of the body. The skin is liberally lubricated to avoid chafing. Christiane often practices a sliding-cup method by pulling upward gently on the skin to create negative pressure.
The suction created when squeezing the cup onto the skin, along with negative pressure created by pulling up on cups, promotes blood flow, stretches tight fascia and muscles, and stimulates the body’s natural anti-inflammatory properties.
Because blood stagnation often occurs in the lower abdomen and manifests as menstrual cramping, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and endometriosis, supporting the development of new blood flow in this part of the body is particularly important when addressing issues of fertility and reproductive health. In addition to reducing stress and pain, cupping also eliminates old metabolites or toxins from the body and supports overall uterine health over both the short- and long-term. Christiane often uses this technique to prepare the uterine lining for conception and, in cases of more severe blood stagnation, to support maximum blood flow to the uterus in order to maintain pregnancy during the very early stages of embryo implantation.
Christiane studied therapeutic cupping with Shannon Gilmartin, CMT, co-founder of Modern Cupping Therapy Education Company, and author of The Guide to Modern Cupping Therapy. Shannon and her team lead in-depth trainings across the globe and are considered one of the best in-person, therapeutic cupping trainers in the U.S.
Electrical Stimulation
Electrical stimulation—also called electro-acupuncture—augments traditional acupuncture by stimulating needles on a deeper, more therapeutic level. It is often used to treat musculoskeletal concerns, neurological disorders, spasms, paralysis, arthritis, and fertility-related concerns.
E-stimulation follows the same principles and targets the same pressure points as traditional needling, but adds a microcurrent to the needle to enhance the function of the point and activate regeneration in the body. As it is associated with a greater output of endorphins in the nervous system, patients report feeling a more extended period of symptom relief in comparison to acupuncture alone. Neutrons traveling throughout the body support tissue healing and wound repair.
The treatment is particularly helpful for athletes and patients who are very active, as it supports optimal performance and recovery from training. Through a trigger-point technique, muscles twitch and then relax, leading to a more balanced muscle structure and relief from tightness or pain. E-stimulation can also be used to support recovery from broken bones, sprains, and muscle strains, even in acute situations. This can prevent future, subsequent issues with joints and sprains that aren’t properly healed.
Christiane also incorporates e-stimulation in her labor prep treatments to aid more efficient labor, in severe cases of blood stagnation with women struggling with infertility, and with men with abnormal sperm production.
Christiane studied neurofunctional acupuncture with Dan Wunderlich, a leading practitioner and educator of integrative manual medicine. Her training included how to treat musculoskeletal pain and dysfunction with contemporary acupuncture and treatment strategies using electrical acupuncture, such as trigger point deactivation and corrective myofascial release techniques.