Acupuncture for IBS

Over 20% of the UK population suffers with ‘unexplained’ discomfort and irregularity in bowel habit. The term Irritable Bowel Syndrome is used to describe the experience of symptoms such as pain or discomfort in the abdomen, bloating, swelling, bouts of diarrhoea and/or constipation and feeling sick. It is a chronic, re-occurring and often debilitating condition which can cause misery for sufferers.

There is no single cause of IBS. Some people can trace their IBS back to a single event such as a bout of food poisoning or infectious illness; however in most cases the cause is unknown. Some people find their IBS is triggered by sensitivity to certain foods, others find it is exacerbated by stress or emotional states. Each person’s experience of IBS is different.

This lack of understanding of the cause means that conventional medicine finds IBS very hard to treat, instead focusing on symptom relief with antispasmodic drugs.

The inconsistency of symptoms and triggers isn’t a worry to a Chinese medicine practitioner. As an acupuncturist I don’t treat IBS, I treat the person. An acupuncturist looks at each individual’s experience of IBS to fully understand what functional disturbances there are in their system and why. By working out why and how someone’s digestive system isn’t functioning, we are able to treat the root cause and bring about relief.

This means that alongside acupuncture treatment we may make suggestions as to lifestyle changes that may be helpful in combating IBS symptoms. This could be dietary changes, or techniques such as meditation to address more emotional causes.

How acupuncture can help

Research (see below) has shown that acupuncture treatment may benefit IBS symptoms by:

• Providing pain relief
• Regulating the motility of the digestive tract
• Increasing parasympathetic tone. Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, which can stimulate colon spasms, causing pain and discomfort. In people with IBS, the colon can be oversensitive to the smallest amount of conflict or stress. Acupuncture activates the opposing parasympathetic nervous system, which initiates the relaxation or ‘rest and digest’ response.
• Raising the sensory threshold of the gut. (A lowered threshold to bowel pain and distention are hallmarks of IBS)
• Reducing anxiety and depression. Distressing IBS symptoms can lead to a vicious cycle of anxiety-pain-anxiety and lead to feelings of depression. Acupuncture can alter the brain’s mood chemistry, increasing production of serotonin and endorphins to combat these negative emotional states.

If you would like to know more about how acupuncture could help your digestive dysfunction, Please contact me for a no-obligation chat.

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

References

Chen J et al. Electroacupuncture improves impaired gastric motility and slow waves induced by rectal distension in dogs. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2008 Sep;295(3):G614-20.

Han JS. Acupuncture and endorphins. Neurosci Lett. 2004 May 6;361(1-3):258-61.

Ma XP et al. Effect of electro-acupuncture on substance P, its receptor and corticotropin-releasing hormone in rats with irritable bowel syndrome. World J Gastroenterol. 2009 Nov 7;15(41):5211-7.

Lu B et al. A randomised controlled trial of acupuncture for irritable bowel syndrome. Program and abstracts of the 65^th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of  Gastroenterology; October 16-18, 2000, New York, NY. Poster 268, p.428

Pomeranz B. Scientific basis of acupuncture. In: Stux G, Pomeranz B, eds. Acupuncture Textbook and Atlas. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 1987:1-18.

Samuels N et al. Acupuncture for psychiatric illness: a literature review. Behav Med. 2008 Summer;34(2):55-64.Schneider S et al. Neuroendocrinological effects of acupuncture treatment in patients with irritable bowel syndrome. Complement Ther Med. 2007b;15(4):255-63.

Tian XY et al. Electro-acupuncture attenuates stress-induced defecation in rats with chronic visceral hypersensitivity via serotonergic pathway. Brain Res. 2006 May 9;1088(1):101-8.

Tian SL et al. Repeated electro-acupuncture attenuates chronic visceral hypersensitivity and spinal cord NMDA receptor phosphorylation in a rat irritable bowel syndrome model. Life Sci. 2008 Aug 29;83(9-10):356-63

Trujillo NP. Acupuncture for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome. Med Acupunct 2008 Mar 20(1):47-49

Xing J et al. Transcutaneous electrical acustimulation can reduce visceral perception in patients with the irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2004 Jan-Feb;10(1):38-42.

Xu GY et al. Electroacupuncture attenuates visceral hyperalgesia and inhibits the enhanced excitability of colon specific sensory neurons in a rat model of irritable bowel syndrome. Neurogastroenterol Motil. 2009 Dec;21(12):1302-e125

Yin J, Chen JD. Gastrointestinal motility disorders and acupuncture. Auton Neurosci. 2010 Apr 2.

for more information on this research please go to http://www.acupuncture.org.uk/a-to-z-of-conditions/a-to-z-of-conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome-ibs.html

Tags: acupuncture, bloating, Bristol, constipation, diarrhoea, digestion, IBS, irritable bowel syndrome

Anxiety and Acupuncture

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week (12-18 May 2014) with the theme of Anxiety, so I’d like to talk about anxiety and how acupuncture can help.

What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a feeling of fear, worry, and uneasiness. Normal anxiety, stimulated by the sympathetic nervous system, has its root in fear and serves an important survival function. In fact feeling anxious in response to unpleasant upcoming events such as a job interview or a medical test is perfectly normal. However, when that anxiety becomes persistent, irrational and excessive, it can begin to take over your life and is an indication that there is an imbalance in the sympathetic nervous system.

Chronic anxiety can involve uncontrollable and irrational worry about everyday things. It can be as severe as a panic attack, or it may be more of a generalized and unfocused feeling of unease. People often experience physical symptoms, such as breathlessness or a racing heart, which are usually a result of adrenaline (our fight or flight response hormone) acting on the body. The experience of anxiety is unique to each individual and people can experience very different symptoms.

How acupuncture can help

Conventional treatments for anxiety generally consist of drug therapies which, although helpful may have debilitating side effects or dependence. Acupuncture is a medication-free way to relieve anxiety with both immediate and long-lasting results.

Anxiety is one of the most common conditions that people come to me with, and I find acupuncture is a really effective treatment.  It can make a real difference to people’s lives, enabling them to feel calmer, happier and back in control. In fact it was my own experience of anxiety that first led me to try acupuncture many years ago, and the profound affect it had sparked my love of Chinese medicine.

In traditional acupuncture every patient is considered to be unique, and this means that there is no single treatment for each sufferer as each person has differing symptoms.  We aim to treat you as an individual, identifying the imbalances which cause your anxiety, not just treating the symptoms themselves. In traditional acupuncture, we see that mind and body are intrinsically linked, and therefore we treat you as a whole, mind and body.

Acupuncture treatment is enhanced when used alongside other self-help tools such as breathing techniques, exercise or mindfulness. We can develop a personalised ‘toolbox’ of techniques to help you manage your anxiety and enable you to retake control

How does it help?

Research has shown that acupuncture treatment may specifically benefit anxiety disorders and symptoms of anxiety by:

• Acting on areas of the brain known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety and worry (Hui 2010).
• Regulating levels of neurotransmitters (or their modulators) and hormones such as serotonin, noradrenaline, dopamine, GABA, neuropeptide Y and ACTH; hence altering the brain’s mood chemistry to help to combat negative affective states (Lee 2009; Samuels 2008; Zhou 2008; Yuan 2007).
• Stimulating production of endogenous opioids that affect the autonomic nervous system (Arranz 2007). Stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, while acupuncture can activate the opposing parasympathetic nervous system, which initiates the relaxation response.
• Reversing pathological changes in levels of inflammatory cytokines that are associated with anxiety (Arranz 2007)
• Reversing stress-induced changes in behaviour and biochemistry (Kim 2009).

For details of further research and evidence of acupuncture effectiveness see the British Acupuncture Councils factsheet on anxiety here

If you suffer with anxiety and would like to have a chat about how acupuncture could help you, please give me a call on 07834 160906, or drop me an email

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

References:

Arranz L et al. Effect of acupuncture treatment on the immune function impairment found in anxious women. American Journal of Chinese Medicine.  2007;35(1):35-51

Hui KK et al. Acupuncture, the limbic system, and the anticorrelated networks of the brain. Auton Neurosci. 2010 Oct 28;157(1-2):81-90.

Kim H  et al. The effects of acupuncture stimulation at PC6 (Neiguan) on chronic mild stress-induced biochemical and behavioral responses. Neuroscience Letters. 2009; 460 (1) (pp 56-60)

Lee B et al. Effects of acupuncture on chronic corticosterone-induced depression-like behavior and expression of neuropeptide Y in the rats. Neuroscience Letters 2009; 453: 151-6.

Samuels N et al. Acupuncture for psychiatric illness: a literature review.Behav Med 2008; 34: 55-64

Yuan Q. Li J.-N. Liu B. Wu Z.-F. Jin R. Effect of Jin-3-needling therapy on plasma corticosteroid, adrenocorticotropic hormone and platelet 5-HT levels in patients with generalized anxiety disorder. Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine.2007; 13 (4):  264-268.

Zhou Q et al. The effect of electro-acupuncture on the imbalance between monoamine neurotransmitters and GABA in the CNS of rats with chronic emotional stress-induced anxiety. Int J Clin Acupunct 2008 ;17: 79-84.

Tags: acupuncture, anxiety, Bristol, Chinese Medicine, insomnia, panic, tcm

5 new acupuncture discoveries

There’s been some great new discoveries in the world of acupuncture recently. Here’s my top 5:

1.Overwhelming scientific evidence that acupuncture reduces pain.
Published in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), researchers from New York and Munich conclusively proved that acupuncture reduces pain. The sham-placebo controls examined in the meta-analysis met the highest standards and put to rest the age old question, does it work? The comprehensive investigation reviewed 31 studies involving 19,827 patients. After 2,000 years of clinical success it is now official, acupuncture stops pain. Learn more in the full news article. 

This comes along with research demonstrating that acupuncture is safe and effective for relieving pain and nausea in an A&E setting. The study concluded that acupuncture combined with biomedical care improves patient outcomes. This type of study reflects a myriad of new research demonstrating the role of acupuncture in an integrative medical environment. Read about this finding in the article on acupuncture 

2. CT Scans identify acupuncture points as distinct structures
CT (computerized tomography) X-ray scans now reveal the anatomical structure of acupuncture points. This rocked the research world after being published in the Journal of the Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena. Prior to these findings, researchers were able to map electrical, heat and oxygen density patterns for acupuncture points. This most recent discovery finding, however, included the very first CT images of acupuncture point structures. To learn more, take a look at the Healthcare Medicine Institute’s acupuncture continuing education article.

3. New evidence of acupunctures effect on brain cells in depression
Acupuncture is shown to increase brain cell health associated with mental health. An examination of brain cells following acupuncture treatments uncovered important mechanisms by which acupuncture exerts its antidepressant effects.

The researchers discovered that acupuncture exhibits regulatory effects on special brain cells in the hippocampus. These cells contribute to the maintenance of the brain and spinal cord. The research team cited numerous studies demonstrating “that acupuncture is an effective remedy for depression and it may be as effective as antidepressant drugs.” They also note that electro-acupuncture increases neurogenesis in the hippocampus in the same way as SSRIs a class of antidepressant medications. To learn more, a full write-up is available online at HealthCMi.

3. research concluding that acupuncture significantly reduces hypertension.
Researchers conclude that acupuncture has a “stable antihypertensive effect.” Acupuncture point KI3, located in the ankle region, was shown to have an “antihypertensive effect for essential hypertension.” Over 1.5 billion people have high blood pressure and it is the leading cause of death amoung cardiovascular disorders. In the USA, high blood pressure is the most common chronic medical disorder associated with doctor office visits. The American Heart Association estimated that the cost of this disorder exceeded $76 billion dollars in 2010. To find out more, visit the HealthCMi page on this topic.

5. Acupuncture  improves pregnancy rates and has potent effects in reversing infertility.
The study measured acupuncture’s success in patients using IUI, IVF and for those using no biomedical interventions. All three groups showed significant improvements in pregnancy rates. Lear more in the article on acupuncture for fertility. 

To find out more about how acupuncture could help you, call me for a chat on 07834 160906, or drop me an email

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

Tags: acupuncture, blood pressure, Bristol, depression, evidence, fertility, hypertension, nausea, Pain, pregnancy, research

Acupuncture and Insomnia

Sleep is important, and yet so many of us struggle to get enough. It is thought that as many of 1 in 3 of us experience insomnia, a condition of unsatisfactory sleep, whether that be due to difficulty falling asleep, waking early or through the night, or shallow restless sleep. We need sleep for its restorative powers, both physically and mentally.  The body carries out many healing and maintenance processes while we sleep.  Not only can sleepless nights leave us fatigued and cognitively impaired throughout the day, but long term lack of sleep can be associated with mood disturbances, a reduced quality of life and can predispose us to illness. Sleeplessness is one of the most debilitating and demoralizing symptoms we can experience.

Acupuncture treatment

All is not lost. Acupuncture is a fantastic treatment for insomnia. Trouble sleeping is one of the most common problems that clients come to me with. Even in people who do not recognize or mention sleep as a problem, acupuncture has a tendency to produce more restful nights. This often goes unnoticed until asked about on a follow-up visit. I often hear people say: “You know, now that you mention it, I have been sleeping a lot better since I started coming for acupuncture.”

Acupuncture has an extremely calming effect on the nervous system, and over time, it can help to correct the imbalances causing insomnia without creating side effects. In fact, besides improved sleep, people often report a greater sense of well-being and an overall improvement in health.

From a Chinese medicine perspective there are a number of well established patterns which explain why the mind refuses to close down at night even though the person is physically exhausted. Insomnia doesn’t have a single specified treatment, and each person who cannot sleep does so in a way that is unique to them. Diagnosis will focus on the individual, understanding their particular experience and treating accordingly.

Often, patients come to an acupuncturist reporting insomnia because of other emotional issues they are facing. These emotions can often surface as insomnia, anxiety, or mild depression. As the stresses of modern life take their toll, our minds can no longer relax and our sleep becomes disturbed. In these cases treatment will be focussed on addressing and releasing these emotions.

See here a BBC news interview with an acupuncturist and GP explaining the benefits of acupuncture for insomnia: http://youtu.be/XqlgDQgLUgI

The evidence

In a study conducted at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto and published in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, researchers found acupuncture to be an effective treatment for anxiety and insomnia.

The researchers wrote that five weeks of acupuncture treatment was associated with a significant nocturnal increase in endogenous melatonin secretion and significant improvements in polysomnographic measures of sleep onset latency, arousal index, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency. Significant reductions in anxiety scores were also found. “These objective findings are consistent with clinical reports of acupuncture’s relaxant effects,” they concluded.

Other studies have confirmed that acupuncture treatment normalizes melatonin production for insomniacs.

Studies have found that acupuncture increases certain central nervous system hormones, which may explain why there is such a positive association between insomnia and acupuncture therapy in research studies.

The British Acupuncture Council has a fact sheet on insomnia with further research, click here to view.

What you can do

Alongside having acupuncture treatment there are a number of changes you can make to improve your sleep. here’s 5 top tips:

1. Exercise: ideally every day. This positive stress will tire out your body in a good way. However make sure you exercise long before going to bed (preferably at least 3 hours) so that your nervous system has time to settle down
2. Don’t work before bed: Excessive thinking at night can over-stimulate your mind causing insomnia. Phones and computer screens also emit ‘blue light’ which suppress sleep hormones. Stop work at least 2 hours before bed to allow your mind to relax
3. Food & drink: Don’t drink caffeinated or alcoholic beverages near your bedtime, try and avoid caffeine after lunch,  and avoid large meals for a couple of hours before bed
4. Quiet the Mind: Wind down by reading or bathing before bedtime. Try breathing exercises, meditation, and other forms of relaxation to help your insomnia.
5. Keep on schedule: go to bed at the same time every night. Our natural body clock means that sleep hormones will be released at the right time as long as we keep to a routine

To find out more about how acupuncture could help you have a better nights sleep, call me for a chat on 07834 160906, or drop me an email

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

Tags: acupuncture, anxiety, Bristol, insomnia, sleep

The Energy of Spring: A great surge….

Its the first official day of Spring today, and in the last couple of weeks you have probably noticed the change in the energy around us.

Spring is a time for change, a shift in energy from the quiet introspection of winter. In nature seeds sprout, buds open, and the sun warms the earth. There is a sense of renewal and new life all around. In Chinese medicine, Spring is associated with ‘Wood’ energy of the Liver. After the hibernation of winter Wood energy brings an energetic time of growth and movement, a time for creativity and ideas, new plans.

Our spring energy naturally surges forwards, needing to grow and move. If this is constrained, either by continued cold weather, or even by a lack of direction in our lives, we can feel frustrated or depressed. Physically we can experience headaches and neck tension, inflexibility in our joints.

There are ways we can shift our constrained energy. If you are feeling a little pent up, get outside and move! This will allow all that stuck energy to move properly through your body. Being open to change and starting something new can allow that energy to flow. If you’re still feeling stuck, acupuncture can help, relieving the tension, giving you vision and inspiration and allowing you to be open to change.

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

Tags: acupuncture, depression, energy, frustration, headaches, spring

Breathe Bristol Open Day: Friday 21 March

This Friday at Breathe Bristol Yoga and Therapy Centre, we are having an Open Day

We would like everyone to come and join us for:

• Free 30 minute yoga sessions all day
• Free Ear-Acupuncture taster sessions for relaxation
• Tea and Cake!

Pop in to see what we do and find out more about us. 7.30am to 7.30pm

Breathe Bristol Yoga and Therapy Centre is a haven of peace and relaxation in the heart of the old city next to St Nicholas market. Offering various therapies and Yoga classes all day, you can take time out from your busy work day to focus on your health and wellbeing.

See http://www.breathebristol.co.uk/to find out more

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

Tags: acupuncture, Bristol, free, open day, therapy centre, yoga

Now is the time to start hay fever treatment

Spring is on its way! But while many people are looking forward to enjoying the summer ahead, for 20% of our population it not such an enjoyable season. For those that suffer with hay fever, or seasonal rhinitis,  it can be a miserable time of year.

But sufferers should know that this need not be the case. Acupuncture can both relieve the symptoms of hayfever and prevent your immune system over reacting to the pollen in the first place. It can be used successfully during the hay fever season but is most effective as a preventative treatment. It is advised to seek treatment before the hay fever season starts, in early spring, to support the immune system for the coming spring and summer.

Aisling (34) describes her experience of acupuncture:
“I’ve suffered from chronic hayfever since I was 11 years old with some years being so bad that I’m pretty much house bound for days at a time. I’ve tried EVERYTHING… from local honey to steroids with varying degrees of success (and side effects!). I tried acupuncture as a last resort two years ago and it’s genuinely the only thing that has worked. I don’t have to remember to take antihistamines every day, there are no side effects and it’s the most effective treatment that I’ve come across yet.”

Acupuncture focuses on treating “the Root and the Branch.” This means that treatment during the hay fever season will address the immediate symptoms, the itchy eyes, the stuffy nose etc, but most importantly preventative treatment will focus on treating the cause of your hay fever. The diagnosis will look at how your body responds to triggers, and why your immune system has such an extreme response to something as seemingly harmless as pollen.

Acupuncture treatment focuses on treating fundamental imbalances within a person, so regulation of the immune system will be a natural part of most treatment. Because of this, people who come for acupuncture for other reasons can often report an improvement in their hay fever symptoms. Tom (34) found that this was the case:

“After 5 summer of suffering from Hay fever quite badly I had been having acupuncture throughout winter and spring for other reasons but got to the time of year it would usually start and no symptoms at all – for the last 4/5yrs now!”

For more information and details of scientific research into the use of acupuncture for Hay fever visit the British Acupuncture Council

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

Tags: acupuncture, allergies, allergy, Bristol, hay fever, hayfever, pollen, seasonal rhinitis, treatment

Its Acupuncture Awareness Week! First treatment just £20

This week is Acupuncture Awareness Week, find out more here: http://www.introducingacupuncture.co.uk/

Strictly Come Dancing star Camilla Dallerup talks here about how acupuncture has helped her back pain throughout her career: http://youtu.be/KCszCb0zJio

First treatment just £20!
To celebrate acupuncture awareness week, contact me this week and your first treatment will be just £20. Just mention the Acupuncture Awareness Week offer

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

What is Gua sha?

Gua sha (pronounced ‘gwa shah’) is a traditional Chinese technique that I use regularly when people have muscle tension and pain, especially in the neck and shoulders, or a number of other conditions including headaches or viruses.

Gua literally translates as ‘scraping’. Gua sha involves repeated pressured strokes over oiled skin with a smooth edge, that results in the appearance of small red petechiae called ‘sha’. The gua sha instrument is usually made of bone, ceramic or jade.

The results look painful but actually this doesn’t hurt at all…. it feels like a strong deep massage and you feel immediate relief from pain, stiffness, fever, etc.., and the red marks or ‘sha’ will fade in 2 to 3 days.

Gua sha is used to move stagnant blood and lymph , promoting better circulation and metabolic processes. It is also used to remove toxins from the body

I find this technique especially effective for people with neck and shoulder pain, often caused by sitting at a computer. This tension can even lead to headaches, or numbness and pain in their arms and hands. Gua sha can often make a quite dramatic impact on somebody’s pain

See this video for a demonstration of the technique: (http://youtu.be/-jbd8CgmLTg) as you can see the person feels no pain even though it looks dramatic

To find out more about whether gua sha could help you, please get in touch and we can chat about your situation

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol

Tags: acupuncture, arm, Bristol, gua sha, headache, neck, numbness, Pain, shoulder

My acupuncture room at Breathe Bristol

Here’s my lovely new acupuncture room at Breathe Bristol Yoga and Therapy Centre in St Nicholas Market Bristol.

Very exciting!

Eleanor Breen Acupuncture, Bristol