Special Needling Techniques

Acupuncture Needles are very versatile tools. Different traditions use them in different ways.

Acupuncture has been passed down by Word-of-Mouth from teacher to student for a long time, and by many venerated Classics of Medical Theory - there are many ways of practicing.

Here is a discussion of one kind of needling technique… I learned this from a friend - Matt Callison.

This kind of Acupuncture technique is not that widely practiced yet, but is a very effective treatment strategy to incorporate into a plan for injury treatment.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Shoulder Injury - Before and After Video

This is example of an intake interview with MJ, a Yoga teacher suffering from shoulder pain from an injury.  Questioning, listening, and touching evaluation are part of the intake process.  If you have been injured, it matters how it happened, what the consequences have been, and the details of what you are experiencing.  It is helpful if your provider lets you tell your story and explain your situation.  A physical injury usually has consequences in a lot of areas of your life.  Your goals in treatment should be a priority in your treatment.

Here is a follow-up interview after five treatments over a period of about 1 month: this is an interview with MJ after about 5 treatments, with her talking about her recovery process.

These videos are representative of what treatment for many kinds of joint and muscle injuries might be like - MJ’s injury was to her shoulder, but similar intake and results could be expected with injuries to other parts of your body.

These videos will give you some flavor of what an Acupuncture intake and evaluation looks like, and the results of a short series of treatments.

Longer and  more detailed videos of this series of treatments will be coming soon to the Professional Education section of this site - check back for more…

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

How can Oriental Medicine help my athletic performance?

Oriental medicine has been used for centuries to increase performance and heal injuries.  Martial arts schools in China as early as the sixth century BC were centers of this medicinal knowledge.  The study of trauma medicine was used to treat injuries such as sprains, muscle pulls, bruises from impact trauma, even dislocations and bone fractures.  This type of medicine came to be known as “Hit Medicine”, due to the injuries sustained while practicing martial arts.  Practitioners were skilled at using acupuncture, moxabustion, special massage and bodywork techniques, and external applications such as compresses and herbal liniments.  This tradition has been passed down throughout Asia to the present day.  In Japan, there is a special class of professional licensed therapists known as Judo-orthopedists, who still practice this tradition.  In addition to acupuncture and other therapies, Ed Antkowiak’s teacher was trained as a practitioner of this Japanese trauma medicine.

In modern times, professional and Olympic athletes have used these techniques to speed healing and enhance performance.  These techniques can be used to speed up post-operative healing as well as for less severe injuries. Professional basketball and football players, triathletes, and dancers have credited acupuncture and Oriental medicine with improving their performance, endurance, and reducing recovery time from injuries.

Whitfield Reeves, co-founder and past president of the National Sports Acupuncture Association, says “Acupuncture, as a specialty of sports medicine, can offer therapeutic modalities of treatment that can be of great assistance in the prevention and treatment of athletic injury.  Traditional Chinese medical theory can offer tremendous insight into the nature of the athlete as a whole, not just reducing the patient to an injury or ailment.”

Women athletes, as a group, can especially benefit from Oriental medicine’s holistic approach to sports medicine.  Health issues particular to women or common among women, such as menstrual dysfunction, connective tissue disorders, anemia, eating disorders and the effects of past eating disorders, depression, etc., can affect women’s athletic performance or predispose them to certain injuries.  Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can help by treating or effectively managing these conditions, freeing up energy and other resources which can then be channeled into improving performance.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education

Acupuncture and Auto Accidents

Hit Medicine:  Oriental Medicine, Martial arts, and Trauma

Traumatic injury is as old as the human race.  In the Orient, as in the West, orthopedic and trauma medicine is a specialized practice.  Practitioners of Asian trauma therapies are trained in specific evaluation methods, acupuncture techniques, bodywork, exercises, herbal treatments, and external applications (compresses and herbal applications).

Traditionally, throughout Asia, trauma medicine has been associated with martial arts.  In China it is generically known as “Hit Medicine” because of this association. Injury from falls, impact trauma, cuts, sprains and strains, and other major and minor injuries all come under this category of Hit Medicine.  Treatment of the whole body, in addition to the injured area, is one of the tenets of this approach.  It is analogous to orthopedic or sports medicine in Western medicine.

Whole body treatment is important for two reasons.  One is that when an injury occurs, not only is tissue damaged, but also the injured area loses its integration with the rest of the body.  Whole body treatment helps restore the integrity of your system.  When a major impact occurs, such as in a fall or an auto accident, often many injuries occur simultaneously, both large and small.  In our health care system in the US, often only the most severe are addressed, and are usually treated as a local condition, or generically treated as “Pain”, with strong pain medications that have significant side effects.  Treatment of the whole body can identify and address both major and minor injuries that may have been overlooked, but still need to be treated.

When you are in an automobile accident, there are usually several kinds of trauma involved – primary trauma comes from direct impact against a hard surface.  Secondary trauma is caused when inertia causes your body to be injured by internal forces when thrown against something during the accident, or just from the impact itself.  Whiplash and Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI)  are examples of a secondary injury.  These injuries are usually quite complicated, since while your injury will often manifest as pain at a specific point or area, the whole problem reflects throughout your body through the fascial system, or in other ways, and may cause injury or pain somewhere else in your system.    It is common for a pattern of injuries to all be related to a single impact.

A practitioner trained in hit medicine will be able to accurately evaluate the complicated nature of secondary injuries.

For more information, please give me a call at (206) 632-5640, or email me at ed@hibikimedia.com (Click the envelope icon at the top right of this page)

Ed Antkowiak, L.Ac. - Seattle Acupuncture and Professional Education