Almost everyone has had some time in their life when their sleep was interrupted.  Typically, they can relate this to a particular situation such as a stress or health related issue.  However, when it is a chronic problem, it becomes a concern. The result of sleep dysfunction is excessive sleepiness, tiredness, and fatigue. Good sleep allows the body to boost immunity, reduce stress, manage weight, and reduce the risk of chronic diseases. Sleep is essential for good health.  You can not be productive in everything you do in life without proper sleep. This post is about West Palm Beach Chiropractor: Acupuncture Treats Insomnia.

 

What is insomnia?

Firstly, you have insomnia if you have: difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or nonrestorative sleep.  Secondly, this difficulty is present despite the opportunity and circumstance to sleep.  Thirdly, Insomnia leads to daytime distress.   Fourthly, this sleep dysfunction occurs at least 3 times per week and has been a problem for at least 1 month.

Your insomnia may make you tired, tense, lazy, or have delayed reactions, distraction, or headaches. Lastly, the most severe consequences of insomnia can be depression.

While Insomnia can be treated with medications, these can have dangerous side effects. Indeed, there are some non-drug therapy options including acupuncture.

 

Acupuncture is a Complementary and Alternative Medical Therapy for Insomnia

Acupuncture  has been used for over 4000 years to treat pain and other health problems. The acupuncture treatment stimulates the imbalanced pathways along the meridians to bring balance back.  Mainly, the  goal is to activate the body’s natural healing abilities and bring balance back to your body. It’s often used as part of a broader approach to healthcare and help disorders such as insomnia.

Studies show that acupuncture improves sleep quality, fatigue, cognitive problems, and emotional symptoms without the side effects of drugs. Acupuncture seems to help prolong total sleep time and improve sleep efficiency.

 

The exact mechanism by which acupuncture relieves insomnia is unclear. However, it appears that acupuncture needling on certain acupoints can have effects on or transfer information to the appropriate organs. Furthermore, an explanation is found in the “meridians theories” in Traditional Chinese Medicine. For instance, in one study, it appeared acupuncture altered the electrical activity of multiple meridians in insomnia patients.

Moreover, basic science and various clinical studies have indicated that acupuncture regulates various neurotransmitters and hormonal factors.  This includes endorphins, serotonin, norepinephrine, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), cortisol, acetylcholine (Ach), melatonin, substance P, other neuropeptides, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and nitric oxide.  And all of these play major roles in sleep regulation.

 

 

West Palm Beach Chiropractor: Acupuncture Treats Insomnia

Meiri Chiropractic offers acupuncture for Insomnia and many other ailments. Dr. Natalie Meiri is a chiropractic physician, board certified  in acupuncture with over 20 years of experience.  Call today for your acupuncture treatment for Insomnia and/or better sleep at 561-253-8984.

 

Acupuncture West Palm Beach: Relief For Menopause and Perimenopause is about how to minimize or eliminate the unpleasant side effects of menopause.

Did you know acupuncture treatments can significantly reduce menopause and perimenopause symptoms?  Your quality of life will improve.  In one study, they found the benefits after a course of acupuncture treatments lasted for at least 6 months and beyond. 

 

What is Menopause?

Menopause is the point at which a woman stops ovulating and menstruation ceases, indicating the end of fertility. It is a natural progression in life. Many women experience few if any symptoms during this time.  However, others may suffer.  The following are some symptoms: anxiety, dry skin, fatigue, feelings of bloating, headaches, heart palpitations, hot flashes, insomnia, irritability, decreased interest in sex, loss of concentration, mood swings, night sweats, reduced stamina, urinary incontinence, vaginal dryness and itching, weight gain, cold hands and feet, joint pain, hair loss, and skin changes.

Menopause is actually a natural progression in life.  Above all, it is also the time women become increasingly vulnerable to other, potentially serious health problems. Over the long term, the diminished supply of estrogen increases the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and vaginal atrophy. Remarkably, all the above can be avoided through a proper diet, nutritional supplements, exercise and acupuncture treatments.

Menopause Symptoms

After 12 months without menstruating, a woman is in menopause. The average age of menopause onset in the Unites States is 51.  Decreased circulating levels of estrogen with menopause appear to affect the central nervous system via the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is a small but important area in the center of the brain between the pituitary gland and thalamus. It plays an important role in hormone production and helps to stimulate many important processes in the body. The hypothalamus controls body temperature, thirst, hunger, and other homeostatic systems.  It is also involved in sleep and emotional activity.

So 95% of perimenopausal and menopausal women experience “hot flashes”. These flushing and sweating episodes are sudden in onset and last several minutes.  A sensation of face and neck hotness extends to the front of the chest. The skin temperature may increase as much as 5° and may result in wetting of clothing through excess perspiration. Physiologic responses that also occur include an increase in heart rate perceived sometimes as palpitations.

Furthermore, there may be symptoms of headache, dizziness, and nausea during the episodes.  Many women have night sweats and also have difficulty falling asleep. And often awaken early without being able to fall back to sleep. Approximately 80% of women experience these episodes for more than 1 year. And as many as 20% of women have symptoms for more than 5 years.

 

The Hormones involved in Menopause and Acupuncture

Firstly, many years before a woman stops ovulating, her ovaries slow their production of the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Estrogen and progesterone are commonly thought of as sex or reproductive hormones. While estrogen is indeed essential for reproduction, it also acts on many nonreproductive organs and systems in the body. Cells in the vagina, bladder, breasts, skin, bones, arteries, heart, liver, and brain all contain estrogen receptors. And they require this hormone to stimulate these receptors for normal cell function.

Secondly, vasomotor symptoms (VMS), which include hot flashes and night sweats, are the most common and troubling symptoms associated with menopause. Although some women report experiencing the menopause without any VMS, for other women, these symptoms can be frequent and severe.  Furthermore, it interrupts their daily activities and quality of life. And this can continue for almost 10 years. It appears, VMS are the main menopause-related problems for which US women seek treatment.

Thirdly, Estrogen therapy, alone or in combination with progesterone, is currently the most effective treatment of VMS. However, Hormone therapy (HT), is associated with a number of risks.  For example, they are thromboembolic (blood clot) events and breast cancer.  Additionally, breast tenderness and irregular bleeding have been reported. Indeed, women seek alternatives such as, herbal, dietary remedies, or behavioral therapies. Unfortunately, it may not be enough.

Fourthly, Acupuncture treatments can have a positive benefit on reducing hot flashes and improving sleep and other menopausal/perimenopausal symptoms. Many times, the clinical benefits are observed after just a few acupuncture treatments and can have lasting effects.

 

Menopause, Perimenopause and Joint Pain

A common symptom often associated with hormonal changes is pain. More than half of women experience arthralgia (pain in a joint) around the time of menopause. The causes of joint pain in postmenopausal women can be difficult to determine.  This is because the period of menopause coincides with a rising incidence of chronic rheumatic conditions such as osteoarthritis. Nevertheless, the prevalence of arthralgia does appear to increase in women going through the menopausal transition.  Studies have shown this results from a reduction in estrogen levels. Moreover, this may have to do with various interactions. And these interactions are between sex hormones and pain processing pathways. And immune cells and chondrocytes (cartilage cells) are part of these interactions.

Given a growing concern regarding estrogen replacement therapy, a search for alternatives in the management of menopause is prevalent. Many studies have found that the use of alternative therapies for menopause symptoms is common.  And women who use them generally find them to be beneficial. Also, Acupuncture along with Chiropractic can be a great intervention in the treatment of postmenopausal climacteric symptoms especially in the area of joint pain.

If you are suffering from menopause or perimenopause contact Meiri Chiropractic.  Your chiropractic physician certified in acupuncture in West Palm Beach will get you better.  Call 561-253-8984 to make an appointment or to learn more about West Palm Beach Acupuncture: Relief From Menopause and Perimenopause.

 

References:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4874921/

Thomas Souza, (2018) Differential Diagnosis and Management for the Chiropractor