The Magic of Kinesiotape after Acupuncture!

Kinesiotaping after acupuncture

by Gord Grant Kinesiotape (K tape) or elastic therapeutic tape, really got popular about 10 years ago with professional athletes. The kinesiotaping course that I took at that time focused on rehabilitating injured muscles. But after using it at my clinic for a few months, I soon realized it could have much broader applications, like improving back posture! The magic of how K tape works so well in combination with…

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How Acupuncture Treats Many Common Digestion Problems

Acupuncture helps restore normal digestive system functions. Acupuncture can help alleviate many different digestive issues.  As a traditional holistic practice, acupuncture evolved through a “whole systems” perspective and works by supporting normal functioning.  This “wholistic” approach is an often overlooked and underestimated complement to medical treatment. The effects of acupuncture are subtle and cumulative, and when combined with exploring changes in diet and lifestyle, set the stage for natural healing…

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4 Ways Acupuncture Can Support Your Immune System

immune defense against viruses

Acupuncture can help to increase your capacity to fight off infections and more. This winter has been an especially intense one for colds and flus, and we are continuing to deal with COVID infections. Your immune system protects your body from infections through a complex system of general front-line defences, backed up by more sophisticated responses targeted to remember and take out specific invaders. When all is working well, we…

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Acupuncture works for Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMD) and Pain

Woman with TMJ dysfunction and pain

Early in my career as an acupuncturist, my clients introduced me to the nuances of Temporomandibular Dysfunction or Disorder.  TMD is a general diagnosis that represents a group of often painful and/or dysfunctional conditions involving the muscles of chewing and/or the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) located just under the ear. This is a special and complex joint, since it can act as a lever, it can shift side to side, and…

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Evidence-Based Guidelines for Acupuncture in Cancer Therapy

  Acupuncture Relieves Common Side effects of Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy: Cancer therapies, although lifesaving, can be so hard on the body. So, if you could safely take the edge off some of the uncomfortable side effects, wouldn’t you want to? Many patients find that acupuncture can relieve a lot of the common side effects of cancer therapies such as pain, nausea and vomiting, fatigue, anxiety, and loss of appetite. Research studies…

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The only 3 reasons people seek out acupuncture

There are so many pains and health issues that bring people to our clinic.  But over the years it is obvious to me that the motivation and expectations behind why people seek out acupuncture can be narrowed down to only 3 reasons.  Whether its back pain or stress-induced insomnia, people come to us with certain assumptions of what acupuncture can do.  Our job is to do our best in helping…

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Can Acupuncture Help to Prevent Dementia?

  Whether you are a student trying to maximize your cognitive function while learning at university or a middle-aged person noticing how your memory isn’t as good as it used to be, this research on acupuncture and dementia may apply to you too! Dementia is not a necessary consequence of aging alone. A report released this month by the Alzheimer Society of Canada highlights that one of the greatest health…

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Low back Pain: Why our Edmonton acupuncture clinic creates lasting improvement

Our Edmonton clinic uses acupuncture with an integrated approach to treat low back pain that creates a lasting improvement and not just short-term relief.  Here’s why: The way we do acupuncture focuses first on resetting and improving the function of the core muscles and sinews. At the first treatment we work to reduce the pain sensitivity, which affords the opportunity to have the back heal in the next step. We…

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Acupuncture for menopause – an alternative to estrogen

Acupuncture works to relieve symptoms of menopause Two recent research trials highlighted below have shown that acupuncture works for menopause.  It can produce fast and clinically relevant and sustained reduction of hotflashes and night sweats.  A series of treatments over a few months can result in effects lasting several more months. Menopause symptoms Hot flashes and night sweats are the most common and troublesome symptoms associated with menopause.  A hot flash…

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Acupuncture for headaches and migraines

facial acupuncture

Acupuncture works for headaches and migraines Acupuncture for headaches and migraines has gained significant credibility in modern times.  Many Edmontonians come to us seeking relief for headache or migraine because their medications or botox treatments are no longer working well or are giving them unacceptable side effects. A previous blog I wrote talks about a very rigorous scientific examination of clinical research.  In a 2016 Cochrane Review the authors summarized twenty-two…

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