Well it’s December 1 and time to use up any health insurance you might have for acupuncture.  Have you checked your third party coverage yet?  Does it run on the calendar year?  If so it’s time to make sure you have used everything available to you.  It’s amazing how many people have hundreds of dollars worth of coverage they don’t use every year without realizing it.  Maybe you only have one or two visits left in the year, or maybe you have the money to come twice a week for the next month, whatever you have use it!  If you are thinking you don’t need to come in imagine laying on a cozy table with my heat lamp and a few needles placed in key spots to help you stop worrying about how fast Christmas is coming….

Don’t have extended health benefits but qualify for the partial coverage MSP provides for low income residents.  Don’t forget your 10 visits expire December 31.  Put the money towards a private session or look into our group acupuncture, either way let’s use those visits up.

If you’ve been diagnosed with arthritis or if you’re knees are just sore you may have noticed them more this month.  Well you can blame it on the weather or cold damp invasion as we call it in Traditional Chinese Medicine.  Every year many of my clients with arthritis tend to have a flare up near the end of October/beginning of November, especially when it is in the knees.  I’m slowly starting to get everyone trained that coming in early in the fall for a three to four sessions can make a big difference as we get closer to Christmas.  Acupuncture and moxibustion are a great way to clear up pain and swelling in the knees due to arthritis, making your Christmas shopping a lot easier!  Even though we have passed the early fall prevention period it is not too late, acupuncture can still help your arthritis.

It seems every week I get phone calls asking what community style or group acupuncture clinics are.  After being in China I think this style of acupuncture developed partly due to the large population of China.  If you think the waiting room of your doctor’s office is crowded and the wait too long, imagine putting another billion people in the line.

In rural areas of China it’s not uncommon for the doctor to travel and for the patients to travel to the doctor, resulting in less time available and more people with the need.  Hospitals in the city are often overcrowded with the number of people needing treatment overwhelming the number of trained doctors available.

In the countryside and the city it is not uncommon to walk into a room and find 20 people sitting and chatting with acupuncture needles in their hands, feet and head.  The only way the doctor may get through the daily list of patients is treat people together, leading to the group style acupuncture.

Here we offer this to try and help out those who have a hard time making an appointment because of changing schedules and those who need more frequent treatment.  Our group acupuncture is drip in, like a drip in medical clinic you won’t need an appointment but we can’t guarantee you won’t need to wait a few minutes.  You will be sitting in a chair, fully clothed with others in the room so we mainly pt needles in the hands, feet and head. 

This style of acupuncture does limit us slightly in the conditions we can treat during a group acupuncture session.  An example would be someone suffering with acute sciatic pain making sitting very uncomfortable.  Sciatica is largely treated with needles in the buttock and back of the leg…a little harder to do seated in a chair with your clothes on.  There are many conditions we can treat quite easily in the group session.  Once you come in for your initial assessment and private treatment we can decide if group acupuncture is for you.

Group acupuncture is offered on Monday and Wednesday 2-4pm.

As many of you may have heard MSP is now covering some acupuncture services in BC. In order to qualify for this coverage you need to be on premium assistance for your regular monthly MSP payments. If you are on premium assistance MSP will contribute the $23.00 towards the cost of your acupuncture treatment for 10 treatments. It is important to remember if you are seeing any other health care practitioners such as a Registered Massage Therapist, Physiotherapist, Chiropractor or Naturopath they are also included in your maximum of 10 visits. This does not mean you get 10 visits for each practitioner but a total of 10 visits per year.
At the Lalli Care Clinic you are able to utilize your MSP coverage and have private visits and our group acupuncture covered. Initially you come for a private evaluation and treatment, part of which the fee may be covered by MSP. After that if you are a suitable candidate for group acupuncture you could try our group drop in acupuncture on Monday, Wednesday or Friday afternoon. The cost of group acupuncture would be covered by MSP if you are eligible.

After reading this title you might be wondering how I could get a baby to lay still long enough for acupuncture, well in this case I was trying to make a baby move.

I have been working with a client throughout the course of her pregnancy to help her with all kinds of pregnancy related problems and stress from work.  Last week she discovered her baby was in a breech position and needed to be turned before she could give birth.  She came in for her normal weekly acupuncture appointment and 12 hours later her baby moved!  Nathan and myself decided a joint treatment using manual massage techniques and moxabustion on an acupuncture point traditionally used to stimulate the movement of a fetus would be a great idea.  We sent the client home for the weekend and turns out the baby is now in the right position so further treatment won't be needed.... unless baby decides to be independent and move again!

If all goes as planned the next course of treatment for this client will be acupuncture to prepare the body for childbirth, acupuncture in the initial stages of labor for pain and a post natal treatment for mom and babe.  Mom can have some acupuncture and baby can have a gentle acupressure massage.

I booked my first client in for December this week and suddenly realized not only do I need to make it to the post office soon but I need to buy the Christmas presents before I can mail them.  The thought of spending my weekend at the mall and then having to stand in line at the post office makes me want to grab a bottle of wine, a good movie and stay home.  However, the sounds of joy from my niece and nephews when they open their gifts is enough to get me into the stores...but how do we avoid the stress and frustration Christmas shopping can bring on?

Guess it's time for me to book an appointment with my own Acupuncturist.  Perhaps a Friday after work would be the ideal time.  I could leave the appointment feeling calm and relaxed get a great sleep and be ready to take on both swimming lessons and the mall Saturday morning.  If I go crazy, shop all weekend and hit the post office I could get it done but might be tired and sore.  Oh well, I can always fit in another acupuncture appointment Monday morning on the way to work to wake me up and revitalize me after my weekend of shopping.

 At least once a week during the cold and flu season someone calls me to cancel an appointment because they are sick.  I am a healthcare professional, I don't mind if you keep your appointment when you are sick with a cold or flu...you'll probably even benefit from it. 

I understand the feeling of not wanting to leave the house or get dressed when you are sick but it really is to your benefit.  Most people I have treated with a cold or flu seem to recover on average within a matter of days.  They generally don't get the lingering runny nose, lack of energy and tiredness.  The symptoms people do develop are often a lot milder when treated with acupuncture.

Even better call me as soon as you feel you are getting run down.  There are acupuncture points which are used for strengthening the immune system to preventing common cold and the flu from coming on...sort of like a natural flu shot using acupuncture needles.  If you are the type of person who gets a cold or flu every year and has a hard time getting over them let's set up a treatment plan now to strengthen your natural resources before we get too far into the season.

...and don't worry I have a pretty decent immune system so if you are sick I don't mind being around you.

 For the last eleven years people have been saying to me "Why would I try acupuncture and let you stick me with a bunch of needles?"  Well, my response hasn't really changed from "Why not?”  It won't make you sick and it might even make you feel better. 

I guess after this long it shouldn't surprise me how set in their ways people are when it comes to their own health, however, I'm still amazed at the number of people out there who seem to think health problems are something they just have to live with.  I realize there are conditions out there that will be around for a lifetime but who says we can't try to manage them with alternatives like acupuncture.  If you don't mind waiting in the doctors office or at the hospital or lab to get your blood taken, x-rays and other tests done what's another hour to try something different.

Don't get me wrong I don't have anything against the medical system.  I go to the doctor, take pills when I need them and go for any necessary tests the doctor might want me to have.  I think it is amazing that as of April 2008 MSP is going to include acupuncture in the plan for those who are eligible for premium assistant.    More and more doctors are recognizing the value of acupuncture in a treatment plan and recommending patients to acupuncture. 

For those of you who are wondering why they would go try acupuncture the next time you are feeling ill or are in an accident do a little online research I'm sure you will find an article explaining how acupuncture can help with your symptoms.  Or check out CTV's new show "Private Practice" on Wednesday nights.  One of their main characters is a holistic medicine practitioner who does acupuncture in a medical office.  I'm sure you'll find all kinds of illnesses and injuries acupuncture can help with...there aren't many it hasn't been show to be good for.