Using the Branches to Treat Lower Jiao Pain of Different Types

Featured Speaker: Chad Bailey, AP

What are the classical branches of Chinese Medicine? Acupuncture, Tui Na Massage, Herbology, Diet Therapy, and Qi Gong.

A Common Case of Male Infertility

Featured Speaker: Lisa Lapwing, AP

An Integrative Approach to Sex Hormone Decline with Functional Medicine and TCM

Featured Speaker: I lyas Hamid DAOM

On April 14th, a 54-year-old woman came into the clinic seeking treatment for insomnia, hot flashes, stress, and she was postmenopausal for 3 years, and since then, she had gained about 25 pounds. Her sleep routine involved going to bed around 10 pm, but she consistently woke up in full alert between 1-4 am and would not be able to fall back asleep. She would turn on the television to try to tire her mind to fall back asleep. She described herself as being in a constant state of anxiety all day and night that she could not turn off. She was regularly and randomly having hot flashes all day and night. She had achilles pain that was taken care of in the past but seemed to have been reactivated with menopause. It had become chronic for 3 years. Her energy levels were low. She felt as though she always needed sleep, and she felt unmotivated. Digestion-related, she always felt bloated. She had constipation that had been going on since her 20s. She would have bowel movements one to two times per week and sometimes would go a week without a bowel movement. The stools were very hard and dry. She would do detox teas to help her bowels move when she was severely constipated. To make herself regular, she would do colon cleanses one to two times a month for about 5 months, but this approach was unsustainable. Her diet included 2-3 meals per day. She would often miss breakfast, which seemed to have made her more stressed at work. She relied mostly on sandwiches and starches and included a lot of vegetables in her diet. Some foods that were regularly included in her diet were peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, pretzels for snacks, pasta for dinner, and cereal with fruit or toast with avocado and eggs. She loves coffee and has been drinking 2 large cups a day since she was in her 20s. She has also gone vegan at times. She perspired often, especially when having hot flashes. Some of her other symptoms include dry phlegm in the nose at night, and swelling and tightness all over her body,

As she was sharing her symptoms, I was navigating the possible pattern differentiations I could diagnose her with, just like many Chinese Medicine Practitioners do. When it comes to menopause, most practitioners will consider some form of Yin Deficiency. With her hot flashes and constipation, one may consider heat signs. But when I looked at her tongue, I was surprised to find that she had a very thick, greasy tongue coat, and a pale tongue that was slightly redder at the tip. The tongue coating was not just centralized but was also on the sides of the tongue which would be considered the Liver area. Her pulse was overall slippery and wiry on the right and left sides respectively. This was the first time I had experienced menopause in this way. I diagnosed this as a Damp Phlegm Accumulation trapping Empty Heat.

Diagnostics & Treatment of the Melanated Patient

Featured Speaker: Bob Linde, AP, RH

Eco-Friendly Practices in Chinese Herbal Formula Manufacturing

By Exhibitor KPC Herbs

Genetics and Brain Chemistry

Featured Speaker: Dr. J . Dunn BS, DC, CKP, CWK

Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip Complex: Testing, Assessment, and Programming

Featured Speaker: Derrick Mc Bride LAc, CSCS

As an Acupuncturist, low back pain is likely a common complaint you treat. You likely have your tried-and-true ways of treating it, whether it’s deep needling of the Huatuojiaji points, Master Tung points, or something else. You also likely have impressive success stories using these techniques to solve problems that other practitioners could not solve. This is a tremendous feat that I’m sure those patients are grateful for.

What I will cover in the first session of my lecture, Lumbo-Pelvic-Hip Complex: Testing, Assessment, and Programming, will be straightforward and easy to implement orthopedic and muscle tests to better understand the nature and anatomy of the common pain syndromes afflicting the lumbopelvic region. Being more proficient in our anatomy and ability to stress anatomical structures for a more concrete orthopedic understanding of the patient’s pain is always a valuable endeavor. After all, our bodies are biomechanical machines, and our pain syndromes often present themselves within the machinery. They are obviously much more than this, but a working diagnosis from this context is a great step towards an actionable treatment plan. For instance, if I can produce 3 or 4 positive tests for the illusive sacroiliac joint pain, I feel strongly that my plan should include direct treatment to the SI joint. That’s a solid anatomical starting point. From there, we can branch off to holistic treatment of the entire person in front of us, knowing we are stepping from solid ground.

Notes on Patient Acquisition

Featured Speaker: Nell Smircina

I often get asked what is the one thing I wish I knew when I started my practice. It’s relatively simple: the things you THINK will give you a successful practice and good patient outcomes are not the things that drive the most impactful results for patients. It’s amazing to me in our holistic medicine field how we can get so tunnel visioned on the perceived skill set necessary to generate exceptional outcomes with patients. A “successful” treatment or treatment plan is multifaceted, and our approach should be as well. We can be exceptionally skilled with a needle and know powerful protocols for different patterns. However, if we aren’t considering all aspects of what drives people to comply with a treatment plan, or even curating an effective plan and just letting the patient dictate things like frequency and duration of treatment, we are not getting the best result possible.

Enter your game changer: patient communication. This goes well beyond explaining how acupuncture works (which yes, we will cover in class) into delicately navigating important aspects of a care plan, and influencing patients to comply with important aspects of your recommendations. Don’t get hung up on the word influence, which gets a bad rep, but rather think about how you are helping to influence positive health outcomes for as many patients as possible. We are trusted providers who need to be able to effectively articulate all potential factors which could impact patient results. Patients need to know, like, and trust us. If there is one thing which can drastically improve patient results in your practice, it’s learning to properly communicate in any setting.

Pelvic Floor Patient Case Study

Featured Speaker: Darren O’ Rourke

Most of us were taught Gua Sha in school. I did very little of it; patients came in for Acupuncture, not a massage. In a continuing education class, I took another course in Gua Sha and Cupping. That's where I learned about the nature of pain and the toxic buildup in muscle and tendon tissue.

Have you ever wondered what causes pain? Nerves must be fed blood, body fluids, and energy to feel good. Please take one of these away; the nerve is not being fed, so it sends a pain signal. As an example, intertwine your fingers and clutch them very tightly together. You can see how your fingers are no longer getting the blood supply, body fluids, and energy they need. The longer you clutch your fingers and hands together, the more pain you are in. When you release them, the pain goes away.

Understanding the Differentials of Low Back Pain

Featured Speaker: Anna Folckomer, L. Ac, DAOM

For many clinics, back pain can be something that we see the most, but is often understood the least. Or perhaps we treat all of them with the same local points and just hope for the best. It’s true, back pain does have ambiguity and lots of overlap, but that is never a reason to forfeit our diagnostic principles and inherently thorough assessment skills.

Take Francis, for example. He’s fit, athletic, and the last repetition of his deadlift “tweaked" his back one week ago, and it’s not improving the way previous back episodes have. Next comes in Cara, who bent over to pick something up in her office, felt a sudden twinge, and had to leave work early and lie on a heating pad for the rest of the day. Both of these cases are just different enough from Kelly, who occasionally experiences a feeling of having a tight strip across her lower back, but flared recently after a prolonged period of standing on concrete floors for a real estate showing. Amy’s pain has a sudden onset and is dull, diffuse, and difficult to locate but seemed to really get worse last night, and Jen’s pain flared up after the heel broke off her boot, but she needed to keep working through a hectic day and didn’t notice until 20,000 steps later. It’s only 11 am and all of these people, all with back pain, have pointed to the exact same area of discomfort.

Mission Accomplished!
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