Hello wellness friends, welcome back to the Wellness Inspired Podcast, a place where you can find inspiration, motivation and empowerment in the pursuit of a wellness lifestyle. I'm your host, sherri Davidson. I'm a wellness coach and an acupuncturist in Houston, texas, and I am deeply passionate about health and well-being. And, as always, I am here with my co-host, finn. And if you're new to the podcast, finn is my terium mixed rescue dog, trail runner and loyal companion. He is also a therapy dog and greeter at Element 5 Acupuncture and Wellness, and in this episode we are going to stay on the theme of acupuncture. Last episode I talked about some TCM theory or traditional Chinese medical theory. We talked about the Jing. Today, I'm going to talk about a specific type of acupuncture and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this information with you because of the potential it holds to help so many people. So here we go. Three weeks ago, I became a level one neuro acupuncturist. What is that, you ask? Well, that's our topic for today, and I can't tell you how excited I am to share this with you. You know, I feel like a kid going to Disney World for the first time. For months, I've been talking to patients about the benefits of neuro acupuncture and I am ecstatic to begin to master this art. But before we get started, I want to share the inspiration to start this journey.

Speaker 1: 1:43

Over the years many people have asked if I practiced neuro acupuncture and of course the answer was always no. And one of those people was the wife of a very good and longtime friend of mine. My friend was diagnosed with MS. She read that neuro acupuncture could help them with some of the signs and symptoms and of course I had to tell her no, I didn't practice it. And last February I was at a TCM conference and one of the speakers was Dr Jason Howe of the Neuro Acupuncture Institute and he blew me away with the results he was getting with neurological disorders, especially MS. And I remembered one thing that my friend told me. He said if I could just walk better. So listening to Dr Howe and having this connection with my friend, I thought, wow, if I could learn this and I could help him, his life would change, as well as his family. And that has been my inspiration.

Speaker 1: 2:50

And I spent months stalking Dr Howell. I watched video after video after video. He has a documentary out on neuro acupuncture and I will put that in the show notes. If you'd like to watch it, I will also put the link to his website. It's the neuro acupuncture institute and I decided I'm going in, I'm doing it. So, as of two weeks ago, I can now call myself a level one neuro acupuncturist and there are two more levels and I do plan to complete the other two levels because there's a lot more technique and those two levels a lot more needling techniques. So I'm excited for that. That will be next year.

Speaker 1: 3:37

But neuro acupuncture, it is a new hope for those seeking alternative approaches. Not even seeking an alternative approach, they're just looking for a way to manage a neurological disorder or, in other cases, which I'll talk a little bit later. It's really great for strokes. So people that have paralysis due to strokes been incredibly effective for. So it's not just an alternative people seeking alternative approaches, it is people seeking to get results when Western medicine has nothing to give them. So this is amazing. So this episode I will shed light on what neuro acupuncture is, how it works and its potential for transforming people's lives. So stay tuned before I get started.

Speaker 1: 4:27

If you've been listening to the podcast, you know that I am planning a wellness riverboat cruise in 2024, my friend Tammy Heroka. She is with Fressy Travels. She is a travel concierge and, proud to say, friend. She's also been in the podcast and we've talked about wellness travel. But she's helping me plan this adventure and I have yet to commit to a river. I know I keep saying that too, but I'm thinking of a seven night cruise on the Danube River. So we'll cruise through Austria, germany, hungary and Slovakia. There will be active sightseeing, so hiking, biking, maybe some running, and there will be yoga, wellness talks, relaxing and locally sourced cuisine. So stay tuned for more details. I already have many people interested, so get ready to grab your spot. Oh, and one more thing before we get started I am playing around with some sound stuff, so my apologies if this sounds different than the other episodes, but hopefully, if it does sound different, it sounds better. Okay, let's do this.

Speaker 1: 5:38

In the ever-evolving healthcare landscape, innovative treatments often arise, and today I will talk about one at the intersection of ancient wisdom and modern science, and at this intersection it is called neuro acupuncture. The modern system of scalp acupuncture was developed in China in the 1950s and, as it has grown, the systematic charting of scalp correspondences to the regions of the brain. That started in 1971. Now neuro acupuncture is an advanced skill, most effective in treating acute and chronic central nervous system disorders, often producing remarkable results with a little time and just a few needles. That's amazing to me. So you're probably wondering like what exactly is neuro acupuncture and how does it integrate Western medicine into its theory?

Speaker 1: 6:35

Well, let's start by defining neuro acupuncture, and this definition is from the Neuro Acupuncture Institute and it says it is a modern acupuncture technique that integrates traditional needling methods with the modern knowledge of neurology and neurosciences. And I also found this interesting. As an acupuncturist, I learned a new word and it is a new term that is quoted again from Dr Hao, and it is called neuro acuology. So neuro acuology I hope I'm saying that right. Anyways, it's neuro and then acupuncture, and then like the study of. So neuro acuology. It is a new discipline or subject in the acupuncture field which will continue to evolve through standardization and systematic scientific rigor. It has stability, integrity, consistency and my favorite part beauty. I love that. So that is neuro acupuncture defined. So I wanna go a little bit under the surface of the definition. I'm not gonna go in too far, but I am gonna talk a little bit deeper so you get a better idea of how it works and how it's integrated, then I will wrap the episode up with some, with the different applications of it and the different conditions that it can treat.

Speaker 1: 8:00

Neuro acupuncture combines the ancient wisdom of TCM, so that's the needling methods, with our modern understanding of the brain and the nervous system, so that's the neuro anatomy and neuro physiology. It harnesses the power of the brain's ability to adapt and heal through a process known as neuroplasticity. By stimulating acupuncture areas on the scalp that correspond to specific areas of the brain, neuroacupuncture can influence the neural pathways related to various neurological conditions. Now, neuroacupuncture stands as a relatively youthful innovation in the world of acupuncture. If you remember, in the beginning, it emerged just 50 years ago, and that is a stark contrast to the 2,500 years to 5,000 years of history of traditional Chinese medicine.

Speaker 1: 8:48

So I want to talk a little bit about what distinguishes it from its traditional counterpart, and there are two central principles. The first is location the scalp acupuncture areas are rooted in the reflux somatotopic system established in Western medicine, rather than relying on the traditional meridian theory. Now, if you're not familiar with meridian theory, I will give you a quick, brief description. This theory is a fundamental concept in Chinese medical philosophy, it is the existence of a network of channels or pathways, referred to as meridians, through which vital energy or life force, known as Qi, flows in the body. The meridians are associated with specific organs and functions, and the flow of Qi is essential for health and well-being. So neuro acupuncture is not based on this meridian theory. That's the first one, so the second one is scalp acupuncture consists of needling areas instead of specific points on the skull.

Speaker 1: 9:52

This approach aligns with the intricate neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the brain. The scalp's remarkable composite allows it to serve as an external catalyst for internal brain activity and that is so cool to me and this influences the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, the thalamocortical circuits, the thalamus, the hypothalamus and the pineal gland. These designated treatment areas or zones are based on the scalp's reflex somatotopic system. So just take a second and imagine your scalp is like a map, and different parts of the map are connected to different parts of your body. So if you touch one spot on your scalp, it may affect how your arms or legs feel. So that's the idea behind the reflex somatotopic system. The scalp's Reflexumetatopic system follows the brain's intricate topographical organization found in Western medicine. So this is how the brain is organized. It's the map of the brain, and each area of the brain does something, and these zones on the skull or scalp correspond to essential areas within the cerebrum and cerebellum responsible for central nervous system functioning, and this includes motor control, sensory perception, vision, speech, hearing and equilibrium. That is just fascinating.

Speaker 1: 11:12

I just I love this, and you're probably wondering, with all of that information, what neuro acupuncture can treat. I'm just going to give you a list here. So I think one of the most intriguing aspects of neuro acupuncture is its versatility. This treatment modality can be used to address a wide range of health issues. So the list I'm going to give you is not limited to just this. So if you're curious, if neuro acupuncture treats something, please reach out and I can. I can let you know, but these are the main conditions that it treats. Stroke is one in class. There was actually a patient that had a stroke and through the neuro acupuncture he was paralyzed. His mobility came back, so that is super cool. Parkinson's is another one MS. So I'm excited to practice on my friend to see what we can get.

Speaker 1: 12:06

Traumatic brain injury my advisor that was overseeing our practice sessions. She specialized in traumatic brain injury, so she got great results with the scalp acupuncture and it's just, it's just so amazing. But also PTSD, cerebral palsy, autism, paralysis, complex regional pain. There was a patient in class that had complex regional pain. She was a nurse and a patient fell on her and it injured her knee. She had surgery and after the surgery they didn't know if something had happened because she started experiencing a lot of pain and nobody could figure out what it was. She was on every kind of the, every kind of pain met. I mean, all of the heavy hitters she was on and she was on OxyCotin all of them for seven years. And then she found Dr Howe and started getting treatment and she is hiking Machu Picchu now and she was a patient in our class. So it was really a testimony to what this modality can do. So super, super exciting.

Speaker 1: 13:12

It can also treat this is the last one trigeminal neuralgia. Again, it's not really the last one, but the last one on my list. Now those are some life changing conditions and if neuro acupuncture can help people in this way, it really is transforming lives. If it can help my friend walk better or return mobility to a once paralyzed arm from a stroke, or relieve someone in intense pain. Neuro acupuncture is priceless.

Speaker 1: 13:42

If this episode has piqued your interest, as it should, and you are considering neuroacupuncture, seeking a licensed acupuncturist specializing in this approach is crucial Making sure they are certified from a reputable institution like the Neuroacupuncture Institute and I don't know if there's another one here in the States. This is the only one that I know of, but also experience in the field. They're both very crucial criteria to consider. Some acupuncturists might tell you they do scalp acupuncture, but the neuroacupuncture is very different than just scalp acupuncture and there is a specific needling style and needling technique that goes along with that. So if they say they do scalp acupuncture, it does not necessarily mean that they do neuroacupuncture. So just ask questions and ask about certifications and where they got their certification. And again, the Neuroacupuncture Institute is a very valuable resource. They also have a global map on their website. So, depending on where you are, I've already been to it like three or four times looking up practitioners for friends of mine, so you can go on there, look in your area and see if anyone is listed. Now, if they're not listed, it doesn't necessarily mean they haven't studied with the Neuroacupuncture Institute. It is a paid for listing, so some people that study under Dr Hal may opt not to do that. Just be clear and ask questions.

Speaker 1: 15:22

Okay well, I guess it's time to wrap this episode up. I just love all this information and this will not be the first time that I talk about this and I will keep you guys up to date with my friend. Yeah, this is just amazing, amazing stuff, and I just can't say it enough how excited I am to be involved with this. You know Neuroacupuncture it really is a bridge between ancient healing practices and modern science, offering hope and relief to individuals dealing with many health conditions, and while it may not be a one size fits all solution, it represents an exciting and promising approach to treatment of all kinds of neurological disorders. And always consult with your healthcare professional before pursuing any new treatments, including Neuroacupuncture. The combination of personalized medical guidance and the potential of therapies like Neuroacupuncture may pave the way for a brighter, healthier future, transforming people's lives and the quest for health. Exploring innovative approaches like Neuroacupuncture reminds us of the ever present potential for healing, even when we blend ancient wisdom with modern medicine.

Speaker 1: 16:50

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Speaker 1: 17:21

If you're in the Houston area or just visiting and interested in our services acupuncture, herbal medicine, cupping, zinchiatsu or dry needling therapy contact us. You can find out more on our website at element five o m dot com. That's element five, the number five o m dot com, and again, I'll put the link in the show notes. If you're interested in health and wellness coaching, we can connect in the clinic or on zoom. Reach out to us and we'll get you on the schedule and, as always, I would love to hear your feedback. I am dedicated to bringing you great content that is inspiring and informative, with an artsy, fun, edgy spin. Thank you so much for listening. We'll meet here again next time and remember never stop exploring, learning, loving and being you. Bye.

The Wellness Inspired Podcast

Unlocking the Transformative Power of Neuro Acupuncture

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