Poor digestion can have a big effect on a person’s daily life. From stomach aches to frequent trips to the restroom or having to avoid certain foods, indigestion is something that most everyone is conscious of daily. However, sometimes people suffer from bad indigestion and have no idea of the cause or even the extent of the effect it has on their body. In traditional Chinese medicine, there are several physical symptoms to indigestion that the untrained eye would easily overlook. Knowing what to look for can help reveal the problem and lead to solutions.

A common physical sign of poor digestion is hair and nail health. The quality of hair, skin, and nails directly reflects the quality of a person’s nutrition and their ability to absorb and digest nutrients. Specific traits of the nails or hair can sometimes reveal the digestion problem, but more often than not these signs are not diagnostic in themselves. However, for example, sometimes nail ridges can be a sign of protein deficiency.

Bachelor of Science Completion Program Designed to Meet Growing Demand for Highly Educated Nurses

NEW YORK (November 30, 2011) – Registered nurses can advance their careers and earn a degree that prepares them for the future of healthcare through the new Bachelor of Science Completion Program in Holistic Nursing at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) in New York. A leader in developing highly skilled and licensed practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine, including acupuncture, herbal medicine, massage and Asian bodywork, PCOM has developed the first nursing bachelor degree program of its kind within a Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) school.

Traditional Chinese medicine brings to mind acupuncture and the use of natural herbs as healing remedies. Cupping is a lesser-known treatment that is also part of Oriental medicine, one that can provide an especially pleasant experience. One of the earliest documentations of cupping can be found in the work titled A Handbook of Prescriptions for Emergencies, which was written by a Taoist herbalist by the name of Ge Hong and which dates all the way back to 300 AD.

Cupping is the term applied to a technique that uses small glass cups or bamboo jars as suction devices that are placed on the skin. There are several ways that a practitioner can create the suction in the cups. One method involves swabbing rubbing alcohol onto the bottom of the cup, then lighting it and putting the cup immediately against the skin. Suction can also be created by placing an inverted cup over a small flame, or by using an alcohol-soaked cotton pad over an insulating material (like leather) to protect the skin, then lighting the pad and placing an empty cup over the flame to extinguish it. Flames are never used near the skin and are not lit throughout the process of cupping, but rather are a means to create the heat that causes the suction within the small cups.

A fundamental belief of TCM is that we live in a universe where everything is interconnected, and so we cannot separate the internal from the external, or, the mind from the body. Whatever affects one part of the body will automatically affect the other. Likewise, mental and emotional health is directly connected to physical health and visa versa. This foundation of TCM makes it highly effective for ailments that are both physical and mental, such as the addiction to nicotine. Acupuncture for smoking cessation is a natural, effective approach to this common addiction.

Acupuncture is based on the theory that there are channels throughout the body. It is believed that energy, known as “qi”, flows throughout these channels in the psychophysical system in a certain pattern, affecting the essential well-being of a person. Any disruption in this flow of energy will cause malfunctions in the body. Healing begins as acupuncture restores the flow of energy. In an acupuncture treatment, a practitioner will insert small disposable needles into the skin at strategic points situated along the meridians, where energy is thought to be blocked, depending on the person’s ailment. By putting these needles in place at carefully selected acupoints, the energy flow is released to stimulate specific blocked points.

Massage for sports injuries is a great way of taking care of injuries resulting from athletic activities. Massage therapy is an integral part of athlete training and is often included in modern sports training regimens. Athletes and trainers believe that regular therapeutic massages can provide the extra edge required for high performance sportsmen and women. It has become a necessary ingredient for an athlete to help avoid sports injuries and for optimum performance. However, sports injuries are part of being a high performance athlete and massage for sports injuries has become an increasingly popular alternative therapy for the treatment of these injuries.

Regular exercise increases muscular endurance and strength, improves flexibility and respiratory function and enhances heart efficiency. The body adapts gradually to the demand of physical activities. This is as a result of conditioning. Conditioning involves three phases: the tearing down phase where the body is pushed to its limit; the recovery phase where the body rebuilds itself, and, lastly, the build-up phase where the systems adapt to the new demands placed on the body. Massage for sports injuries is a particularly effective way of dealing with the injuries that occur in the tearing down phase.

CHICAGO (October 21, 2011) – Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (PCOM) in downtown Chicago is pleased to invite the public to celebrate the benefits of acupuncture and Oriental medicine on October 24, 2011, from 12-3 pm. The College will offer lectures and presentations on Asian bodywork and Chinese medical massage (Tui Na) and Feng Shui, among others, and will provide free ear acupuncture treatments and Tui Na massages. All lectures and treatments are free in honor of the day that both Governor Quinn and Mayor Emanuel have officially proclaimed “Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Day.”