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Pacific College Student Interns Make a Difference for Women with Disabilities

By Elena Tate “Getting regular massage therapy and acupuncture has allowed me to manage my pain without the use of opioids,” said Ms. Jeanette Jones. She has been regularly receiving massage therapy and acupuncture by Pacific College interns at the Initiative for Women with Disabilities (IWD) for over 10 years. She, like millions of others, …

“Shenocide”: Three Protocols for the Treatment of Psychospiritual Aspects of Opioid Addiction

By Mary Elizabeth Wakefield, LAc, MS, MM, DiplAc, NCCAOM “Shenocide” is a coined word, describing the killing of the spirit or shen. Opioid addiction, which effectively destroys the patient’s shen, is responsible for a growing number of deaths worldwide. Opioid addiction has reached epidemic proportions in the United States. Some relevant statistics: In 2011, an …

Acupuncture Effective for Insomnia in Cancer Survivors

In a new study, the largest of its kind to date, researchers compared the effectiveness of acupuncture and cognitive behavioral therapy (using sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive restructuring, relaxation training, and education) for the management of insomnia in a group of 160 cancer survivors. Both reduced the severity of the insomnia over 20 weeks, and …

New Study Finds Electro-Acupuncture Effective in Inflammatory Pain Reduction

Previous studies have shown that acupuncture can reduce inflammation, but the actual mechanism of the reduction is still not well-explored. In this new study, researchers conducted an investigation of distal electro-acupuncture at LI 4 on inflammatory pain in the hind paws of mice. Instead of simply testing whether acupuncture would reduce inflammation, they were attempting …

PCOM’s Acupuncture Clinics for the Homeless Featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune

PCOM-SD’s acupuncture clinics for the homeless were recently featured in an article by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Check out an excerpt below or read the full article! The Growing Importance of Alternative Therapies for Homeless Communities Free clinics commonly offer homeless and low-income people medical and dental services, but some San Diego clinics also offer …

Trauma: The Hidden Pathogenic Factor

Have you ever experienced a burn that instantly felt better once you put ice on it? After a few minutes of relief, it is natural to assume that removing the ice would not cause an increase of pain, so you remove the ice. Surprise, the burn becomes more intense and the pain sinks deeper into your body. You reapply the ice. This goes on for a while. Ice goes on, ice comes off to surprise you with burning pain. On again, off again. Finally you can remove the ice and the pain will have sufficiently subsided. Trauma works the same way in that it continues to trickle into your body unless you stop it. If left unchecked, this silent, toxic force seeps deeper continually over the course of years.