At this point in pregnancy, most women feel they’ve cleared a hurdle and begin to feel like themselves again. Morning sickness can persist but generally becomes less intense, and energy level also improves. A few new issues may pop up during the second trimester that acupuncture can help a lot with. Migraines and headaches, common in pregnancy, respond beautifully to acupuncture treatment. Usually, once weekly sessions is enough to keep them completely at bay. Some women begin to experience nasal congestion as well. My favorite way to quickly get rid of this is to needle a point called “bitong”- there is one point on each side of the nose, where the edge of the nostril meets the face. It is reliable for draining congestion from the sinuses. Read more
Prenatal Acupuncture: 2nd Trimester
November 09, 2014
I’m excited to give you the first in a series of posts about how acupuncture can help women have an easier, healthier pregnancy. The series will be divided by trimester and which issues acupuncture can address in each.
Acupuncture is a safe, effective method of treating pain and soreness from athletic endeavors. In my office I most frequently see things like plantar fasciitis and IT Band pain, but have also successfully treated shin splints and aided patients recovering from surgeries such as ACL reconstruction. Thermal imaging has shown acupuncture decreases inflammation, doppler ultrasound shows that it increases blood flow to needled areas, and neuroimaging studies show that it decreases brain activity involved in registering pain and increases brain activity involved in healing. I love treating sports injuries because patients are able to see results from the treatments so quickly and are able to stay active and pain-free. Studies have also found that 
I recently participated in a webinar about acupuncture and moxibustion for turning breech babies. I had the honor of hearing from internationally recognized experts in this field including Debra Betts, Ineke Van Den Berg, Sarah Budd, and Becks Armstrong. For those of you who aren’t familiar, moxibustion involves burning an herb called Mugwort, or Artemisia Vulgaris. The herb can be placed directly on the skin or compressed into a cylinder shape and held a few inches from the skin until warmth is felt. The goal is to invigorate blood and warm the body.