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Steve Paine, OMD |
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Albert Place Practice |
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About Steve Paine About Albert Place Practice Women's Health Men's Health Children's Health CorporateWellness Articles&News Test Your Health |
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Women's health
Prevention and early interventionChinese medicine addresses the full spectrum of women's health and wellness issues. In addition to the comprehensive list under the website heading "Conditions Treated", I treat conditions which are experienced only by women. Herbs and needling therapy offer consistently good success with pre-existing conditions and with preventing early symptoms from developing into full-blown conditions. Chinese medicine begins with the premise that treating conditions at their earliest stages is more conducive to a full and happy life than waiting for them to get worse. Prevention through strengthening defenses and early treatment are concepts pioneered by Chinese medicine. Although Chinese medicine is typically thought of as needles and herbs, diet, exercise, meditation, attitude and lifestyle modification are more important. I try to offer the best information and techniques of Chinese medicine. These include: Eating wellChinese medicine created the system of "food as medicine" and "functional foods" to prevent or treat a range of conditions. For example, the Chinese treat high blood pressure with "cold" and "cooling" foods. Eating one banana, which is a "cold" food, can drop systolic and diastolic pressure readings by 10mmHg. Animal products have traditionally been a small part of the Chinese diet so the idea of eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day to reduce the risk of degenerative and chronic diseases has been a dietary cornerstone for millennia. Maintaining a healthy weightChinese medicine has excellent tools to speed metabolism and reduce appetite. Obesity is at an all time high in Hong Kong and the epidemic is getting worse. Those who are significantly overweight have increased risks for diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. The optimum body fat percentages for women's fertility, for example, are between 18% and 25%. Movement toward those percentages increases the chances for successful assisted (ART) and natural pregnancies. I will supply you with clear food guidelines based upon the centuries-old observations of Chinese medicine. Keep movingMore than 60% of Hong Kong residents do not get enough physical activity to provide health benefits. Thirty to sixty minutes of moderate physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week is recommended. The benefits are wonderful and it doesn't take a lot of time or money, but it does take commitment. I will work with you to find fun ways to stay in shape and feel great by swimming, dancing, gardening, walking, jogging or hiking in the hills around Hong Kong. I am a certified international trainer with the U.S. National Academy of Sports Medicine and a certified disability evaluator with the U.S. National Board of Acupuncture Orthopedics, of which I am a diplomate. I will help you design a program to get fit, stay fit and get progressively more fit. I have worked with the dancers and instructors of the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts to minimize athletic injuries and I work actively with athletes aged from 15 to 78 who compete with the adventure racing group Action Asia. See my interview on www.actionasiaevents.com, My clients have access to my Body Map™ professional fitness evaluation and program design tool. Body Map™ is a web-based movement assessment tool that helps detect muscle imbalances. It's the health and fitness industry's state-of-the-art assessment and program design tool that can revolutionize the way you train. Whether your goal is to lose fat, decrease pain or increase performance, Body Map™ helps you reach your goals safely. Getting routine exams and screeningsI strongly encourage you to get routine exams, screenings and appropriate vaccinations. An excellent guide to the full range of exams and screenings applicable to women is available at: www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/womenshealth.html. In addition, regular monthly or quarterly screenings with me for the assessments and screenings which are particular to Chinese medicine can save you and your family from pain and distress. Finding work-life balance: reduce stressNearly twice as many women as men develop depression and related mood disorders. A woman's unique biological, psychosocial and cultural factors may increase her risk of depression. The single greatest predictor for health problems is the mismanagement of stress. Stressors will continue to increase for everyone, even those attempting to balance a successful work life and a satisfying family life. The solution is proper management of stress by modifying attitude and lifestyle. Superb training in learning adaptive attitudes and techniques for deriving more satisfaction from life, primary keys to long-term health, are available at no charge at www.attitudefactor.com . I strongly recommend this exceptional website. Chinese Medicine has a long and distinguished history of restoring emotional balance. Chinese medicine recognizes that achievement and healthy human relationships rest upon emotional control. Applying Chinese medicine to correct imbalanced endocrine systems, restore self-discipline, promote healthy social behavior and dissipate stress elegantly is the core of my practice. MeditationMeditation helps people feel less anxious and more in control. Meditation brings insight and self-understanding and increases one's connection to others. I have available to you dozens of guided meditations on aspects of emotional health if you want to be your own guide. I encourage self discovery and self analysis through personal logs and journal to reveal and process feelings, values and goals. Self awareness is a cornerstone of Chinese medicine. Be good to yourselfEnjoying vitality requires that you be very kind and loving to yourself and not just to those around you. Whether it's getting enough sleep, enjoying relaxation after a difficult day or surrounding yourself with inspiring books and music, you must work at being good to yourself. I will supply you with some good material from which to choose. A primary lesson of Chinese medicine is that each of us is our own best doctor and each of us is responsible for learning how to take care of our body and spirit. Feeling good about yourself has a lot to do with looking your best. Over the last twenty years, I have used Chinese medicine and needling therapy to help hundreds of women look and feel better. I developed a program called Love That Face! ™ featuring The Acupuncture Facelift ™ andThe Face Workout ™. GynecologyChinese medicine can be especially effective in treating many gynecological problems. Periods do not have to be painful, you do not have to have PMS and your cycles can be regular. Pain, amenorrhea, abnormal uterine bleeding, premenstrual syndrome, mood swings, hormonal migraines, vaginitis, leukorrhea and irregular periods can normally be treated satisfactorily within three to six menstrual cycles. Endometriosis, uterine fibroids and polycystic ovarian syndrome can usually be treated satisfactorily within six to twelve menstrual cycles. Over the last twenty years, I have applied the best protocols of which I am aware to combine acupuncture, manipulation, Chinese herbs, exercise therapy and therapeutic foods to satisfactorily treat these conditions. FertilityTreatment for infertility constitutes a large part of my practice. Ten to twenty percent of couples are unable to conceive after trying for one year, and the percentage is growing. The problem is particularly serious in Hong Kong where so many professional women wait until after their early thirties to start a family. Men account for 40% of failures to conceive and I have an effective program for them to improve sperm count and viability. However, as in most issues relative to health, it is women who normally take the initiative. Where issues with women are concerned, failure to ovulate accounts for 30% of infertility problems; pelvic factors such as fallopian tube dysfunction and endometriosis account for 40% of failures; cervical pathology is responsible 10% of the time; and in 10-20% of women no definitive problem can be identified. The combination of both western and Chinese medicine to substantially increase the success of in vitro fertilization is a marvelous example of how combining elements of two different medical approaches can dramatically enhance the human experience. A recent German study in the journal "Fertility and Sterility", volume 77, Number 4, April, 2002, entitled "Influence of acupuncture on the pregnancy rate in patients who undergo assisted reproduction therapy" was summarized by the lead researcher as follows " …acupuncture seems to be a useful tool for improving the pregnancy rate after assisted reproductive techniques. The analysis shows that the pregnancy rate for the acupuncture group is considerably higher than for the control group, 42.5% versus 26.3%…" What makes this finding particularly remarkable is that acupuncture was used only briefly in the study's protocol and herbs were not used at all. This remarkable finding has led a large number of fertility clinics around the world to add acupuncture as part of the in vitro fertilization protocol because IVF procedures are expensive and stressful and couples want successful results. Using acupuncture and herbs for a longer period of time prior to IVF and after implantation increases the success rate to 50% to 60%. This is approximately double the rate achieved without the use of Chinese medicine. Many couples who have been through several unsuccessful cycles of IUI (Intra Uterine Injection) or IVF have become pregnant after Chinese medicine treatments. Chinese medicine improves the rate of success in a number of ways; it:
In my practice, I follow the most refined protocols our field has developed for the application of Chinese medicine for the support of both natural conception and of assisted reproductive therapy such as IUI and IVF. MenopauseEarly in its long history, Chinese medicine began focusing specifically on women's health. Centuries-old remedies effectively deal with the symptoms of menopause and the aging process. The majority of women experience menopause between the ages of 47 to 53, but uncomfortable symptoms of peri-menopause or pre-menopause can begin as early as the late thirties or last until the late fifties. The menstrual cycle may become unpredictable and women may experience increased breast swelling, abdominal bloating, depressive moods, cravings for sweets and chronically low energy. The closer one gets to menopause the more extreme symptoms may become, including hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, decreased libido, headaches, insomnia and distress. When the menopausal transition ends, a woman should be concerned about the decrease in the estrogen and progesterone essential to the comfortable functioning of her body. These hormones are responsible for maintaining a sound cardiovascular system, strong bones and healthy blood vessels and skin. Many women experience a diminished quality of life because of weight gain, dry skin and mucus membranes, thinning and loss of hair and decreased sex drive. Chinese medicine recommends salmon, sea bass, halibut, tuna, nuts and seeds like walnuts, sesame, pine nuts, sunflower seed and flax seed to supply the tissue lubrication capacity of omega-3 fatty acids. The appropriate kind and amount of protein is also important. For example, Chinese medicine believes that lamb is excellent for nourishing the endocrine system after menopause. We have a whole system of foods appropriate to menopause which I will be happy to share with you. The physical distresses and imbalances which may accompany menopause, including hot flashes, night sweats and skin changes can be relieved with both acupuncture and with herbs. Wild Yam and Dang Gui (Angelica) are traditionally used to naturally stimulate the production of progesterone and estrogen. Epimedii herb, known as Immortal grass and Rehmannia root, a potent blood tonic, provide nourishment to the endocrine system to support adrenal function and increase libido and sexuality. Conch shell and Zizyphus (jujube) seed provide natural sources of calcium, reduce night sweats, relieve headaches and help you drift off to sleep. Anemarrhena (a lily) and Gardenia fruit lower the body's internal thermostat to relieve hot flashes and anxiety. Alisma (water plantain) and white Peony root eliminate excess fluids while they lubricate mucus membranes, nourish the skin and make the blood vessels more elastic.
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