If you’re dealing with chronic back or joint pain, you have likely exhausted all resources to get things figured out. Painkillers, massages, physical therapy, nothing seems to stick. Perhaps it’s time to give meridian therapy a try. Today, the team here at Today’s Integrative Health goes over what meridian therapy is and the benefits of meridian therapy.
What Is Meridian Therapy?
Meridian therapy is a form of acupuncture. Some of you are about to click off the page right now. We know acupuncture scares people away because most of us have a reasonable fear of sticking needles into our bodies. However, meridian therapy is a form of acupuncture therapy that doesn’t use a penetrating needle.
You may be asking yourself, “how can you get acupuncture without stabbing yourself a hundred times with a needle?” Acupuncture is a principle, not just one specific technique. While acupuncture therapy with penetrating needles is one of the most popular acupuncture techniques, it’s just one of the many ways to stimulate an acupoint.
How Does Meridian Therapy Work?
Meridian therapy focuses on balancing the energy in your body. It does this by re-directing energy in your body to areas of need. These areas are called meridians; we will go over what the meridians are later in the article.
Instead of using needles, meridian therapy typically uses a low dose of electricity or a laser. The chiropractor that you are working with will measure each of your meridians before and after each session. You can see the progress you are making thanks to meridian therapy the more time goes on.
Where Are the Meridians?
Meridian therapy is a traditional Chinese medical practice built around the 12 meridians in your body. These meridians each correspond with an organ. The idea is if you’re dealing with pain in one of these meridians, you need to direct energy from your other 11 meridians to restore balance in your body.
What are the 12 different meridians?
- Large intestine
- Spleen
- Stomach
- Heart
- Small intestine
- Kidney
- Bladder
- Pericardium
- San jiao
- Liver
- Gallbladder
You’re probably curious as to what san jiao is. While the other 11 meridians are organs in your body, your doctor would meet you with bewilderment if you tell them something is wrong with your san jiao. While it’s not a physical organ, the san jiao is known as the “heat” organ in meridian therapy.
What are the Benefits of Meridian Therapy?
Before we list the benefits of meridian therapy, we should note that research into the effectiveness of meridian therapy is still in its infancy. It would be disingenuous of us to claim with any certainty that meridian therapy can do this or that. With that being said, here are some benefits that are often tied to meridian therapy:
- Lowered blood pressure and a reduced risk of heart disease
- Reduced anxiety and stress
- Pain management
- Reduced menopause side effects such as hot flashes and mood swings
- Respiratory issues such as allergies, colds, and flu
- Improved weight loss
- Gynecological conditions such as PMS, endometriosis, and infertility
If you are still wondering if meridian therapy is right for you, speak with your doctor at Today’s Integrative Health. We can help you with any questions you may have.
What Are Some of the Other Types of Acupuncture?
As we mentioned earlier in the article, there are many different types of acupuncture. The right method for you will largely depend on personal preference.
Listed below are some of the other types of acupuncture:
- Body acupuncture – This is the type of acupuncture you’re familiar with. Tiny needles will be inserted into acupuncture points on the body. Contrary to popular belief, the needles are so fine that there is little discomfort when the needles are inserted.
- Acupressure – Instead of needles, an acupuncturist will press or massage the acupuncture points.
- Heat treatments – This method combines body acupuncture with heat lamps. These lamps are placed over the needles and can help with joint pain and injury recovery.
- Electroacupuncture – This is an extreme version of body acupuncture. The needles are connected to the top of an electroacupuncture machine which stimulates an electric current.
- Cupping – This method may seem unorthodox, but many find it effective. A flame will be lit in a glass cup, which causes oxygen to burn off inside of the cup, creating a vacuum effect. A therapist will then place that cup on your body, which causes a pinching sensation.
If you’re unsure what acupuncture method is best for you and your needs, give us a call today, and we can help.
Other Services We Offer
At Today’s Integrative Health, we’re focused on providing the people of Rockville, Maryland, with functional medicine services tailored to fit their needs. Our personalized approach to medicine helps attack medical ailments at the source.
How are we able to achieve that?
- Homeopathy
- Active release technique
- Chiropractic care
- Weight loss
- IV therapy
- Telemedicine
- Personalized medicine
- Integrative health care
We work with our patients every step of the way to ensure we treat the root cause of their ailments rather than the side effects. Unfortunately, that’s often not the case with traditional treatment options.
We’re Ready to Help
If you deal with chronic back or joint pain and are ready for a new treatment option, our team here at Today’s Integrative Health is here to help. We offer meridian therapy and other acupuncture therapies to our patients in the Rockville, Maryland, area. Give us a call today to find out what it is we can do to help you!