Dr. Guanhu Yang does Chinese Acupuncture in Cincinnati, Ohio

Dr. Yang has 14 years of experience in Chinese Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine, practicing in China and Japan. He sees patients at the Blatman Pain Clinic.

What is Acupuncture, and what kinds of diseases can it help?

Acupuncture is a healing act of inserting a needle into an acupuncture point in a meridian to correct an imbalance of the energetic pathways relating to the organs, muscles and nerves of the human body's surface.

The meridians connect the interior of the body with the exterior. Most acupuncture points relate to the meridians, Each acupuncture point has a defined therapeutic action.

In 1979 The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a recommended provisional list of 43 kinds of diseases amenable to acupuncture treatment.

The list includes:

• Gastrointestinal Disorders: food allergies, peptic ulcer, chronic diarrhea, dysentery, constipation, indigestion, gastrointestinal weakness, anorexia, chronic (acute) gastritis, enteritis, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, gastroptosis, etc.
  
• Urogenital Disorders: stress incontinence, urinary tract infections, nephroptosia, nephritis, and sexual dysfunction, etc.
  
• Gynecological Disorders: irregular, heavy, or painful menstruation, amenorrhea, menopausal syndrome, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), infertility in women and men, and all kinds of gynecological inflammation
  
• Respiratory Disorders: emphysema, asthma, allergies, bronchitis, and pneumonitis
  
• Disorders of the Bones, Muscles, Joints and Nervous System: rheumatic (rheumatoid) arthritis, gout, sprain, tennis' elbow, periarthritis of shoulder, lumbar muscle strain, prolapse of lumbar vertebral disc, cervical spondylopathy, stiff neck, migraine headaches, neurosis, neuralgia, sciatica, prosopalgia, facial spasm, facial paralysis, thecal cyst, insomnia and dizziness, etc.
  
• Circulatory Disorders: hyper (hypo) tension, angina pectoris, arteriosclerosis, anemia, coronary heart disease, thrombocytopenic purpura, paralysis, sequela of apoplexy, etc.
  
• Emotional and Psychological Disorders: depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy, etc. Infectious Diseases: hepatitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, influenza, epidemic parotitis, poliomyelitis, etc.
  
• Dermatosis: urticaria, eczema, acne, alopecia areata, seborrheic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, vitiligo, chloasma, cutaneous pruritus
  
• Five Sense Organs' Diseases: tinnitus, otitis media, dysaudia, sinusitis, tonsillitis, pharyngolaryngitis, toothache, conjunctivitis, myopia, heterotropy, glaucoma, cataract, etc.
  
• Addictions: alcohol, nicotine, drugs, obesity, baldness, parasitosis
  
• Supportive therapy for other chronic and painful debilitating disorders

Chinese Herbal Medicine

During the past 5000 years, Chinese herbal medicine has been an important method for Chinese people to conquer diseases. Acupuncture has become well known, and Chinese herbal medicine is becoming a very effective supportive therapy for western medical treatment. The chief benefit of Chinese herbs to the western clinician is minimization of side effects while maintaining clinical efficacy.

The greatest obstacle for Western doctors in applying Chinese herbs is the different diagnostic system in Chinese medicine. Chinese Herbs in the Western clinic help to bridge the gap between the two systems by categorizing formulas first by Western condition, and then differentiating among appropriate formulas for that condition according to Chinese principles.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends the use of herbs as a type of food therapy. Most commonly, the herbs are decocted into a drink, but pills, powders, tinctures, and poultices are also widely used. We can use Chinese herbs to maintain the patient's internal body condition and reduce the western medicine's dosage and side effects.