What can acupuncture treat?
Acupuncture is a safe, effective and natural alternative therapy that is used to heal illnesses, prevent disease and improve well being.
Here in the West, unfortunately, acupuncture is often used as a last resort, when the ailment has already hit. In the East, it is considered preventative therapy as well as a remedy to ailments. In the olden days, the village acupuncturist was paid a salary to keep the villagers well. When one of them become sick, the salary was withheld until the acupuncturist healed them. Gradually, here in the West, people are beginning to catch on that acupuncture keeps them well... but most people still think they need to have something wrong to come in for a treatment!
Acupuncture is very effective at treating pain of any sort, as discussed on the "Pain Management Acupuncture" page. In my clinic, I regularly treat sports injuries, broken bones and sprains, joint pains of any sort, arthritis, neck pain, back pain, sciatica, carpal tunnel, neurological pain, migraines, Lyme Disease, Fibromyalgia, TMJ, Trigeminal Neuralgia, plantar fasciitis, knee pain, hip pain - you name it and I probably treat it!
I also specialize in fertility / infertility acupuncture - and this includes natural fertility, and as an adjunct to clomid cycles, IUI, IVF, FET, Egg donor cycles. (Please refer to "Fertility Acupuncture" page.
Acupuncture is also great for helping to manage stress, insomnia, and to help with general well-being and balance. Many people just come in for regular maintenance sessions because it makes them feel better and improves their quality of life. They just love acupuncture and find it to be the most relaxing experience in the world!
I do treat much more than what I have just listed, and I find acupuncture to be successful in treating so many ailments! Please see the list below as well as this link: https://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/What+can+acupuncture+treat
The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture (2004) states: "In the United States, acupuncture has its greatest success and acceptance in the treatment of musculoskeletal pain." They say that acupuncture may be considered as a complementary therapy for the conditions in the list below, noting: "Most of these indications are supported by textbooks or at least 1 journal article. However, definitive conclusions based on research findings are rare because the state of acupuncture research is poor but improving."
Abdominal distention/flatulence
Acute and chronic pain control
Allergic sinusitis
Anesthesia for high-risk patients or patients with previous adverse responses to anesthetics
Anxiety, fright, panic
Arthritis/arthrosis
Atypical chest pain (negative workup)
Bursitis, tendinitis, carpal tunnel syndrome
Certain functional gastrointestinal disorders (nausea and vomiting, esophageal spasm, hyperacidity, irritable bowel)
Cervical and lumbar spine syndromes
Constipation, diarrhea
Cough with contraindications for narcotics
Dysmenorrhea, pelvic pain
Frozen shoulder
Headache (migraine and tension-type), vertigo (Meniere's disease), tinnitus
Idiopathic palpitations, sinus tachycardia
Fractures, assisting in pain control, edema, and enhancing healing process
Muscle spasms, tremors, tics, contractures
Neuralgias (trigeminal, herpes zoster, postherpetic pain, other)
Paresthesias
Persistent hiccups
Phantom pain
Plantar fasciitis
Post-traumatic and post-operative ileus
Selected dermatoses (urticaria, pruritus, eczema, psoriasis)
Sequelae of stroke syndrome (aphasia, hemiplegia)
Seventh nerve palsy
Sprains and contusions
Temporal-mandibular joint derangement, bruxism
Urinary incontinence, retention (neurogenic, spastic, adverse drug effect)
Weight Loss
Dry Needling:
Dr. Ryan performs “dry needling” at Acupuncture RI as indicated for her patients. However, she is cautious at implementing this procedure as she does not feel that it is applicable in all cases. It is a fairly aggressive acupuncture approach that warrants caution, so she approaches and utilizes dry-needling on a case-by-case basis. Dr. Ryan likes to get to know the patient and understand their tolerance for acupuncture prior to guaranteeing that “dry needling” will be a part of the treatment protocol.
Dry needling is not, in and of itself, a separate process from acupuncture. However, other types of practitioners, who are not trained in conventional acupuncture, are performing it after an abbreviated training (versus the extensive and formal four-year training of acupuncture post-graduate school).
Please read below about “dry needling” and rest assured that it will be incorporated if and when you and Dr. Ryan feel it is in your best interest.
Please read the "Dry Needling" page for more information about this form of acupuncture.