In a couple of short months there will be a change at Stamps Creating Wellness Center. By the end of September there will be at least one, if not two, new acupuncturists providing coverage to New Braunfels. What does this mean? Sadly, this means that Dave and Heather will no longer be working with Dr. Stamps and his team. We have really enjoyed our time working at the Creating Wellness Center and have learned so much from Dr. Stamps, Dr. Kiesling, Dr. Perry, Sheri Bagley, and others who work or practice there. Dave, who has way too much on his plate, has decided to focus more on his own clinic and herb company - both of which are located in Austin. Heather is about to wipe her slate clean with a move to the Las Vegas, NV area, where her husband has accepted a job and is already hard at work. On the bright side, this change is going to bring about improved acupuncture service to the New Braunfels area by increasing the number of days covered. This is important because sometimes acupuncture requires two days (or more) of treatment per week and this is best achieved when the treatments are two days apart. Additionally, the new practitioner(s) will likely have additional skills to bring to the table, there by enhancing the quality of treatment. This also means that if you know someone who is looking for an acupuncture position, now would be a great time for them to contact us. We have a couple more weeks of interviewing and would love to schedule anyone interested. Please have them call 830-625-6011 for more information and to schedule an interview.
While we depart from New Braunfels with heavy hearts, we are grateful for the time we have been able to spend there helping many people. We thank the staff and practitioners of Stamps Creating Wellness and most especially the New Braunfels community for their support. You will be in good hands with the new acupuncturists.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Menu of Services
Effective August 1, 2008
30 minute consultation - $40 (applied to future sessions)
This also applies to herbal consultations. Herbs Sold Separately.
Acupuncture Sessions
90 minute initial or intensive session - $85
60 minute follow-up session - $70
5 session package - $325 (expires 3 months from purchase)
10 session package - $640 (expires 6 months from purchase)
Applies to 60 minute follow-up sessions only.
After expiration, balance will be credited for use on other Stamps Creating Wellness Center services and products using regular price on used sessions. This includes chiropractic, massage, NAET, and nutritional counseling and products.
Auriculotherapy w/ Stimflex 400A
60 minute initial session - $70
30 minute follow-up sessions - $50
15 minute session cupping therapy only $25
30 minute consultation - $40 (applied to future sessions)
This also applies to herbal consultations. Herbs Sold Separately.
Acupuncture Sessions
90 minute initial or intensive session - $85
60 minute follow-up session - $70
5 session package - $325 (expires 3 months from purchase)
10 session package - $640 (expires 6 months from purchase)
Applies to 60 minute follow-up sessions only.
After expiration, balance will be credited for use on other Stamps Creating Wellness Center services and products using regular price on used sessions. This includes chiropractic, massage, NAET, and nutritional counseling and products.
Auriculotherapy w/ Stimflex 400A
60 minute initial session - $70
30 minute follow-up sessions - $50
15 minute session cupping therapy only $25
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
How Long Will It Take - The Million Dollar Question
People have many concerns about acupuncture. Aside from "does it hurt?" I believe the most common question is "how many treatments will it take?" I really wish there was a set answer for this question and I'm pretty sure acupuncture would be a lot more popular if I could truthfully say "one treatment and you will be cured!" Alas, this is not the case at least 95% of the time. Answering the question "how long will it take" is not a simple as it seems.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which includes acupuncture, is based on the idea that energy and blood flows throughout the body. When our body is in harmony then a state of health exists. When our body is out of balance we begin to exhibit symptoms of distress ranging from the relatively benign, such as neck tension, to the extremely serious, cancer for example. Most of us fall somewhere in between and thankfully closer to the neck tension side of things. Acupuncture is used to correct these imbalances in the body by placing needles in specific places called acupuncture points. Correcting an imbalance involves correcting an underlying cause of a problem and this takes time. Yes, ibuprofen may take away a tension headache in 30 minutes, but it doesn't address the underlying imbalnce(s) that caused it.
You're still waiting to hear how long and I promise I am getting to it. Let's address acute vs. chronic imbalance. In general, it is much easier and faster to correct a condition where there is an excess of energy and blood than to correct a deficiency. And example of excess is acute pain, which is an imbalance of energy and blood becoming stuck in an area obstructing flow of energy and blood. Imagine a painful ankle sprain - the injury occurs and immediately swelling and shortly thereafter pain and bruising - congestion of energy and blood. In relatively few acupuncture treatments the pain and swelling will be greatly reduced. Now compare this to a poorly functioning thyroid gland. In this imbalance the body experiences a state of not enough energy flowing through the body resulting in fatigue and often weight gain. It takes a lot longer to correct a problem such as hypothyroidism - so one would need acupuncture over a long period of time. So excess conditions generally take less time while deficient conditions take longer.
Now it's time to address the goals of the patient. Let's use chronic low back pain as an example. If a patient comes in for acupuncture after he has experienced an acute flare up of this chronic low back pain the question becomes what does the patient hope to accomplish. Does he want to get over this flare up and get on with his life? Or is he willing to make the commitment to corrective care - correcting the underlying imbalance that allowed this flare up to occur? Or is he willing to go beyond even corrective care and engage in preventative maintenance? Most of the time patient's choose the first option, eventhough it's probably the least efficient and cost effective way of dealing with this problem over the long term. Many patients will cease treatment once the pain is gone, only to have to return and start all over again or perhaps decide on a more conventional and potentially costly route. Why does this happen? To be frank, it's because I did not do a good job at educating my patient. Really, the best and most cost effective care an acupuncturist can give her patient is over the continuum of acute, corrective, and preventative care.
So the million dollar answer to the million dollar question is - it depends. It depends on whether the problem is excess or deficient. It also depends on whether the patient tends to be robust or frail. And it depends on the goals of the patient. In my experience and that of many of my colleagues one or two treatments is almost never enough. Somtimes it takes several treatments before a patient experiences a change in their condition (this to be addressed in a future commentary). If the patient has acute pain and that's all they intend on correcting then I'm going to have to ballpark it at about 5 treatments over 10 days to 2 weeks. For more chronic conditions and corrective care it's going to take more time. In most clinical studies showing positive results for acupuncture, the patients are treated 2-3 times per week for 5-6 weeks. That's 10 treatments minimum. In my own clinical experience, those patients who are committed to at least 10 treatments tend to either see longer lasting results or are pleased with their progress and decide to continue treatment toward a preventative maintenance program.
I hope I was able to clear up this question in a somewhat satisfactory manner. The above information is merely meant to serve as a guideline and should not be taken as a rule or a guarantee of results. However, before a treatment plan is devised the acupuncturist should ask and the patient should make clear what her goals are and what level of commitment she is willing to make toward her recovery.
Yours in Health,
Heather Brookman, RN, LAc
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which includes acupuncture, is based on the idea that energy and blood flows throughout the body. When our body is in harmony then a state of health exists. When our body is out of balance we begin to exhibit symptoms of distress ranging from the relatively benign, such as neck tension, to the extremely serious, cancer for example. Most of us fall somewhere in between and thankfully closer to the neck tension side of things. Acupuncture is used to correct these imbalances in the body by placing needles in specific places called acupuncture points. Correcting an imbalance involves correcting an underlying cause of a problem and this takes time. Yes, ibuprofen may take away a tension headache in 30 minutes, but it doesn't address the underlying imbalnce(s) that caused it.
You're still waiting to hear how long and I promise I am getting to it. Let's address acute vs. chronic imbalance. In general, it is much easier and faster to correct a condition where there is an excess of energy and blood than to correct a deficiency. And example of excess is acute pain, which is an imbalance of energy and blood becoming stuck in an area obstructing flow of energy and blood. Imagine a painful ankle sprain - the injury occurs and immediately swelling and shortly thereafter pain and bruising - congestion of energy and blood. In relatively few acupuncture treatments the pain and swelling will be greatly reduced. Now compare this to a poorly functioning thyroid gland. In this imbalance the body experiences a state of not enough energy flowing through the body resulting in fatigue and often weight gain. It takes a lot longer to correct a problem such as hypothyroidism - so one would need acupuncture over a long period of time. So excess conditions generally take less time while deficient conditions take longer.
Now it's time to address the goals of the patient. Let's use chronic low back pain as an example. If a patient comes in for acupuncture after he has experienced an acute flare up of this chronic low back pain the question becomes what does the patient hope to accomplish. Does he want to get over this flare up and get on with his life? Or is he willing to make the commitment to corrective care - correcting the underlying imbalance that allowed this flare up to occur? Or is he willing to go beyond even corrective care and engage in preventative maintenance? Most of the time patient's choose the first option, eventhough it's probably the least efficient and cost effective way of dealing with this problem over the long term. Many patients will cease treatment once the pain is gone, only to have to return and start all over again or perhaps decide on a more conventional and potentially costly route. Why does this happen? To be frank, it's because I did not do a good job at educating my patient. Really, the best and most cost effective care an acupuncturist can give her patient is over the continuum of acute, corrective, and preventative care.
So the million dollar answer to the million dollar question is - it depends. It depends on whether the problem is excess or deficient. It also depends on whether the patient tends to be robust or frail. And it depends on the goals of the patient. In my experience and that of many of my colleagues one or two treatments is almost never enough. Somtimes it takes several treatments before a patient experiences a change in their condition (this to be addressed in a future commentary). If the patient has acute pain and that's all they intend on correcting then I'm going to have to ballpark it at about 5 treatments over 10 days to 2 weeks. For more chronic conditions and corrective care it's going to take more time. In most clinical studies showing positive results for acupuncture, the patients are treated 2-3 times per week for 5-6 weeks. That's 10 treatments minimum. In my own clinical experience, those patients who are committed to at least 10 treatments tend to either see longer lasting results or are pleased with their progress and decide to continue treatment toward a preventative maintenance program.
I hope I was able to clear up this question in a somewhat satisfactory manner. The above information is merely meant to serve as a guideline and should not be taken as a rule or a guarantee of results. However, before a treatment plan is devised the acupuncturist should ask and the patient should make clear what her goals are and what level of commitment she is willing to make toward her recovery.
Yours in Health,
Heather Brookman, RN, LAc
Friday, June 27, 2008
Acupuncture: Does It hurt.?
Many people are hesitant to try acupuncture. Some are skeptical about it's merits and others are worried about the cost of time and money. There are many concerns and we will address them over time. But today I'd like to address what is probably the most common concern: does it hurt?
Acupuncture doesn't hurt. That is to say that it doesn't hurt like stubbing your toe or a migraine or after surgery or that nagging neck or low back pain that led to thinking about acupuncture in the first place. It doesn't even hurt like getting your blood drawn or even as much as accidentally pricking your finger. However, you will probably feel something - something that, at it's worst, is more like a mild mosquito bite. Acupuncture needles are hair thin and designed to cause minimal discomfort. Many acupuncturists use a guide tube to "tap" the tip of the needle past the most sensitive areas of the skin as quickly as possible. In most cases after the initial sensation patients are unable to tell that they still have needles in and are able to reach a state of deep relaxation. Many people are surprised to find that they fall asleep (I actually consider snoring a compliment).
Another way to think about acupuncture is that it can't hurt - it is well known that acupuncture is virtually side effect free. Occasionally a patient experiences an ache at the needle insertion site or sustains a small bruise - both of which are temporary and non life-threatening. Some people do feel a little dizzy afterwards, but this sensation is preventable by coming to an appointment with some food and fluids on board. The fact that acupuncture is so safe should make it an attractive complement or alternative to more conventional treatment.
And finally, acupuncture can't hurt - if you've already tried multiple medications and therapies without success or even if you're looking to acupuncture as your first stop or desire to find help in a more gentle and natural way, there's really nothing to lose and so much more to gain. Acupuncture has been used effectively for thousands of years and is gaining popularity among patients and respect in the conventional medicine community. Research has shown acupuncture as an effective therapy not only for pain, but also for a large number of other common problems such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, fatigue, and digestive imbalance to name a few.
If you have any questions about whether acupuncture might work for you email us at acunewbraunfels@gmail.com or call us at 830-625-6011. Part of our job is to advise you whether we think you would benefit from treatment.
Additionally, it you have any concerns you would like us to address on our site, please e-mail us at acunewbraunfels@gmail.com.
Yours in Health,
Heather Brookman, RN, LAc
Acupuncture doesn't hurt. That is to say that it doesn't hurt like stubbing your toe or a migraine or after surgery or that nagging neck or low back pain that led to thinking about acupuncture in the first place. It doesn't even hurt like getting your blood drawn or even as much as accidentally pricking your finger. However, you will probably feel something - something that, at it's worst, is more like a mild mosquito bite. Acupuncture needles are hair thin and designed to cause minimal discomfort. Many acupuncturists use a guide tube to "tap" the tip of the needle past the most sensitive areas of the skin as quickly as possible. In most cases after the initial sensation patients are unable to tell that they still have needles in and are able to reach a state of deep relaxation. Many people are surprised to find that they fall asleep (I actually consider snoring a compliment).
Another way to think about acupuncture is that it can't hurt - it is well known that acupuncture is virtually side effect free. Occasionally a patient experiences an ache at the needle insertion site or sustains a small bruise - both of which are temporary and non life-threatening. Some people do feel a little dizzy afterwards, but this sensation is preventable by coming to an appointment with some food and fluids on board. The fact that acupuncture is so safe should make it an attractive complement or alternative to more conventional treatment.
And finally, acupuncture can't hurt - if you've already tried multiple medications and therapies without success or even if you're looking to acupuncture as your first stop or desire to find help in a more gentle and natural way, there's really nothing to lose and so much more to gain. Acupuncture has been used effectively for thousands of years and is gaining popularity among patients and respect in the conventional medicine community. Research has shown acupuncture as an effective therapy not only for pain, but also for a large number of other common problems such as anxiety, insomnia, depression, fatigue, and digestive imbalance to name a few.
If you have any questions about whether acupuncture might work for you email us at acunewbraunfels@gmail.com or call us at 830-625-6011. Part of our job is to advise you whether we think you would benefit from treatment.
Additionally, it you have any concerns you would like us to address on our site, please e-mail us at acunewbraunfels@gmail.com.
Yours in Health,
Heather Brookman, RN, LAc
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