Acupuncture

Acupuncture complements the Gerson treatment received at a Gerson Center. The underlying principle of Chinese Medicine is that illness and pain occur when the body’s qi (pronounced “chi”), or vital energy, cannot flow freely. The body’s energy meridians can become obstructed, in much the same way as a blocked artery. By inserting ultra-fine needles into specific points on the body, a traditional acupuncturist seeks to re-establish the free flow of qi. This restores balance and triggers the body’s natural healing response.

According to Chinese Medicine, every part of the body is connected and interdependent. If a person is suffering from pain or illness, whether physical, emotional or mental, this is a signal that the body is out of balance. The aim of acupuncture treatment is to restore the body’s equilibrium. For this reason, you should tell your acupuncturist about your overall health and lifestyle as well as about any particular illness or injury.

An acupuncturist’s main focus is on correcting the underlying cause of illness. This will be different for every individual. Because every patient is unique, two people with the same western medicine diagnosis may each receive different acupuncture treatments. Consequently, there are no standard treatments or point prescriptions for particular symptoms. For example, two patients may each suffer from headache, but for very different reasons. It would not be appropriate to treat them in exactly the same way, because the underlying causes of their headaches might have nothing in common.

Acupuncture can treat:
• Upper Respiratory — sinusitis, rhinitis, common cold, tonsillitis
• Respiratory — bronchitis, bronchial asthma
• Eye — conjunctivitis, retinitis, myopia in children, simple cataract
• Mouth — toothache, post-extraction pain, gingivitis, pharyngitis
• Gastrointestinal — esophageal and cardial spasms, hiccough, gastroptosis, gastritis, gastric hyperacidity, pain relief of chronic duodenal ulcer, acute duodenal ulcer, colitis, bacillary dysentery, constipation, diarrhea, paralytic ileus
• Neurological — headache, migraine, trigeminal neuralgia, facial palsy (within 3-6 months) paresis following a stroke, peripheral neuropathies, Meniere’s disease, neurogenic bladder dysfunction, nocturnal enuresis, intercostal neuralgia, cervicobrachial syndrome
• Musculoskeletal — “frozen shoulder,” “tennis elbow,” sciatica, low back pain, osteoarthritis

Clinical Therapeutics

The clinical approach consists of detoxifying and nourishing the body, the mind and the heart. The most elegant approach is based on fasting and nutritional therapy. Fasting on water or juices or a raw food diet is the most radical and the most efficient way to treat and prevent most illness. The nutritional therapy is a stepping stone to address mental, emotional and spiritual issues that may create imbalance. To achieve this goal the following methods can be used: meditation, awareness techniques, guided imagery and movement. Adjuvant therapies such as hydrotherapy, intravenous therapies, vitamin supplements, botanical medicine and homeopathy may be used in conjunction with the nutritional therapy or afterwards.