Category: Acupuncture Articles

What is pain?

Pain is an indicator that something is hurt or injured in the body. It is a way of telling you that something might be wrong and needs attention. When your body is injured (say you trip and fall on your knee), inflammation of tissues and nerves occurs in the area that has been hurt. Some key signs of inflammation include swelling, pain, redness, feeling warm to the touch, some loss of normal or typical function. These are all a part of a normal healing response in the body. Sometimes we experience pain for other reasons – we don’t have to trip and fall to feel pain! Sometimes we wake up with a sore back, or the cold makes your hands feel tight and …

What is Seifukujitsu?

Seifukujitsu is a deep-tissue bodywork style developed in Japan & Hawaii based in the healing principles of East Asian medicine. It’s also called “Restoration Therapy” for its long-lasting effects on balancing Qi, relief of chronic symptoms, & support for the healing of soft tissue injuries. With its reliance on the development of personal skill and refined technique, it’s easy for the therapist to perform, and it enhances the health of both the patient and longevity of the practitioner. It incorporates many of the same principles of Medical Qi Gong, “Ki” emission, and channel theory of East Asian medicine, alongside deep physical work on the tissues of the body.

Seifukujitsu is a characteristically Japanese technique in that it relies on …

In honor of Pride Month, we at AIMC have been reflecting on ways that acupuncture and East Asian Medicine (EAM) can support our LGBTQ+ community, particularly with medical challenges that are specific to their identities and experiences.

Today we’re highlighting some ways that acupuncture, EAM, and herbal medicine can support gender-affirming surgeries and post-operative healing. There is increasing demand for gender-affirming surgeries each year, and surgeries have become more accessible thanks to professional associations, healthcare providers, and advocacy groups. These gender-affirming surgeries support transgender and gender expansive folks’ ability to feel that their bodies represent their true identities, and significantly reduces mental health challenges and psychological distress. According to a recent study published in JAMA Surgery, there was “42% reduction in the odds of …

In a recent continuing education course, AIMC Berkeley hosted Dr. Jenny Nieters, DACM, LAc., for a day of Grand Rounds. In addition to her private clinic in Alameda, CA, she is the team acupuncturist for the San Francisco 49ers Football Team and the Saint Mary’s College Men’s Rugby Team. She has built a career treating world-class athletes, including Olympians, NBA, MLB, MLR, NFL, and amateur athletes including runners, cross fitters, triathletes and swimmers, supporting injury recovery and athletic performance.

Acupuncture for Sports Performance

Many people know Acupuncture can be used effectively to treat chronic and acute pain, but did you know it can also enhance sports performance more broadly? During our day of observation of Dr. Nieter’s treatments, we watched Dr. Nieters …

Every Acupuncturist has an origin story. You can ask any of us about the treatment or series of moments that led us to the big, scary thought “I want to be an Acupuncturist.” We had already asked our Acupuncturist why they look at our tongues or why some points feel spicier than others, we’d listened to podcasts about East Asian Medicine or maybe even read The Web That Has No Weaver, we’d tried some meditative practices, and stacks of books about herbalism and the energetic body threatened to topple over on our nightstands. Some of us took Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College’s Introduction to East Asian Medicine course just to peek a little further.

And then maybe we looked …

The goal of any acupuncturist is to get you out of their clinic– and hopefully shouting from the rooftops about how your pain went away or that you haven’t slept this well since you were a teenager or one of the other 10,000 benefits of treatment. In order to get you out of our clinic and back into your life (and sending all your friends and family our way), we’ll ask you to commit to a consistent course of treatment for a specific length of time, and then we’ll re-evaluate along the way. You can expect a course of treatment to involve getting acupuncture once or twice a week, some lifestyle or movement coaching, and, when appropriate, a custom herbal prescription.

Consistency is Key

When people …

If you want to pursue a future in acupuncture and herbal medicine, going to the right school is the first step. To find out if AIMC is a good fit for you, take our quiz!

We’ve arrived at springtime: a time known to 5 Element Theory as an era for movement, growth, and change. In this season, if you’re feeling a little stuck, flustered, or bored, you may have what we Acupuncturists diagnose as “Qi Stagnation”. Qi stag, as its known shorthand, can show up as depression or irritability, pain or discomfort that comes and goes, a sense of bloating in the belly, PMS, or a stifled feeling in the chest or throat.

Luckily, you don’t need to drop in on your Acupuncturist every time you’ve got the Springtime Emotional Itchies (though we do recommend it if you can!). There’s plenty you can do for yourself to work out those kinks and keep yourself from becoming a live …

Today, on International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the legacy of Dr. Miriam Lee. She was a pioneer in the field of Acupuncture in the U.S., and helped legalize & popularize the practice. All California Acupuncturists owe her a great debt of gratitude & respect for our right to practice this medicine.

Good Trouble

Dr. Miriam Lee was a nurse, midwife, & acupuncturist in Asia before coming to the US. In her book Insights of Senior Acupuncturist she shares,

“When I first came to California acupuncture was illegal. I worked on an assembly line at Hewlett Packard and attended church, building a life for myself in this country where my medicine was against the law.”

Seeing the suffering of members of her community, she began to provide acupuncture …

AIMC’s Japanese Foundations

Since its founding in 1990 by the Meiji School of Oriental Medicine in Japan & its alumni, AIMC has always had a close relationship with Japanese styles of acupuncture & herbal therapy. Our Board Chair, Dr. Goto, is the president of our sister college, GOTO College of Medical Arts & Sciences in Tokyo. In addition to offering Japanese acupuncture electives & clinical supervision to our Master’s students, we have a continuing education Japanese Medicine certificate program that has been forged in relationship with some of the great teachers of Japanese Medicine in the U.S. and abroad. We regularly bring Japanese teachers to the U.S. for seminars, and we hope to reschedule our