by urban-acupuncture | Dec 21, 2017 | Acupuncture Columbus
ARTIST STATEMENT
The photographs in the exhibition are weeds and faded flowers photographed on a light box. Why focus on weeds and faded flowers – plant forms we mostly ignore and discard? Because once we truly “see” them we discover the beauty of shape, line, pattern, movement. The photographs focus attention on these visual elements and gives voice to the unique forms and structures of these often overlooked subjects, and hint at the forces which shaped them.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I taught photography in the Art Department at Otterbein University for thirty years retiring in December, 2009. I have a Bachelor of Arts from Otterbein, A Master of Divinity from United Theological Seminary, and a Master of Fine Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology.
by urban-acupuncture | Dec 19, 2017 | Acupuncture Columbus
We are excited to have new Acupuncturist Jeff Mango join our team!
Jeff’s Bio:
I have always loved helping others in any way I can. So strangely enough it has been my study of the martial arts, that has led me to the healing arts. During my study of ju-jitsu we were taught to use acupressure on each other to prevent injury and improve overall health. The idea of a holistic therapy improving someone’s health with touch was amazing to me, it prompted me to leave my job as a draftsman and become a massage therapist. Over the next decade I mostly helped people manage musculoakeletal pain through massage therapy and acupressure, it was during this time that I began studying a martial art based on internal focus and the flow of energy called BaGuaZhang. This led me on an amazing journey of self discovery and transformation. My eyes where opened to more than just points on the body and began to see an interlacing web of communication throughout the world and our existence in it.
Then the doors of opportunity opened, and led me to the acupucture and Chinese massage program at The American Institute of Alternative Medicine to broaden my ability to use this web in ways I didn’t know where possible. In 2014 I graduated Magna cumme laude and became a licensed acupuncturist. Continuing my education, I was lucky enough to learn from Dr. Richard Tan. He showed me the beauty of balance style acupuncture based on the Ba-Gua, the ancient organization of energies, just like the art of BaGuaZhang that brought me down this path. How wonderful and beautiful the connections of the tapestry life can be.
In my spare time I enjoy cooking, being out in nature in any way I can, Latin and ballroom dancing, playing music, meditation, and of course BaGuaZhang.
After spending the last few years in private practice in Lancaster, Solon, and Columbus, I am now honored to practice this ancient art of healing and communication with the awesome team and community at urban acupuncture.
by urban-acupuncture | Jun 13, 2017 | Acupuncture Columbus
Thank you for those who came out for our Community Caring Day! Your donations for acupuncture helped support out favorite environmental organizations: FLOW (Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed), Sierra Club, and the National Park Foundation. It was so wonderful to have our community gather in a healing space to help support the environment!
by urban-acupuncture | Jun 13, 2017 | Acupuncture Columbus
Let’s Talk About Back Pain
February 14th of 2017 was a big day for acupuncture. The American College of Physicians (ACP) issued new clinical guideline recommending acupuncture among other noninvasive and non-drug therapies for acute, subacute and chronic low back pain. With this clinical guideline, acupuncture takes another step toward the mainstream of medical care. We consider this a big win for our profession and for patients. For starters, we know that there is so much we can do with acupuncture for helping back pain.
We can help our patients avoid surgery and narcotic pain killers, improve their quality of life, and offer a solution with no negative side effects. Physicians are the trusted professionals whom most people seek out to get advise on health care decisions. Now that acupuncture has become recognized by the ACP as a first resort treatment to help back pain, we hope to be seeing even more patients referred from their doctors for this widespread problem.
The ACP guideline reports that “low back pain is one of the most common reasons for physician visits in the United States.” In 2006, “the total costs attributable to low back pain in the United States were estimated at $100 billion.”
See the Recommendations given below:
Recommendation 1: “Given that most patients with acute or subacute low back pain improve over time regardless of treatment, clinicians and patients should select nonpharmacologic treatment with superficial heat. . . , massage, acupuncture, or spinal manipulation. . . . If pharmacologic treatment is desired, clinicians and patients should select nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or skeletal muscle relaxants. . . . (Grade: strong recommendation)”
Recommendation 2: “For patients with chronic low back pain, clinicians and patients should initially select nonpharmacologic treatment with exercise, multidisciplinary rehabilitation, acupuncture, mindfulness-based stress reduction. . . , tai chi, yoga, motor control exercise, progressive relaxation, electromyography, biofeedback, low-level laser therapy, operant therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or spinal manipulation. . . . (Grade: strong recommendation)
Recommendation 3: “In patients with chronic low back pain who have had an inadequate response to nonpharmacologic therapy, clinicians and patients should consider pharmacologic treatment with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a first-line therapy. Clinicians should only consider opioids as an option in patients who have failed the aforementioned treatments and only if the potential benefits outweigh the risks for individual patients and after a discussion of known risks and realistic benefits with patients. (Grade: weak recommendation, moderate-quality evidence)”!
At Urban Acupuncture Center we treat patients for back pain in several ways. We can use distal needling by utilizing points on arms and legs, which are extremely effective for back pain. Sometimes people respond better to local needling, and we can treat in Westerville in the private room on a table. With local points used, we will be working directly with points on your back. We may decide to add in some cupping as well to help relax the muscles and increase blood flow. If you have questions about how acupuncture can help you or someone you know, please do not hesitate to contact us!
by urban-acupuncture | Mar 17, 2017 | Acupuncture Columbus
Photographs by TOM GRIFFITH
On display at Urban Acupuncture Center, Clintonville through April 2017.
Artist Statement:
Before becoming a yoga teacher and massage therapist I studied visual communications, photojournalism and, ultimately, Buddhist art history. I have had a lifetime love affair with the camera; behind the lens, always the observer in mostly silent contemplation. As a child I was fascinated by the visual documentation held within the family album. After inheriting my brother’s camera as a teenager I began to document my hikes and wanderings through the city and woods. My interest is in natural light and the extraordinary of the seemingly mundane. Movement, pattern, flow and physical expression are what drive my compositions. I see these pieces like tiles that could be endlessly rearranged to emphasize or change the perspective, writing and rewriting the story within.
