Gotham Acupuncture

Gotham Girls Roller Debry 2008 Season Opener: Saturday, April 19th

The GGRD All-Star Team takes on the Philadelphia Liberty Belles this Saturday, April 19th at LIU's Schwartz Athletic Center.

If you've never seen the Gotham Girls Roller Derby in action, you're in for a real treat, especially for this bout which is the best of the best on both side. The greatest thing about GGRD is that everyone has such a good time competing, and it shows. Good fun for the whole family is rare in sports today, but this league has it in spades. Check them out this weekend!

I'm told this bout is not without history: Kandy Kakes, one of the co-captains of the All-Star/Travel Team, used to skate in Philadelphia. Her name is apparently a reference to the Kandy Kake made by the famed Tasty Kakes company in PA.

rVita

rVita has syndicated a couple posts from the Gotham Acupuncture weblog. This is a really innovative site geared towards patient education. By providing articles written by practitioners, including integrative MD's and CAM practitioners, links to weblogs, and relevant research, rVita emphasizes helping patients and prospective patients understand complementary and alternative medicine as it applies to their conditions.

It could also be good for our profession, as practitioners can network with each other, discuss diseases/injuries/treatments, get feedback across disciplines, and find research; this kind of approach is good for everyone, but especially the patient.

As a user, you can add comments to articles posted on rVita, as well as write reviews for practitioners who've treated you. You can also use rVita to find a practitioner.

Posts at rVita:
When Injury Affects the Mind, Part 2
Chronic Pain and Acupuncture

BTJ / Puma shoot practitioners' contact info

If you were on this job and you want to reach a practitioner who worked on you, here we are:

Patty Wang, LMT  617-596-9306
Tymaree Cook, LMT  917-327-5458 tymaree@gmail.com
Alison Robinson, LMT  646-220-9231
Drew Taylor, L.Ac.  646-275-4470
Michael Davidson, L.Ac.  718-832-8041
Steve Pang, L.Ac.  917-617-8481

Does it hurt?

A lot of people are afraid of getting acupuncture because they assume it is going to be painful. It's a common misconception. After all, when we think of needles, we think pain. But there are several important differences between the needles you're used to seeing at the doctor's office, and what we use in an acupuncture clinic. Diameter is the most significant difference, acupuncture needles are so thin that it's hard to feel them go in. It's common to hear "Hey! I didn't feel a thing!" on someone's first visit.

I'm interested in people's experience of acupuncture, as well as their fear of needles. Maybe I'll write about these a little...

It must be the shoes...

Last week we provided four days' worth of bodywork and acupuncture to the Bill T Jones / Arnie Zane Dance company at a grueling shoot for Puma shoes. They drove these dancers hard, rehearsing and shooting for sometimes 12 hours a day. I had an excellent team of therapists there working on people from morning through the evening, sometimes three or four hours nonstop.

We're all very proud of the work we did, our efforts kept the dancers in the game. It's an understatement to say that we made a crucial difference for a couple of people who sustained injuries which would have otherwise kept them from finishing the shoot. Very impressive work, everyone.

The team:
Tymaree Cook, LMT
Michael Davidson, L.Ac.
Alison Robinson, LMT
Drew Taylor, L.Ac.
Patty Wang, LMT

The crook'ed chef

Have you seen Rachel Ray cook? In one episode, she prepares this beautiful dish called Cod in a Sack. This was Thanksgiving before dinner, so I was paying attention.

Next time, watch the way she holds her entire right side up when she moves. She crunches her right shoulder into her ear whenever she uses tools like knives, pepper grinders, etc, and tilts her head to the right habitually. And her knife hand ulnar deviates by at least 80 degrees on extension.

She needs to re-learn how to use her body with good mechanics before she starts developing pain or nerve entrapment in her neck, arm, or hand on the right. Qigong can do that. Well, the right instruction in qigong and body mechanics could help her do that.

The importance of blood

When the mother gains weight during pregnancy, the baby is about 7.5 pounds. The volume of blood the mother gains is about 4 pounds.

FOUR pounds.

That's more than 50% the baby's weight, so that's a lot of blood. That's how important it is.

Acupuncture for Sleep Apnea

A research article appearing in the journal Sleep Medicine concludes acupuncture is effective in ameliorating the respiratory problems associated with moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS).

Below is the abstract.

Sleep Medicine, vol 8, issue 1, January 2007, pp 43-50
Treatment of moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome with acupuncture: A randomised, placebo-controlled pilot trial

Anaflávia O. Freirea, Gisele C.M. Sugaib, Fernanda Silveira Chrispina, Sônia Maria Togeiroa, Ysao Yamamurac, Luiz Eugênio Mellod, ,  and Sérgio Tufika
aSleep Division, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
bDepartment of Neurology/ Neuroscience, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
cDivision of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), São Paulo, SP, Brazil
dDepartment of Physiology, Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Rua Botucatu 862, 04023-062 São Paulo, SP, Brazil
Received 29 November 2005;  revised 14 April 2006;  accepted 14 April 2006.  Available online 4 October 2006.

Abstract

Background and purpose: To investigate the efficacy of acupuncture in the treatment of moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), assessed by polysomnography (PSG) and questionnaires of functional quality of life (SF-36) and excessive daytime sleepiness (Epworth).

Patients and methods: We performed a randomised, placebo-controlled, single-blinded study, with blinded evaluation on 36 patients presenting an apnea/hypopnea index (AHI) of 15–30/h, assessed by PSG. The study took place at the Public Hospital of the Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Brazil, in the Division of Sleep Disorders of the Department of Psychobiology, between January, 2002 and August, 2004. Patients were randomly assigned to three groups: the acupuncture group (n = 12); the sham group, submitted to needle insertion in non-acupoints (n = 12); and the control group, receiving no treatment (n = 12). Patients received acupuncture or sham acupuncture once a week for 10 weeks.

Results: Twenty-six patients completed the study. The AHI (P = 0.005), the apnea index (AI) (P = 0.008) and the number of respiratory events (P = 0.005) decreased significantly in the acupuncture group but not in the sham group. On the other hand, the control group displayed significant deterioration in some of the polysomnographic parameters, with a significant increase in the number of respiratory events (P = 0.025). Acupuncture treatment significantly improved (before vs. after treatment) several dimensions of the SF-36 and Epworth questionnaires. There was no significant association between changes in the body mass index (BMI) and AHI.

Conclusions: Acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture in ameliorating the respiratory events of patients presenting with moderate OSAS.

Keywords: Acupuncture; Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome; Polysomnography; Quality of life; Excessive daytime sleepiness

Research shows acupuncture is safe

We know acupuncture is safe, but it's nice to see a research article which shows this to be the case.

Oprah to feature Tunnel to Towers Run

Frank Vogt sent this announcement around. His family has organized the Tunnel to Towers 5K run/walk in memory of his uncle, a firefighter who died on 9/11. The event is going to be featured on Oprah's September 11th commemorative episode.

Just thought it would be a good time to plug the charity run/walk/street fest that my family organizes in honor of all those who died, including my uncle and friend Stephen Siller.  My family (mom, aunts and uncles) will be on Oprah (filming sept 10 for show on sept 11) to talk about the run and the charity.  It is a show related to what good people have done in relation to 9/11.  I have pasted an article from the NY Post about the show.

August 30, 2007 -- Oprah is coming to New York to tackle 9/11.

The queen of daytime TV is taping a show at Madison Square Garden next month about some of the "good things" that have come out of the city's darkest day.

It will be the first "Oprah Winfrey Show" from New York in 10 years.

Winfrey has kept the details of her upcoming New York shows - she will tape two here on Sept. 10 - under strict wraps.

But The Post has learned that her producers have been calling local TV stations to obtain archival footage from 9/11 and its after math.

The show, which usually tapes in Chicago, has booked a number of families and friends of 9/11 victims who have got ten through the tragedy and found a positive side to the experience and used it to help others, according to knowledge able sources.

One segment will be about Stephen Siller - a 34-year-old firefighter from Staten Island who ran through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel on 9/11 to get to the burning towers, and lost his life when the buildings collapsed.
His family established the now-annual Tunnel to Towers 5K run in his honor. More than 15,000 people participated in the run last year.
The money raised goes to a foundation for pediatric burn units and children who have lost one or more parents.
Winfrey's representatives yesterday declined to comment.

Tickets for the "Oprah" tapings were snapped up in just a few hours last week.

The MSG appearances represent the premiere shows for her new season, Winfrey's 22nd year as host.

David Letterman has agreed to be Oprah's first guest of the season. The pair settled a long-running "tongue-in-cheek" feud a few years ago, when she agreed to appear on Letterman's "Late Show."

Letterman will appear on the first of the two "Oprah" MSG episodes.

Since 9/11, Winfrey has done dozens of shows related to the attacks and their aftermath.

Among them were tributes on both Father's and Mother's Day, news reporters' personal stories, and interviews with Rudy Giuliani, former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik and survivors.

Other 9/11-themed episodes have featured resident shrink Dr. Phil McGraw helping people deal with fear and grief.

Other "Oprah" shows have also dealt with educating people about many of the issues associated with 9/11, from "Islam 101" to "Living with Terrorism."

All in all, Winfrey has devoted nearly 40 episodes to 9/11 since 2001.

She also served as master of ceremonies at one of the first major memorials held for the victims on Sept. 23, 2001, at Yankee Stadium.

"Every one of those people who got up last Tuesday, no doubt thought it was going to be an ordinary day, and by 8:48, we all knew nothing was ordinary anymore," she said at the time.

"We all know for sure now how fragile, how uncertain, yet extraordinary, life can be. May we always remember."