ACN Massage

 What is a massage? Massage involves working and acting on the body with pressure – structured, unstructured, stationary, or moving – tension, motion, or vibration, done manually or with mechanical aids. Massage can be applied with the hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearm, feet, or a massage device. Massage can promote relaxation and well-being, and can relieve pain from injury or chronic disease, lessen anxiety and eliminate depression. It can also be used to treat neck and back pain, headaches and migraines, carpal tunnel, numbness and tingling, fibromyalgia, and a host of other maladies.

The word massage is believed to come from the root word “massa” (found in the French, Arabic, Latin and Greek languages) meaning "friction or kneading, to touch, feel or handle". Archaeological evidence of massage has been found in many ancient civilizations including China, India, Japan, Korea, Egypt, Rome, Greece, and Mesopotamia. There are many different types of massage: Acupressure, Shiatsu, Balinese, Cranial-sacral, Lymphatic drainage, Reflexology, Stone massage, Tuina, etc and many different methods of practicing these types of massage.

Tuina is a form of Chinese manipulative therapy practiced by ACNWellness massage therapists and often used in conjunction with acupuncture, moxibustion (a dried root used to warm the body), fire cupping (a local suction is created on the skin using heat and a small cup), Chinese herbalism, t'ai chi (an internal Chinese martial art practiced for both its defense training and its health benefits), and qigong (a practice of aligning body, breath, and mind for health, meditation, and martial arts training).  Tuina is a hands-on body treatment that uses Chinese taoist and martial arts principles in an effort to bring the eight principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) into balance. The practitioner may brush, knead, roll/press, and rub the areas between each of the joints, known as the eight gates, to attempt to open the body's defensive chi and get the energy moving in the meridians and the muscles. Techniques may be gentle or quite firm. The name comes from two of the actions: tui means "to push" and na means "to lift and squeeze." Other strokes include shaking and tapotement (to tap with the fingers in a thrumming motion). The practitioner can then use range of motion, traction, with the stimulation of acupressure points. These techniques are used to aid in the treatment of both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions, as well as many non-musculoskeletal conditions.

In professional settings, massage involves the client being treated while lying on a massage table, sitting in a massage chair, or lying on a mat on the floor. The massage subject may be fully or partially clothed or unclothed. Sessions may last 30 minutes up to 90 minutes and are performed by a Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT). Be sure that your LMT is licensed and insured, that the facility providing the massages is also licensed by the state (we are), the massages are overseen by a physician, you are comfortable with the therapist you are working with, and your LMT is current in continuing education (CE) credits.

ACN Nutrition Part 2

With current banking woes and financial instability, Americans need to begin investing in themselves. All the money in the world is useless without one’s health to enjoy it. Sometimes paying out of pocket to get additional preventive health services that are only partially covered by insurance is worth the investment.

"Health is wealth" is a great motto by which to live. Many complementary medical items and services need to be reintroduced into every day life so that you can "live younger". Supplements, vitamins, osteopathic doctors, prolotherapists (people who practice prolotherapy, use an injection technique that stimulates growth of cells and tissue that in turn stabilize and strengthen weakened joints, cartilage, ligaments and tendons), chiropractors, and preventive- aging doctors are often only partially covered by your current insurance. There is no better time to put increased importance on your health through prevention than now. In the larger picture of things, your mind, body, and spirit are the only "sure bet" investment. It’s worth paying out of pocket so that you may optimize your health.

A health care facility should evaluate the toxins in your body so that the doctor can give you advice as to how and what to eliminate from your environment or foods. This personalized medical aspect is an evaluation that is typically underemphasized given our home and workplace exposure to potentially harmful chemicals everyday in our food, air, and water. Your health care facility should know how to use natural tonics, supplements, and foods to purify your body and blood of these harmful toxins. This will help to reduce a dangerous killer called "silent inflammation" as your body wages war at a microscopic cellular level against these agents of disease. These toxins can increase your risk for heart attack, stroke, cancer, and autoimmune diseases (lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease, etc.) as they potentially cause silent inflammation that you do not feel until it is too late. A health care facility should know how some important health markers including blood and urine pH should be tested and evaluated. It is vitally important to choose a preventive-aging physician to recognize how manipulating these basic perimeters subtly through diet and exercise can optimize your mood, energy, and health.

One of the greatest toxin reservoirs in the body is the stored residue in your colon. This is the last stop in your digestive system, and the undigested pieces of food and waste sometimes are not eliminated properly. This waste can build up like a clogged pipe in your kitchen sink. The western diet of Americans is filled with foods that slowly clog the pipes of our colons, causing decay, which then leads to silent inflammation. This can impact your overall health and lead to premature disease. Colon cleansing via fasting dates back centuries to our ancestor’s religious and cultural rituals to rid the body of impurities. This has slowly been de-emphasized in our current society, and thus we have lost all the medical benefits associated with this ritual. You should choose a health facility that uses this approach to re-vitalize your colon. Various modified fasts including raw diets and juice-fasts can be individualized so that each person gets a customized way to improve their digestive health.

Call 703-729-5600 to learn how the staff at ACN Wellness can help you integrate a nutrition management program into your overall wellness plan.

ACN Nutrition Part 1

Nutrition plays a vital, but often overlooked, role in promoting overall health. What we put into our bodies determines what we can get out of them for a lifetime. At ACN Wellness, we understand the role of nutrition and are committed to sharing this knowledge with our patients.

Nutrition is about understanding the role of balance in one’s life. Rather than taking extreme approaches to nutrition, we at ACN Wellness emphasize the importance of moderation and education. By showing people what a balanced nutritional approach involves and then comparing it with what they actually eat, we can give people the knowledge they need to eat properly. By maintaining a balance with one’s eating habits, you can enjoy a healthy outlook regarding food without thinking of it in terms of reward and punishment. Taking a more measured approach to nutrition will give you an important tool in staying healthy and happy, not just for the short term, but for a lifetime.

With Americans paying over $20 billion annually on nutritional supplements and vitamins, it is important to choose a physician who has had additional education and training about which nutritional supplements have been proven scientifically to be of benefit versus the ones that Americans are wasting their money on. Medical doctors are so busy in their practices caring for all the needs of their patients, they have little time to keep up with the latest news about all the breakthroughs in nutritional supplements and vitamins. The FDA does not test or guarantee nutritional supplement content and thus, Americans are left to figure that out on their own. All supplements and vitamins are not created equally.

Prevent disease before it happens and rewind your biological clock with proper nutrition, exercise, and bio-identical hormone optimization (the replacement of declining hormones via natural materials). Hormone replacement is not designed to increase lifespan, but is intended to improve health span. It is a therapy known to all medical physicians. However, only a select few have taken additional training to enlighten themselves about hormone optimization to gain preventive-aging benefits. These include improved energy, physical performance, complexion, immune function, sexual vitality, mental sharpness, blood pressure, cholesterol, bone density, body composition, and strength to name a few.

For additional information on nutritional counseling, supplements or hormone optimization, please contact the front desk.

ACNMind

Keeping the mind in shape sometimes proves to be a very difficult task. With work-related stress, relationship struggles, bringing up young children and dealing with every day life issues, it can seem almost impossible. And it can be a vicious cycle. Feeling stressed leads to the release of the hormone cortisol, which in turn causes inflammation in the body and decreased hormonal function, leading to more stress and the release of even more cortisol, and so on and so on, until a serious disease process is set in motion.  Increased levels of cortisol can result in the following:

* Fatigue

* Weight Gain (especially around the abdominal area)

* Impaired Immune Function

* Decreased Mental Ability

* Chronic Pain

* Mood Swings

* Insomnia

* Decreased Libido

* Sugar, Salt and Carbohydrate Cravings

Unresolved, long-term stress, can also lead to more severe problems such as anxiety, depression, drug addiction, some autoimmune disorders, Fibromyalgia, even heart disease, all of which are typically treated with heavy, toxic medications to manage them, which do not address underlying imbalances within the body. That means a sick person may have his/her symptoms under control, but the underlying disease process is still present. He or she is still, in essence, sick. Therefore, it is essential that those feeling moderate to extreme amounts of stress take immediate action to get a handle on stress. 

How can a busy person manage stress? ACN Wellness recommends setting aside a few minutes each day to practice slow, deep breathing, as well as a systematic "decluttering" of a stressed person's schedule. That means cutting out the unnecessaries--commitments that are not high on the priority list---and focusing instead on the things that are of significant value and importance, like spending time with family and/or children, for example.

            

Acupuncture, Chinese massage, meditation and yoga (available at ACN Wellness Center) are excellent ways to relax and decompress. Infrared Sauna Treatments (also offered at ACN Wellness) and Epsom salts baths are great ways to draw the toxins out of the body and allow tired, tense muscles to relax.

            

Stress is, unfortunately, a most common affliction for every human being. What separates the unhealthy people from the healthy people, is how that stress is managed. There are a variety of treatments and programs available at ACN Wellness. Take advantage of one of them today and get back to your healthy, happy self.