Acupuncture Services I am a fully credentialed provider on the Complemetary Healthcare Plans and the American Specialty Health Networks panels. In-network benefits are available through HealthNet (WellNet), Kaiser Permanente, and Providence Preferred Oregon. Benefits may be available through other health plans and is available as part of your Personal Injury (motor vehicle accident) or Worker's Compensation Insurance. Coverage may be direct access or by referral. I also provide a discount for payment made at the time of service. Please call 503.294.0162 or email me for an appointment. Acupuncture Acupuncture is a method of encouraging the body to promote healing and to improve functioning by inserting needles or applying heat or electrical stimulation at precise acupuncture points. The classical Chinese explanation of acupuncture's effectiveness is that channels of energy run in regular patterns through the body and over its surface. These channels, sometimes referred to as meridians, are like rivers flowing through the body to cleanse and nourish the tissues and organs. An obstruction in the movement of these energy rivers is like a dam that backs up the flow in one part of the body and restricts it in others. Any blockage or deficiency of energy and blood will eventually lead to disease and be evidenced by pain or dysfunction. The meridians can be influenced by needling the acupuncture points: the hair-thin acupuncture needles remove obstructions and reestablish the regular flow through the channels. Acupuncture treatments can therefore help the body's internal organs to correct problems in digestion, absorption, elimination and energy production through balancing circulation. To understand this from a western biomedical perspective we can correlate these channels to the pathways and means by which information travels in the body. These fall into the broad categories of the bioelectric and the biochemical. In the insertion of an acupuncture needle there is a microscopic amount of trauma to the tissues. This microtrauma elicits both bioelectric (increased amperage) and biochemical (neurotransmitter and neurohormone modulation) changes which stimulate the body's own homeostatic response. Acupuncture therefore tends to bring the body back to balance rather than pushing it in one direction or another. Disorders Treated The World Health Organization has listed 106 different disorders which it feels are appropriate for acupuncture treatment. These include: colds and flu bronchitis hepatitis hypoglycemia asthma high blood pressure ulcers colitis indigestion hemorrhoids diarrhea constipation diabetes deafness ringing in the ears earaches dizziness vaginitis sinus infection sore throat hay fever eczema acne herpes arthritis neuralgia sciatica back pain bursitis tendonitis stiff neck Bell's palsy trigeminal neuralgia headache stroke cerebral palsy polio sprains impotence infertility pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) irregular period or cramps morning sickness anxiety depression stress insomnia The National Institute of Health Consensus Statement issued in 1997 endorsed acupuncture treatment for: post-operative pain and nausea chemotherapy nausea addiction stroke rehabilitation headache menstrual cramps tennis elbow fibromyalgia myofascial pain osteoarthritis low back pain carpal tunnel syndrome asthma HOME | PETER MARTIN | ACUPUNCTURE | MASSAGE THERAPY | RESOURCES | DIRECTIONS Images and content copyright © 2003-2008 Peter Martin. All Rights Reserved Site design by Style Can Studio