Acupuncture

Acupuncture is a technique of inserting and manipulating fine needles into specific points on the body to relieve pain and to treat many other health conditions.  Only sterile, disposable, single-use surgical steel needles are used.

Dr. Jacobs attributes the amazing results experienced by his patients to his extensive study in acupuncture theory and traditional family-style methods that span many generations.  Like his most influential mentor, multi-generational Chinese acupuncturist Dr. Richard Tan OMD, Dr. Jacobs believes that acupuncture done correctly should relieve pain and discomfort within seconds.  Most acupuncture patients in China, the U.S. and throughout the world do not typically experience these kinds of results on a consistent basis, placing Dr. Jacobs among the highest eschelon of acupuncture providers in the world.

Should you wish to see for yourself the amazing benefits acupuncture can provide you or a family member, Dr. Jacobs is willing to offer a free demonstration in his office.  Don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Jacobs should you wish to experience the power of acupuncture or to schedule an appointment for a full consultation.

Dr. Jacobs uses a variety of traditional acupuncture styles, such as the standard TCM approach taught throughout China, extremely effective Chinese family lineage styles, channel style and orthopedic acupuncture.  He was instructor of advanced acupuncture orthopedic techniques at Santa Barbara College of Oriental Medicine from 2004 until the school’s permanent closure, after 25 years, in 2007.

YouTube video

Diseases and Health Conditions Acupuncture Treats

Acupuncture clearly treats ailments effecting all major systems and tissues of the body, including: hormonal/endocrine; brain/nervous system; heart and vascular system; immune; digestive; joints, muscles and tendons; etc.

In an official report, Acupuncture: Review and Analysis of Reports on Controlled Clinical Trials, the WHO (WHO) has listed the following symptoms, diseases and conditions that have been shown through controlled trials to be treated effectively by acupuncture:

Aches and Pains: Billary colic, Facial pain (including craniomandibular disorders), Headaches Knee pain, Low back pain, Neck pain, Pain in dentistry (including dental pain and TMJ dysfunction), Periarthritis of shoulder (Frozen shoulder), Post-operative pain, Renal colic, Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Sciatica, Sprain, Tennis/Golfer’s elbow

Immune System: Allergic rhinitis (including hay fever), Leucopenia (a decreased total number of white blood cells in the circulating blood)

Cancer: Adverse reactions to radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy; Leucopenia

Chronic Conditions: Essential Hypertension; Primary Hypotension; Paralysis/Post-stroke syndrome

Digestive Problems: Acute Bacillary Dysentery, Abdominal pain (in peptic ulcer, acute and chronic gastritis, and gastrospasm), Nausea and vomiting

Female Disorders: primary Dysmenorrhoea, Induction of labor, correction of Malposition of fetus, Morning sickness

There are many other diseases, symptoms and conditions for which the therapeutic effect of acupuncture has been shown but for which definitive study is needed.  Some of these ailments include:

Aches and Pains: Abdominal pain (acute gastroenteritis, gastrointestinal spasm, gallbladder colic), Cancer pain, chronic with acute exacerbation of Cholecystitis, Otitis media/Ear ache, Fibromyalgia and fasciitis, Eye pain due to subconjuctival injection, Gouty arthritis, Labor pain, Osteoarthritis (OA), Pain due to endoscopic examination, Pain in thromboangiitis obliterans, Post-operative healing, Radicular and pseudoradicular pain syndrome, Causalgia/Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, Shingles, Sore throat (including tonsillitis), acute Spine pain, Stiff neck, TMJ dysfunction, Tietze syndrome

Addictions: Alcohol dependence and detoxification, Opium, cocaine and heroin dependence, Tobacco dependence

Digestive Problems: gastrokinetic disturbance, Gallbladder stones, Ulcerative colitis

Female Disorders: Female infertility, Female urethral syndrome, Hypo-ovarianism, Lactation deficiency, Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), Premenstrual syndrome, Labor pain

Autoimmune and Infectious Diseases: Raynaud’s syndrome, Sjorgen’s Syndrome, Epidemic hemorrhagic fever, Hepatitis B carrier status, Herpes zoster/Shingles

Male Disorders: non-organic Male sexual dysfunction, chronic Prostatitis

Metabolic Diseases: Type 2 Diabetes, Obesity, hyperlipidemia

Mental and Neurologic Conditions: Anxiety and Panic Disorder; Insomnia, Schizophrenia, Vascular dementia, Neuralgia, Bell’s palsy, Facial spasms, Meniere’s disease, Head injury (closed, craniocerebral), Tourette’s syndrome

Respiratory Diseases: Asthma, Nose bleed, Whooping cough

Skin Conditions: Acne vulgaris, Neurodermatitis, Herpes zoster/Shingles, Pruritis/Itching

Urologic Disease: Recurrent lower urinary tract infection, Urinary retentions (post-traumatic), Kidney/Bladder stones

Other Conditions/Diseases: excessive saliva production

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Despite its use for well over 2000 years, how acupuncture works is still poorly understood from a Western, scientific perspective.  Acupuncture has been shown to decrease pain by acting on the enkephalin-based, pain killing pathways.  The National Institutes of Health (NIH) stated in 1997 that acupuncture is useful for muscular, skeletal, generalized and post-operative pain as well as being potentially useful for anesthesia.  The NIH statement was based upon a critical review of over 67 controlled acupuncture pain trials.

With regard to treating ailments involving specific body parts, senses, internal organs, hormones and immune system, it is likely that stimulating an acupuncture point in one part of the body initiates nervous system and/or immune system changes in other areas of the body.  Advanced functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has shown that stimulating an acupuncture point known to treat ailments in a certain part of the body caused increased activity in brain areas responsible for the body part treated with acupuncture; for example, a point on the foot used to improve vision increased brain visual center activity. 

View Details