Winter Acupuncture

Hello everyone Registered Acupuncturist here J.P. Brunelle.

I just wanted to take a minute today and talk about the importance of getting Acupuncture in the winter.

The winter can pose many health challenges to us here in Ottawa.  It is the coldest capital city in the world and with the extreme weather our bodies are vulnerable to a host of serious health conditions.

Acupuncture + Traditional Chinese Medicine are proven tools to help you cope with the extremes of winter allowing you to live happy, healthy and strong.

Slips and Falls:

Winter means snow and ice, and with these slippery conditions your chances of falling and getting injured increase greatly.

Acupuncture is one of the best therapies around to alleviate pain and heal bumped and bruised tissues.

Research has shown that acupuncture releases over 30 different opiods in the body. Its is believed that this release plays a key role in Acupuncture’s ability to educe analgesia and eliminate pain.

Also Acupuncture plays a great role in speeding up the inflammation process, helping to heal effected tissues, increase vascular circulation and releasing stuck / tight muscles contributing to your pain and stiffness.

For seniors the stakes involved with falling are literally life and death. Acupuncture is a great way to help you heal if you fall, but we also have prevention techniques to help you improve your balance and reflexes.

I have been teaching Qi Gong + fitness to my senior patients for over a decade, and they all comment on how their coordination, strength and reflexes have improved from this practice.

Shoveling snow:

When the snow falls I know my phone will be ringing shortly after.

Many clients suffer from low back pain when shoveling snow. That is why I recommend many of my clients get Acupuncture to quickly alleviate their pain.

I also give patients support materials to help teach them how to strengthen their core and to improve technique when bending over.  Often this is the root of the problem.

One of the leading causes of pain killer addiction is low back pain.

Acupuncture provides an effective drug free way to provide relief and reduce your dependency on drug intervention.

Supported with the right exercise routine you can shovel pain free in no time!

Cough/ Colds:

Acupuncture is a useful tool to keep you immune system healthy.

Regular acupuncture helps to improve circulation,organ function and improves stress response.

By improving the flow of new blood as well as supporting the functions of the organs you improve you chances of fighting off infections or suffering a prolonged episode.

As well stress, both physical and emotional can have a negative effect on your health. Acupuncture’s ability to improve mood and reduce pain has a direct impact on improving your immune function.

There are many life style recommendations in TCM to help support treatment.  Diet therapy, sauna , meditation, self massage and qi gong and exercise are also great tools to help you stay health during cold and flu season.

Seasonal Effective Disorder:

Acupuncture is a proven therapy to help with mood disorders. It provides much needed stress relief to patients by increasing the amount of feel good hormone in the body such as serotonin.

Research has show acupuncture to be an effective stand alone or combination therapy for many forms of mood disorders, as well Acupuncture can help to improve the effects of medication and reduce there side effects.

Recently Acupuncture has been adopted by the military as a primary therapy to help soldiers dealing with post traumatic stress.

Having Acupuncture as a regular part of your yearly health care plan ensures the best chance at preventing illness and managing the many challenges of  a harsh Canadian winter.

Book a FREE consultation today and see how Acupuncture can help you fight off the winter blues!!

All the best in health,

J.P. Brunelle R.Ac