Pain Management Retreat Next Month!

For the millions of Americans living with chronic pain, treatment options can feel very limited. Long-term use of painkillers may cause irreparable side effects like liver and kidney damage. Surgeries can alleviate certain kinds of pain, but the trauma and resulting scar tissue may result in pain of other types.If you are ready to reduce your pain once and for all, the Pain Management Retreat hosted by my colleague Jing Fan and I may be a great event for you!

This 2-day event in Boca Raton, FL will provide not only acupuncture and Chinese massage sessions to instantly relieve your pain, but also teach you techniques you can use at home on your own time to prevent pain before it flares up. For example, Dr. Fan will teach a class on Yijin Jing, a form of Chinese qigong that promotes flexibility and balance by strengthening the muscles and tendons.  Once you learn the basic exercises from Dr. Fan, you will be able to practice at home and build up the strength and flexibility you need to stop pain before it happens. 

The retreat will be packed with events including: 

• acupuncture treatment
• Chinese massage
• herb sampling
• nutrition lecture
• qigong class
• tai chi class

Dr. Fan and I come from very different but complementary backgrounds in medicine. I trained and completed my apprenticeship in traditional Chinese medicine from a holistic point of view while Dr. Fan is an orthopedic surgeon, specializing in osteoarthritis and soft tissue injuries. Though we differ in our mechanistic approach towards treating joint and muscle pain, I was surprised to find that we agree on many of the fundamentals. For example, we both believe that except in very specific cases, electing to do joint surgery often causes more harm than good. Watch a snippet of our conversation about back surgery below!

If you are interested in this one-of-a-kind retreat, visit the official website at bocaacupuncture.org.  For more information about the effects of acupuncture on different kinds of pain, please visit www.bostonchineseacupuncture.com

We are offering a special 10% discount if you register before December 25, 2015 so sign up today!

New Event: Health Seminar at Whole Foods Market Boca Raton

Next month, I will be holding a free lecture about how green juice and acupuncture can reduce inflammation to prevent cancer, allergies and autoimmune diseases at the Whole Foods Market in Boca Raton, FL. In this lecture, I will use recent scientific research to explain how green juice (blended vegetables comprised predominantly of leafy greens) can help the body balance its immune function and produce more anti-inflammatory chemicals such as cortisol, progesterone and other relaxing hormones. I will also use clinical cases to demonstrate how a powerful combination of green juice and acupuncture can help people fight infertility, menopause and arthritis and aid cancer survivors in preventing neuropathy, anxiety, depression and insomnia. At the end of the talk, I will also be sharing a few of my favorite green juice recipes!

Date: April 19, 2015
Time: 11 am - 12:30 pm
Address: 1400 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, FL 33431 (Boca Raton Whole Foods Market)

Weekly green juice excursion to Whole Foods

I admit that I was originally a green-juice skeptic before my patients convinced me to buy a Vitamix and give juicing a go. The hassle to make a frankly unappetizing, goopy mixture the texture of baby food seemed hardly worth the effort. But after making and drinking green juice for the past few months, I can say that I have been converted. The juices, which are predominantly kale-based, are pretty delicious once I looked past its coloring.  I also started experimenting by adding different fruits and honey into the mix, giving the blend a pleasantly sweet flavor and making it much more palatable.  Making green juice has become a fun kitchen experiment rather than a chore!

Most importantly, I understand now what the hype about green juice is all about. Between the extra fiber, vitamins and minerals, a cup of green juice a day leaves my digestive system running smoothly and my body feeling youthful.  I was also impressed by how full and satisfied I felt after drinking green juice. One problem I've had ever since I was little was feeling hungry between meals. I would snack frequently - a little bit of chocolate here, a handful of nuts there. But as I've gotten older and my metabolism has slowed down, I now need to be much more careful about snacking. Green juice has really helped me on this front because after drinking it, I do not need to eat as much. It's a great relief not to have my stomach clamoring for attention all the time!

Find out more about this event at Facebook and Eventbrite. RSVP today and I hope to see you there!