eTopical Precious Finds
Article written by Alex Guo.
New-York based acupuncturist Yan Zhou has dedicated her life to helping others achieve optimal health through the natural and holistic healing methods of traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture treatments. Her expertise is reflected not only in a range of therapies such as infertility, IVF/IUI treatments, stress and anxiety, but also in the treatments of different neurological disorders.
As one of the most commonly seen neurological disorders, Bell’s palsy usually causes paralysis or weakness on one side of the face. This is because one of the nerves that controls muscles in the face is not working properly due to things like swelling or inflammation. Symptoms may include drooling, difficulty making facial expressions, slight pain around the jaw or the ear.
“Acupuncture is a natural way to address problems like this, especially for women that just delivered their babies and are breastfeeding,” Zhou explains,“My patient had been looking for non-medication involved treatments for a whole before she came to me because she didn’t want her baby to be affected.”
According to Yan, despite that the patient missed the best acupuncture treatment timing for Bell’s palsy, which is the first 3 days when the symptoms occurred, it’s still possible to improve her facial expressions with a longer treatment session.
Zhou pointed out that motherhood is never easy. New moms are always exhausted from taking care of the baby and breastfeeding is only making it worse. All these stresses are affecting the Qi and blood as well as the life force energy in the mom’s body, especially the stomach meridian which runs on the face.
Zhou used acupuncture to stimulate ST4 (Di Cang-Earth granary), which is located lateral to the corner of the mouth. This is a point that’s used to stimulate the branch of the facial nerve and to regulate the grain’s energy in the stomach meridian.
“In fact, the stomach meridian also passes through the nipple, which is also known as ST17, Ru Zhong-Breast Center in traditional Chinese medicine,” Zhou adds,“The stomach energy is easily depleted from breastfeeding. And that’s why new moms need more care and nutrients to keep themselves and the baby healthy by boosting or tonifying the Qi and Blood.”
After about 6 acupuncture treatments, the patient was really excited to show the pictures of her finally being able to smile again and decided to continue this acupuncture treatment routine. Zhou was very glad to see the progress she made and the happiness on the patient’s face when she successfully lifted the corner of her mouth.
Zhou has always believed in the power of natural healing methods. Not only do they make people feel better emotionally, but also contribute to put human bodies in a better place by reducing blood pressure, muscle tension, and the production of stress hormones. Yan’s expertise in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine makes her a valuable resource for those seeking to improve their health and well-being.
