Chinese Medicine Adventures with Damien Bodnarchuk

The story of a website past and present

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 00:58:00 +0000

Dear Chinese Medicine Adventurists,

The story of a website past and present

When I was at uni I really jumped on the marketing and advertising group for the final year internship clinic.

Everybody hated this group. It was extra to the work and involved off curriculum activity. Mainly it's an affront to ones practice ability I believe. Why advertise? They will come (big loud voice!)

However I immediately saw the advantages. Using the established university structure I didn't have to build a base of people to contact. And I could experiment beyond my wildest desires with no fear of losing. It was was all supported and under the umbrella of uni. It was a double comfort zone.

Soon I got to work with a free website, added content, played with videos and started designing and printing things. I learned so much! It is still relevant today! In fact I was the first hit for the uni for a while until they got some website action together, after my lead! I just googled it. Page 2. Not bad after a bit of time ;) https://sites.google.com/site/utstcmclinic/home

I think the main things I noticed were keep it short: videos, sentences, letters! And artists are complete free spirits. I was on someone's case for design and photoshop so much that they don't really speak to me anymore after! Haha. An artist is someone who sees a deadline and looks in the opposite direction! I try an and always set a deadline before the deadline, if possible. Even when meeting up it's preferable to set a time 1 hour before you have to actually meet and just turn up an hour later as you then both meet at the same time ;)

I also started getting images on the digital billboards at UTS, which was really fun too!

November 2013. I decided to get serious with my own site. I had experimented with two free sites prior to this. I learnt a lot. HTML, Flash. which one is better, mobile activated site, what people search for (suburb where they want to get acupuncture!). A lot of my colleagues have followed suite and changed their original URLs for example to their suburb.

I also realised how cut throat it was! I registered my current URL through a free provider. I just jumped on it when I saw it. A peer registered the same name as me (one month after). The only difference? A hyphen in their URL name. A real compliment from such as long established practitioner. I did start a dialogue but was ignored. To this day they still heavily Google advertise under the same URL with a hyphen, not realising how lame that is!

Fast forward to today and I had learnt some lessons. Time to apply them into a professional site!

This process is another story as well. At first I had to get powerful pictures. Mine were just not good enough. I had to wait a long time to tee up a photographer, get the shots I needed and take some re shoots too!

This a fun shot we took. Too cheeky for the website, so here it is :)

Establishing what would work and what didn't was a drawn out process. I think stage two I will hire a professional designer to co-ordinate that type of thing!

6 months down the track, post design changes. Post name change (a loop hole in business name registration meant that someone else has Bondi Acupuncture as a business name now, another peer! Hence now I am Bondi Acupuncture Sydney. Which is actually a lot more far reaching from brand and search point of view I believe.) My web designer went overseas, my model in some shots was my girlfriend (now ex). There is so much going into a site it is phenomenal!

I also had to write all the content. I decided to be super professional and reference it to the highest standard. Like writing a book!

So there you go. A story of designing, integrating, loss and achievement. Then you have to step back and let it come together naturally. Then when nothing happens you have to push again and then step back again. Not very different from doing acupuncture on a patient really!

In the next few days a functional version of this site will be up! I am thinking of having a launch party! You're invited!

Volunteer Acupuncture Position

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 21:02:00 +0000

Volunteer Acupuncturist Position

The Bondi Beach Affordable Acupuncture Clinic

The Clinic
The Bondi Beach Affordable Acupuncture Clinic is a busy clinic set up to provide low cost, easy access acupuncture for people who cannot afford acupuncture treatments.

Cases range from patients trying acupuncture for the first time to physical pain, emotional factors, addictions and complex Western medicine syndromes and diagnoses.

The clinic is a communal multibed clinic (several beds in an open room). It is a concession aimed clinic. Twenty minute treatments are $29 full wage and sliding scale down to $10-$5 donation for any concession.

All acupuncture positions are volunteer based, including the lead acupuncturist.

It was established in 2011 and the clinic currently runs at Chapel by the Sea, 95 Roscoe Street, Bondi Beach every Thursday from 5pm to 9pm.

All donated proceeds go to the Norman Andrews House: a community service that provides support and welfare assistance to those experiencing hardship, difficulty and homelessness.

The clinic is represented under ACMAC (Association of Community and Multibed Acupuncture Clinics) and is held under auspices of the Chapel by the Sea, Bondi Beach Uniting Church, Health and Wholeness programme. Page link here:

http://acmac.net/acu/pro/nsw-bondi-beach-bondi-beach-not-for-profit-community-acupuncture-clinic

The Position

This is a volunteer unpaid position. You will be donating your time.

Due to high demand and increasing waiting times for patients we are looking for a reliable, dynamic, hardworking volunteer acupuncture practitioner.

If you are looking for a diversified case work stream, have a sense for community spirit and want to meet some challenging patients please apply.

Key Criteria:

Current CMBA AHPRA registration;

or current final year undergraduate in TCM (subject to mentoring under your institutions policies and guidelines);

or you are an experienced acupuncture professional willing to volunteer time and knowledge for a good cause.

Excellent acupuncture knowledge/techniques

Excellent communication skills

Able to work effectively in a small team using own initiative

Desirable

Previous experience in community/not for profit area

Have a “go for it” attitude.

Applications

Feel free to promote your own acupuncture business and make patient business contacts in this role.

Position is currently available for all or part of hours from 5pm-9pm.

Feel free to visit the clinic to say hi and to have a look.

To discuss this opportunity in more detail, apply now or call Damien at Bondi Acupuncture on 0434018496 or apply directly by sending a short cover letter stating qualification, addressing position criteria and hours available to work to damienbodnarchuk@hotmail.com

Applications by Friday 7^th March

Through and Through Technique

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Tue, 25 Feb 2014 12:30:00 +0000

Today I met one patient who amazed me. A courageous and dynamic woman caught in a trap of adrenal fatigue and chronic tiredness. The slippery slopes of those syndromes gently clawing in on a young, vibrant life. Not the end of the world or a life, but a dampening of a bright light that will flicker strongly again I am sure.

I know as I have met that challenge and surfaced on the other side myself. This patient’s journey also had the thick boots of anti depressants to wade through.

What struck me with this person were the level of intelligence, multiple abilities under duress and flavour of life that was shown. This young vibrant person was a fatigue case that I hadn’t witnessed before.

As we began acupuncture we realised a strong tolerance to treatment. Some acupuncture points could be manipulated strongly with only a slight feedback of sensation. Interesting. I was expecting a weakness with this person’s energy. Usually reduced Qi leaves a person vulnerable and weak. Constitutionally this person had a lot of strength.

I experimented further needling Lr3 (on the foot) strongly. Usually a sensitive area. This point resulted in almost no reaction: “a slight dullness”. Reflecting in treatment: was this the result of multiple medications? However I have treated schizophrenic patients on higher doses of stronger mind dampening drugs. People who would mumble in consultation but give a clear ouch or signal when the acupuncture was a bit sharp!

Ok how can I make this happen I thought? A brave strong woman. Able to tolerate needle manipulation comfortably and very at ease. Not a problem we can try through and through technique.

Now I am not worried about using Kd1 on the right people. However I have only heard through and through technique spoken about mythically at university and saw it only once in a Beijing hospital with a critical patient in continued treatment post brain surgery complications ( a surgeon who was a physician at the hospital as it turned out…) The only time I had used it before was to get some green students to try it when I was tutoring at UTS. St 40 through to Bl57. That seemed ok. A bit difficult getting it to poke through the skin’s resistance on the other side. But they did it, and to themselves…

Well it just seemed like a logical step. Lr3 through to Kd1. No problem. Both feet. Patient reporting back sensation and stronger sensation with penetration to the other side but nothing intolerable.

Next Li4 and Lu10. Try squeezing those two points. It’s sensitive! This patient tolerated both hands easily… After treating the front we treated the back. This time I did Kd3 and Bl60. With the patient’s permission I took a photo.

It was great to work with this patient according to their level of Qi. It’s definitely a treatment I would reserve only for those who would be able tolerate it comfortably though.

Kd3 to Bl60. Slightly angled. Patient feeling great during and after. Stronger technique to achieve deeper movement of Qi

Michael Playing Piano at Bondi Beach Affordable Acupuncture Clinic

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sat, 08 Feb 2014 01:35:00 +0000

The Bondi Beach Affordable Acupuncture Clinic, which I have been running for over 3 years, is continuing to be a joy! Last night a member of the public played classical piano through the whole evening.

This individual is a very talented classically trained musician. I’ve often seen him on the street corner outside clinic smoking cigarettes and I would say hi.

It was just recently that I heard about his amazing piano playing talents. To be honest I couldn’t believe it. So one day he started playing one of the two pianos at the chapel and I was amazed. One of them is an upright and the other is flat grand type piano. It’s hilarious as the first thing he said about the pianos was that they were terrible. He’s on the street all the time looking homeless in raggedy clothes and he whinges about the quality of two pianos he can freely play!

When you chat to him he will tell you the royalty in London he knew, the posh suburbs he was living in and his world touring. It’s all quite incredible. So I guess he would know a good piano from a bad one…

So for a long time I have encouraged him to play for patients in clinic and sometimes he would. Only a little bit. Just recently I have been encouraging him to play on the street corner where usually he just smokes, to make some busking money. Other people have been asking him too.

The last two weeks he has been in the chapel everyday practicing. Literally playing his scales for hours and then going through music, sitting there reading music, which also blows my mind! Someone else who plays the piano has joined him and last night he played for a good couple of hours while patients were getting acupuncture. It was very inspiring. In fact I gave him some money from the acupuncture donations for his time.

So this is a new phase and if he comes in next week to play I know we will have some traction with his playing at Affordable Acupuncture and maybe even on the street. That is if we can find him the highest of quality electric pianos as he is very particular about the quality of the instruments he will play!

Acupuncture on the Tongue! WFAS 2013 Review

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Tue, 12 Nov 2013 19:42:00 +0000

Yes, you heard correctly! The abstract for the talk reads: "tongue acupuncture is a technique that treats illness through acupuncture applied to the tongue."

Quite a lot to swallow? Get it? Anyway the workshop presentation was really most exciting.

Dr. Sun Jie Guang can be found at the Hong Kong International Tongue Acupuncture Research Clinic or at http://www.tongueacupuncture.com/index_eng.htm

I found him at 9am Sunday morning on day 2 of the WFAS conference.

The basic concept of tongue acupuncture is similar to all body part acupuncture (ear for example). Where an image of the human body is put on a small part of the body. The areas of the human body projected on the body part represent where you treat with acupuncture for the associated actual area where there is an issue. On the ear, for example, mainly the internal organs are represented in the inner part of the ear. For some reason this is sometimes called a holograph. In reality it isn't a holograph. But it does sound fancy.

Just out of interest holographic acupuncture seems to be recent and not referenced in the classics. Ear acupuncture was developed in France during the 1950s by Nogier http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auriculotherapy The concept of the Homunculus is often cited (latin for little man) for this human image transposed onto another body part. However this has always confused me in its adoption as it is very understandable in its use in neurology where the idea is well known. This is because the human image covering the head indicates the actual physiological parts of the brain associated to where the sensory organs are. Anyway this could be a whole new blog post...

However I have liked ear acupuncture in my own clinical experience ever since I made my own discoveries with patients and their issues. Parts of the ear (tenderness or harder parts) and the projected image seemed to correlate with the parts of the body where there was an issue.

Anyway an upside down human image is projected on to the top of the tongue and also on the underneath of the tongue.

Here's an image from his website of the human shape projected on the underneath part of the tongue.

Dr. Sun Jie Guang, in his 30 years of experience, has noticed a lot of connection with brain function issues and sub-lingual swelling. He stated to treat the area and the symptoms are reduced.

You needle for 3 to 5 seconds. The needle is not retained. Pregnancy is ok. Not in cases of high blood pressure, easy bleeding (warfarin) or heart disease.

One tip he gave was that neck pain is easily treated in the sub-lingual fold and lower back issues are treated higher up the tongue.

Finally he gave a very charming notion how often to get tongue acupuncture as a patient. Every day or three times a day. Same as Western pharmaceutical medication frequency...Except this is completely unrelated to pharmaceutical dosage etc etc. Anyway!

Dr. Sun Jie Guang and his practical head lamp tongue acupuncture equipment

Treatment sounds intense. However apparently after the adrenalin has subsided the actual needling wasn't as bad as you would imagine regarding discomfort. A friend of mine volunteered and said it was fine. A lot of people stated that they experienced immediate relief from issues.

It was all very fascinating and quite dramatic. The question is would you be able to do it in Australia? Under scrutiny from a professional board or examined in court? Anyway it was amazing to witness!

Red laser light induces activation of mast cells

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 10 Nov 2013 11:38:00 +0000

A study to investigate the response of mast cells to red laser light to reveal the role of ,mast cells at acupuncture points.

This is an overview of the talk with analysis:

Prof Wang Lina from China, previous lecturer at Shanghai University of TCM, outlined this study and gave some reasoning. Firstly he stated that moxibustion was a common practice and laser could be related to as a mechanical heat, similar to moxibustion, If someone was scared of needles this would be a good alternative too.

An infrared laser was used of 600 to 900 nanometres (equal to one billionth of a metre) with a laser skin penetration of 1.2-2 mm. ATP release was monitored. For further investigation human mast cells showed degranulation too (degranulation is a cellular process that releases antimicrobial cytotoxic molecules from secretory vesicles called granules found inside some cells. It is used by several different cells involved in the immune system, including granulocytes (neutrophils, basophils and eosinophils) and mast cells. It is also used by certain lymphocytes such as natural killer (NK) cells and cytotoxic T cells, whose main purpose is to destroy invading microorganisms). Leading to a conclusion that cellular events may form the mechanistic basis that initiates laser acupuncture effects.

Damage is associated with molecular pattern molecules (molecular,metabolic pathways) including ATP released by injured tissue for immune response. Acupuncture leads to large amount of andenosine, ATP release.

The talk was interesting. I like the molecular pattern molecule indication (molecular or metabolic pathways) which seems to be on trend in the greater science world too. Terms like molecular pathways or metabolic pathways are used a lot currently to describe phenomena which is a nice interrelation into Western science. . The main issue with this talk is how it changes focus. Even in the abstract the title is mast cells but the body of it switches to ATP? I guess they are interrelated. Confusing but some interesting points raised.

WFAS 2013 Review: An overview of Breast Cancer TCM Treatment in Malaysia

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Wed, 06 Nov 2013 22:52:00 +0000

One of the first talks I got to on the conference 3 day weekend was an overview from Malaysia.

It states in the abstract about the talk: Malaysia was one of the first Commonwealth countries (53 independent sovereign states, mostly previously British colonies) to use TCM for cancer treatment in government hospitals. It goes on to say: the Malaysian government also approved the use of patent medicines (herbal pills) in cancer treatment, for free!

Medicine in Australia could learn from Malaysia! Further more herbs are really frowned upon in cancer assistance here. That doesn't seem to be the case in Malaysia.

The talk itself by Prof Chunhua Liao, who is a project director for the government project, was more informative than clinical. TCM has been integrated in hospitals there since 2007. With 10 hospitals integrated and 15 departments using TCM nationwide.

Typical formulas used were Xiao Yao San. One herb was mentioned as particularly helpful for building up immunity: Chai Hu. Even stated to reduce metastasis..!

I guess the main thing that caught my intention was a project directive to revert malignant cells back to benign as a future goal. It was a concept I had not heard of before. In Western medicine the emphasis is on killing the cancer and the local cells it could proliferate too. The reversal concept is a very TCM one. That is "if it went one way it can go the other". Just like a knot can be tied and untied. This is a metaphor that I have always liked. Inspiring at the least!

WFAS Highlights: Glaucoma

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 19:24:00 +0000

There's is an eye hospital in China with an over 600 patient daily intake. Here Dr. Wang Ying heads up the acupuncture department and overseas the development of treatment for glaucoma.

Primary closed angle (acute drainage blockage at the front of the eye) is a difficult case to treat with eye pressure ranging between 60-80. It needs to be around 40. However primary open angle glaucoma has drainage that is easier to unblock (for want of a better word) and is treated with acupuncture.

The Dr talked of a glaucoma personality in some cases of a controlling, detail, "A type" personality. She also broadened out the Chinese medicine diagnosis. The use of the colour of the eye was employed. All organs in Chinese medicine relate to colours.The idea of wind was also suggested. The scale went from cloudy, green, jade and black. Ending in the worst colour diagnosis. The poetic resonance of a cloudy wind or black wind was sweet and horrifying at the same time. Instantly making sense in the Chinese medicine doctrine and confounding Western science. Binding and bending my brain at the same time!

We were shown some pictures of animal studies. Acupuncture in the eye. I felt sorry for these rabbits (or bunnies as it was translated). It was announced that acupuncture in the eye was far better than outside the eye: "cannot be replaced by outside points".

Then it was demonstration time. I'm not sure what happened but the demonstration showed all outside eye points. One is a lot further up within the eye socket however. This was at 8am on Sunday morning so perhaps for the benefit of all involved.

Interesting to note no guide tube was used with inserting. Patient appeared very comfortable.

Apparently eye pressure readings were reduced in all cases spoken off. However the duration was temporary and needs trialling and further investigation. However with no side effects or disruption to Western medicine it is seen as a safe procedure.

Man resting on table before treatment

An idea of the organised chaos!

A delicate procedure, done well. The hectic conditions and ease of treatment by the practitioner shows how they normally perform in very busy environments. This was a breeze!

Points: Bl 1, St 1 then a point on top eye lid into socket

WFAS Review/Overview

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 19:00:00 +0000

WFAS (World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies) is only two thirds through and it's pretty good!
Firstly the location at the Darling Harbour Exhibition Centre is great. There are lots of talks, lots of people from around the world and lots of things to read and products to check out!

Overall it's already a great success! Some of the talks I will review in more detail shortly. I guess my absolute favourite was the acupuncture treatment for PCOS with Dr Danform Lim talk. The standard was just so inspiring. The structure of trial, how he reported it (with a sense of humour and openness) was great. There was so much great work and effort behind the trial that it appeared effortless and totally integrated. Hopefully to be repeated by others, although the bar has been set very high!

Other talks I want to review for you: moxa for oncology patients and some nice insights, an overview of breast cancer and TCM treatment, laser acupuncture, esoteric concept of harmony for cancer treatment, chronoacupuncture. And a couple of workshops. One on glaucoma and acupuncture in the eyeball!! Another of acupuncture on the tongue!! And insights into modern moxibustion with real moxa that is not burnt!

Flame glove treatment... Normal? It is when you go to an acupuncture conference!!!

Acupuncture for PCOS: an outstanding trial

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 03 Nov 2013 05:05:00 +0000

I am at WFAS ( World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies). Yes you've never heard of it! Well it's a 3 day conference in Sydney with all things Chinese medicine. More about the conference and it's speakers, stands, information and great people shortly!

An outstanding session I went to yesterday must be highlighted. I was absolutely delighted to see Dr Danforn Lim, based in Australia, talk about Acupuncture and the treatment of PCOS (Polyscystic Ovarian Syndrome). Firstly Dr Lim is a Chinese medicine physician and Western medicine trained physician specialising in women's health, amongst a large list of other things https://research.unsw.edu.au/people/dr-danforn-lim . This explains the bow tie by the way: when bending down normal ties get in the way. So whenever you meet a male Dr who has a bow tie, they are usually specialising in women's health!

His talk was an absolute highlight of the whole day for me. I think his 3 year trial sets the next generation of standards that are capable for Chinese medicine and random control trials. A clear a precise trial with clear protocols and procedures that was extremely well supported.

Firstly return of menstruation was the main goal of the trial. This is a step in treating PCOS that begins the rest of the process of how the patient can be healed.

This trial used a high standard from a Chinese medicine and Western medicine point of view. Western Highlights being 150 patients enrolled. A" ramp in" time frame to analyze the patient and the syndrome to verify. Monthly blood testing for strict analysis. Correct and thorough defining of terms to define PCOS and therefore clarity of outcome against that. Intelligent sham acupuncture and controls were used.
From an Eastern medicine point of view the trial was specified to one Kidney Yang Deficiency pattern with extra consideration to diagnosis of phlegm or blood stasis. Only candidates from this pattern where included.

The main points used were:
Ren3
Ren4
MCA 18 bilateral
Sp 6 bilateral

The outcome: 98 patients returned to 1 month menstruation cycle.

The paper is due for release shortly

Chinese herbs and treatment for Multiple Sclerosis Symptoms

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sat, 21 Sep 2013 01:56:00 +0000

Cordyceps Sinensis

Currently I am treating a charming patient who's is suffering from Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This beautiful woman has all the elegance and refined standing that doesn't deserve to be cut down by this demyelinating disease of the nerves.

With acupuncture we are treating various signs and symptoms of pins and needles, numbness and headache and she's getting a lot of relief.

Today she told me her doctor was suggesting she take a medication called Gilenya. She has to be monitored in hospital for 6 hours after initial dose.

I did some research and it is based on the well known Chinese medicine herb Cordyceps Sinensis. It is derived from the myriocin metabolite of the fungus Isaria Sincalairii. Isaria Sincalairii is a fungus which attacks insects. The larvae typically die just beneath the soil surface, and the fungus produces white tufts which grow up from the soil and release powdery white spores. The scientific name changes according to the cycle of the fungus transformation but it is a species related to Ophiocordyceps Sinesis which is the well known cordyceps herb or Dōng chóng xià cǎo.

Info on Gilenya http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fingolimod
Info on Cordyceps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophiocordyceps_sinensis

We may start to use the herb directly for its well known historical health and longevity effects.

Possible Chinese Medicine Facility: Goulburn, Australia!

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 11:42:00 +0000

500 student teaching facility, organic Chinese herbs grown, clinic!

Here's the full story from ABC news

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-15/gx-chinese-medicine/4819758?section=act

Acupuncture and the use of Chinese medicine for the treatment of pain: Who is using it and how does it work? PainAustralia Article

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 11:36:00 +0000

In May 2012 I was asked to write an article for the PainAustralia group, Painaustralia is a national not-for-profit body established to improve the treatment and management of pain in Australia. Finally the article came out in their latest news letter. It was a delight to see it. I am very proud of the up to date referencing too!

Here's the link to the article on their site and the full article below!

http://www.painaustralia.org.au/media-news/e-news.html#acupunture

Acupuncture and the use of Chinese medicine for the treatment of pain: Who is using it and how does it work?

By Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Trad Chinese Med(UTS)/Cert Trad Chinese Med (Beijing)/Dip Nat Hlth Yoga (NCC)/ M.AACMA

Background

In China, where Western and Eastern medicine are combined in all major hospitals under the term ‘integrated medicine’, it is used by millions of people. In the wards which I visited in Beijing, I witnessed it used with oncology, rheumatology, dermatology and range of other issues.

Chinese medicine is based on ancient information written 2000 years ago, from the second century BC. This information was condensed and systemised in the beginning of the 20^th century, at the time of China’s cultural revolution. The four-year undergraduate course in acupuncture in the 21^st century contains the same basic information from 2000 years ago, using the same main reference materials.

Acupuncture was first approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a method for treating pain in 1979 and today it is endorsed by health services worldwide.

In the UK the National Health Service (NHS) offers acupuncture, and in the US it is recognised by the National Institute for Health (NIH), the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research.

In Australia, acupuncture has been reimbursed by the Australian National Health System under the Medicare Benefits Scheme (MBS) (Items 173, 193, 195, 197 and 199) since 1984, and it is one of the most accepted forms of complementary medicine among Australian GPs.¹

It is also increasingly used by patients, with a 2008 study finding that 9.2 percent of Australians had used acupuncture in the 12-month study period, with back pain the most common condition treated.²

Pain Conditions Responsive to Acupuncture

The WHO lists the following pain conditions as those that can be successfully treated with acupuncture:

· neurological pain (such as headaches, migraines and facial neuralgia);

· musculoskeletal issues (such as back pain, osteoarthritis, sciatica, shoulder and elbow pain); and

· many types of sporting injuries.³

New research from Australia has shown acupuncture can also be effective in the management of acute pain.⁴

Understanding Acupuncture through Western Medicine

Western medicine addresses the complex multiple system effects of acupuncture on the body. There are studies ranging from effective noticeable brain changes under MRI scans, nerve pathway theories, hormone release changes (opioid systems activated in the brain), blood flow changes and even placebo effects, although there are many demonstrated physiological responses.⁵

The most recent study, a meta-analysis of 17,922 patients published in September 2012, showed significant differences between true and sham acupuncture trials. The study concluded that cupuncture is more than just a placebo, effective for the treatment of chronic pain and therefore a reasonable referral option for doctors.⁶

Another study conducted by the University of York, UK, investigated the economic value afforded by acupuncture for the treatment of lower back pain, neck pain, dysmenorrhea, migraines, arthritis, and headaches, concluding it to be a cost-effective intervention.⁷

There are many studies available and there are many in-progress that suggest a range of effects, with a 2007 German pain trial finding acupuncture reduces lower back pain twice as much as conventional therapy (compared to drugs, physical therapy and exercise).⁸

In 2005, an RMIT trial examined the effect of acupuncture for pain relief on more than 1,000 patients at the Emergency Department of the Northern Hospital in Melbourne, and it was shown to be a potentially effective therapy for acute pain management. This led to a three-year NHMRC-funded project to treat acute migraine, back pain and ankle injuries currently underway, led by Professor Marc Cohen and Professor Charlie Xue.^9,10

Research into acupuncture is continuing in Australia, particularly through the University of Western Sydney and the University of Sydney, as well as the RMIT in Melbourne.

Understanding Acupuncture through Eastern Medicine

The eastern medicine understanding is based around the concept of energy. Good health is understood to be the smooth flow of energy through meridians or pathways in the body. Pain is stated as being energy that is stuck and the use of acupuncture needles inserted in the body moves this stuck energy and helps the body heal itself. The source of energy is still elusive, and there is no current scientific definition for it.

Diagnosis and Treatment Process

Diagnosis is conducted with the visible signs and symptoms of an issue and then interpreted according to Chinese medicine theory, and treatment is given accordingly. Most patients report some sensation in the body with acupuncture. This can be a dullness, heat, muscle spasm or feeling at the point of insertion, or at other areas in the body where there are no needles. Often straight after a treatment a patient will feel physically, emotionally or mentally noticeably different for a short period of time.

Damien Bodnarchuk is a professional Chinese medicine physician, previous president of the UTS Chinese medicine society and is on the Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association NSW State board. He practices in rooms at Gp on Ebley medical centre in Bondi Junction and can be contacted through their website or on 9387 1171.

References

¹http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3339354/

²Xue et. al. 2008 www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/8/105/

³WHO acupuncture web page www.apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4926e/5.html WHO

⁴http://rmit.mobi/print;ID=a5i60aogsrp71;LOCATION=RMIT%20News%252FNews%252FHealth%252Fby%

20title%252FE%253BID%253Da5i60aogsrp71%253BSTATUS%253DA;STATUS=A

⁵Huang W, Pach D, Napadow V, Park K, Long X, et al. (2012) Characterizing Acupuncture Stimuli Using Brain Imaging with fMRI - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Literature. PLoS ONE 7(4): e32960. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032960 April 9, 2012

⁶Vickers et. al.2012/http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1357513

⁷http://www.healthcmi.com/index.php/acupuncturist-news-online/607-acupunctureceuscostsavingspainrelief

⁸Michael Haake, PhD, MD et al. Arch Intern Med. 2007;167(17):1892-1898.

⁹http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/file/nics/material_resources/july_2009_newsletter.pdf

¹⁰http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/pdf/1745-6215-12-241.pdf

Hwato SDZ III Needle Stimulator Review

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Thu, 04 Jul 2013 13:23:00 +0000

Hello Hwato fans and explorers,

This is the latest version of this machine I believe. The original one I haven't seen but I came across the Hwato SDZ II and that was OK.

This machine is a big improvement in 3 ways over the mark II and why I spent more money getting it! The timer is digital and doesn't have the annoying ticking sound. The timer alarm is better (but annoying) as the type two played "London Bridge is Burning Down" from what I remember..! But the third great thing is that you can use the electro without the timer, therefore not having the time end alarm going off.

Finally the main thing for me is that it has the CE stamp: "Conformite Euopeenne". This means it meets European product standards. Great for anything coming out of China. This is good for peace of mind and if anything was to go wrong with electricity and whatever, at least the practitioner can say they have gone to a certain level of responsibility for best practice. I.e. they won't get blamed! Well it shows duty of care, hopefully!

It also has heaps of electro cords coming out of it, easily adjustable intensity and different frequency settings . One thing I noticed is the display flashes when the electro is actually coming through the cords. This is relaxing so you don't have to second guess if it's working or not.

So how much? I spent Australian $310 plus $31 tax =$341

I guess it's pricey but I paid for CE and lots of electro outlets! Also as I had used an earlier version of the same device before which gave me confidence using it..

So a million people will tell me they got it for cheaper etc. I got it from an Australian importer though. I decided I needed it for treatment now! It was shipped in two days. I didn't pay post either.

Bad things. In China this thing would cost $1. It's as light as a feather so it feels like there is one thing inside of it making it work. I like the blue colour of the older version more. Also let's see how long the display lasts for! However it's got a warranty of a year at least. Looking forward to it just going on and on though!

Finally the main reason why I purchased it. So that people with extreme or ongoing pain have a last option ( I will not use it all the time) as a treatment to prevent surgery. I've seen some great results with electro so I am looking forward to applying this quality machine.

Hwato machine out of the box

First victim, willing participant: Clinic manager!

Great to see the CE Marking on this machine (Explained here)

Even though polystyrene sucks they stuck there logo on it. Kinda cool

Tanya my second willing participant. She had a cold so I did Lung points with electro

Tanya getting electro while relaxing :)

Clinic: Up and Running!

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 00:26:00 +0000

After a dramatic flood on Monday today the clinic is back to normal with a staggered room repair schedule. Insurance did not want to cover loss of earnings and so repairs became a priority! FYI the leak was in a backed up u bend of a sink upstairs apparently...

Clinic got flooded!

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Called the clinic owner today to say hi and got the news the clinic was flooded. What a blow. .. An internal pipe was leaking upstairs overnight. Even worse it couldn't be found or stopped by turning off the water! !! Hopefully solved soon.

Chinese Teas

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Tue, 28 May 2013 10:52:00 +0000

Hi blogs.
I went to this great holistic night last night.
Music, vegan gluten free food and we tried high quality Chinese teas from " Little China Teas". I'm sure Justin, in the pictures, will make it big with these tasty parcels of goodness. www.littlechinateas.com.au check it out :-)

Have you heard of E Health?

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 00:41:00 +0000

http://www.ehealth.gov.au/internet/ehealth/publishing.nsf/content/home

Ehealth (Electronic health records) is a $500 million dollar government funded national scheme started in July 2012. I went to the information session last night for health professionals at St. Vincents Hospital, Darlinghurst. About 50 people turned up, mainly doctors.
I was disappointed by the general atmosphere. For example the first question asked involved how we could be sued as practitioners etc...

Sharing health information securely is a big step to efficiency with patients and recorded information tracking. Making life easier for everybody with this secure database.

Every practitioner is accountable for their notes with professional responsibility. That is a bare minimum of care! So I see every advantage of that transparency and openness for patients and practioners!

Responsible Runners Bondi Beach!

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:25:00 +0000

Responsible Runners is an awesome enviro clean up group. I help out down at Bondi 6.00 pm with a bunch of great people. If you're around, come and check it out! (Me on the left). Or there are other beach groups too! Have a look at their website :)

http://responsiblerunners.org/

Acu and Yoga Class in Bondi

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 12:20:00 +0000

Update

Hello beautiful friends. What a long time between posts!

For your enjoyment here's a link to my Facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/pages//BondiAcupuncturecom208251512555950

And I am starting my Yoga and Relaxation, Mediation and Acupuncture sessions again for this year in Bondi!
Check out the link and information below, starting next week. First class is half price to check it out!

http://www.eventbrite.com.au/event/5504197202?utm_source=eb_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=new_eventv2&utm_term=eventurl_text#

Acupuncture and Insomnia

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 05:40:00 +0000

Nice little news grab on acupuncture with a doctor :)
Have a look

An interview with Damien Bodnarchuk

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 11:09:00 +0000

Probably the longest break from my blog so far. Apologies. Here for you is a copy of the latest news letter from ACMAC about the affordable acupuncture I have been doing. Love you guys!

Damien Bodnarchuk is an ACMAC member and practices from Bondi Beach Not-for-profit Community Acupuncture Clinic.
Interviewed by Charlotte Whitestone.
CW: Hi Damien. Could you start off by telling me a little about yourself and how you came to be practicing acupuncture?
DB: My name is Damien Bodnarchuk. I studied at UTS (University of Technology, Sydney) where they have the

Damien Bodnarchuk

Bachelor of Health Science in Traditional Chinese Medicine 4 year undergraduate degree. This has been at this university for over 15 years. I graduated recently but have always been involved with working with humans and health! I have a love of yoga and gained a diploma in yoga and taught for a few years prior. Basically I wanted to focus one on one with people. When I found out that Eastern medicine was being taught in a Western context at university, it blew my mind! It gave me an alternative medicine to work one on one with people with a mainstream path. I couldn’t resist the combination!
CW: When did you first open your clinic?
DB: I wanted to jump straight into community acupuncture as I wanted to treat as many people as possible. I first opened my community clinic in June 2011. I was inspired by the ideas of ‘community and treatment’. Community is what truly inspired me in the context of not for profit: reaching out to those who needed it. I decided to go with a full community ideal. I actually wrote a blog entry: “Community acupuncture: the McDonalds of Acupuncture?” to try to whip up some interest and opinions about it, but it didn’t get any comments! I was comparing a business model to a not-for-profit model. What cemented the not-for-profit angle for me was the fact the location I had found was an old church building set up as community healing centre and they weren’t charging me any rent. So I decided to charge $29 for each appointment and donate to the church organization – I was treating one-to-one. It wasn’t too soon after this that I got an angry phone call from a multibed clinic in town saying I couldn’t use the words ‘community acupuncture’ and that I was stealing their idea etc. Yeah, I know drama from our own kind! Anyway I told them not to worry as it was a totally different angle anyway and never heard back.
CW: What kind of experiences did you have getting off the ground?
DB: The setting was an amazing place. The congregation was too small to keep the church going but the religious group decided to use the space as a healing centre. High ceilings, stained glass windows and that amazing peaceful feel a church has… Actually it was a bit too peaceful! I was treating one patient an hour and soon I was in the back room. Still nice surroundings and I would contemplate the world in dusty coloured sun-beams… Anyway after about 3 months I was getting some regular patients on the hour. I would get some patients who would travel for an hour to get there. Actually I realised that maybe more bargain hunters were coming instead of needy types! I discovered a definite flavour of these patients too. Details. Detailed questions. Detailed responses. One patient would record a diary of all their post-acupuncture reactions for the week after treatment and present it to me before his next treatment. Oh my gosh! Luckily he would record what movies he saw too. Thank goodness we could talk about them too!
Even though this place was a great premises I decided to approach another church, in Bondi Beach, run by the same religious group. It was a bit closer to where the action was. Eventually the minister there could see the benefit of a potential increase in the numbers of people visiting his church. From the beginning of January 2012 I started at this new premises with a new approach. Here I offered $5 acupuncture treatments. Again for the first 3 months it was fairly slow going with mainly eccentric types coming in to find some peace off the street. The minister sent out a group email to a years-old database and I had a few people turn up. From this time onwards I picked up some momentum. My first busy day people were waiting for me before I got there.
CW: What kind of model do you use?
DB: The way I set it up was on tables in an open room. One booking every 15 minutes, which I stuck to with the other practitioner working there too (very busy when I was on my own for a while!) I was also approached by an on-line booking company and we did a free trial for a period of time to try it out. Great idea, but the majority of my patients had very little computer access or computer literacy. This took me by surprise and mainly the on-line bookings were not used by anybody.
CW: What kinds of conditions and patients do you treat?

Bondi Beach Not-for-profit CA Clinic

DB: At the Bondi Beach place I began treating some exceptional cases. People who had slipped through the medical system because of lack of finance or psychological issues. I have treated 100s of cases now. Flicking through the patient cards I can see mainly back pain, shoulder and knee pain. Some very complex cases of ear and nose issues with additional issues such as dry mouth, digestion problems. The exceptional cases included the worst psoriasis case I had ever witnessed, even worse than in the text books, the main areas effected being knees and elbows and general body but with a thick crusting. Other stand-out cases included a shocking ascites case due to ovarian cancer, and a post breast cancer patient who stopped taking her medications. I had plenty of patients with psychological issues too, like schizophrenic cases. I would treat the symptoms from the medications, usually nausea, fuzzy brain sensation etc, Sp diagnosis and underlying Kd xu (fear). Anxiety and stress, some depression cases. I treated one head scar, post operation, very successfully. Her hair was regrowing fully after weeks of not growing back. Mainly I just met awesome people who appreciated any help at a low cost.
CW: How has your clinic developed since the early days, and what have you learned that you didn’t know you didn’t know?
DB: After getting up to treating 20 patients in an afternoon I was pretty happy with the experiences and development of cases. I was presuming something though. One day I had a very well-off patient booked in and other people were waiting. As I honoured bookings over walks in I treated her but I wasn’t happy. The reason why I was charging $5 was so that people who couldn’t afford acupuncture could get a treatment! Suddenly I realised that anybody was getting a treatment! It hadn’t occurred to me that even people with money would bother to get a $5 treatment if they could afford a regular price. Yes they would! This developed another re-think. Also I’d put an advert out for another practitioner to help out (a more involved process than you would realise! But an awesome person came along to play). From this point on, instead of $5 treatments with all proceeds going to charity I decided to develop a pricing system and also develop some income for the clinic and donate to charity. I doubled my prices! $10 for concession treatment (proven with a concession card) and $29 for full income.
CW: And what happened?
DB: Numbers dropped! 3 months later I had a third of the number of patients and maybe one waged patient attending and I let the awesome person who joined me go. Currently I have put the clinic in recess to re-evaluate! In the end I think the location dictated a charity-type feel for the patients coming. So people didn’t mind getting $5 treatment, which included a lot of needy people. However paying $10 was a bit of a stretch for people with no money at all! Anyway that is my theory…
CW: What really makes you buzz about your clinic?
DB: One of the things I enjoyed the most about the way the clinic was set up was the casual relaxed atmosphere.

A deserving patient receives treatment

Not running it as a business created this. I would rarely get demanding patients and if I did I would keep it pretty casual. If they didn’t show up again it wouldn’t really matter. Sometimes I would put my favourite radio station on and listen to whatever I liked in the moment. Awesome people would turn up and swap playing the piano in the room for a treatment and other types of practitioners would come along to practice. After a while we had a person doing energetic healing, two massage people (one doing Swedish massage, who was from Sweden-can’t avoid mentioning that), someone else doing Qi Gong and meditation. A very creative and progressive atmosphere developed. Soon my vision of a room full of people getting treatments went way beyond what I had imagined. It was a room full of patients and different types of practitioners too!
Most patients felt great. Some returned a dozen times or more. Some definitely stating the positive effects from repetitive weekly treatments that they would not be able to normally afford. The clinic also afforded a lot of flexibility. One patient I will never forget had a knee pain issue. After the fifth treatment I’d done with no effect we started playing with different ideas. I was able to play with some theories and deducted a kidney issue. After normal local and distal kidney points I decided to do the radical Kidney 1 point with a grounding kidney theory; according to Deadman there are some pain treatment associations for Kd 1 too. So in this generous and flexible space I tried it. No problem. A point I had never done outside of uni became a semi favourite! In the end I used this technique for a handful of patients, mostly ungrounded types with a sense detachment or disassociation. Anyone who seemed ultra-spaced actually!
CW: What has your experience been of fitting the community acupuncture model into mainstream healthcare and/or mainstream acupuncture?
DB: Initially I tried to tie the clinic to the university I graduated from. The idea being they could support me with their name and students could attend the clinic as a stepping stone to their own clinic. After talking to the head of the faculty and getting a maybe I ploughed on and addressed a meeting of faculty representatives for the Chinese medicine faculty (mainly teachers) through a letter but nothing got up. After that I also tried to engage the professional association of which I am a member and active committee member, with the idea of community acupuncture. As a committee member I tried to put this on the agenda but after two meetings it got bogged down and then fizzled as an idea. Currently the committee is addressing an idea that a new member has suggested: treating in a highly medicalised setting through an established charity for free. The emphasis being that university student-mentoring may be established more easily in a state-of –the-art medical setting. Personally I am also pursuing treating at the Aboriginal Medical Service Co-Op in Redfern, but this is turning out to be a very long, drawn-out committee-based process!
CW: And how have other practitioners responded to what you’ve been doing?
DB: Most of the response has been very positive. I deliberately made sure people knew I was treating mainly concession patients at a low rate. This was to make sure other practitioners in the area knew they weren’t being under-cut. I heard one response about ‘training for years not to treat cheap’, but I only heard that through a third person. I presume they didn’t realise it was mainly concession treatments.
CW: Do you think community/multibed practice is transforming the provision of Australian acupuncture, or is there some way to go?
DB: The original people I checked out now have 4 multibed clinics around Sydney. They are expanding their business. A lot practitioners love the idea of community acupuncture as a not-for-profit as well. However when I put a email out on a well known database in Australia asking for help (maybe 2000 Chinese medicine practitioners on it) I got 5 responses about volunteering to do acupuncture. It only occurred to me then that this was more of an exception than I’d thought!
CW: Why did you join ACMAC?
DB: When I saw ACMAC I thought it would be great to align myself with a bunch of people doing something similar and I must say you [Charlotte] have been a beacon of positivity.
CW: Why thank you!
DB: I wear my ACMAC t-shirt with a lot of pride. Straight away there was support, fun and a sense that I was not so independent. Probably my greatest fear is that acupuncture can be a lonely process. It’s you and your patient, and then you and your next patient, and so on. There’s not much camaraderie and in fact I think there is a lot of competition! With the community aspect you can have a go and if someone else wants to have a go you let them as you are not competing for a dollar. You are collaborating to the end goal of helping patients and each other. That is the beauty of it, and along with it your mind and heart are expanded by looking through someone else’s eyes.
CW: Well, that’s what I think is important too. By collaborating we can be stronger as individuals and as a movement. Your work sounds great and I wish you all the best in the future. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Damien.

$29 for Acupuncture: AMAZING!

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 05:56:00 +0000

Hi folks
Yes here's an amazing online deal to get you feeling great in winter.
Come and get an amazing treatment, feel great and try out the great health results of acupuncture! Set in a very luxurious and comfortable health centre. We cater for your needs. Take the treatment step by step and help you on your journey to health.
Check it out!
http://www.loveitup.com.au/discount/detail/1086-embrace-the-tried-and-tested-techniques-loved-by-millions-of-people-around-the-world-enjoy-the-luxurious-bed-relaxing-music-and-ambient-lighting-just-29

More of the Large Waves Crashing against Bondi

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 20:00:00 +0000

June Snapshot: Bondi Beach Big Waves!

noreply@blogger.com (Damien Bodnarchuk B.Hlth Sc Tradtional Chinese Medicine) — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 12:51:00 +0000

5 metre waves on the horizon!

Bondi Fire Truck 076: put out those waves