Acupuncture is a Millenia proven Natural Therapeutic Modality
A wonderful option for the preservation and cultivation of Health, treatment and prevention of many ailments and disorders.
Location.
The acupuncture office is located at the EXHALE Wellness Center, Suit C. The address is 18 Bovard Ave, Ormond Beach, FL 32176. It is an easy to access area at the intersection of North Atlantic Avenue (A1A) and Granada Boulevard (SR 40). In front of the Center is a CVS pharmacy.
Practitioner
Aleksey Atlanov
I began my medical career in Russia graduating from the Medical Academy with honors in 1999, with majors in Internal Diseases and Endocrinology. Immigrated to US in 2001. Studied Oriental Medicine in State accredited Florida College of Integrative Medicine (FCIM) and graduated 2008 with Summa cum Laude, with Masters Degree in Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture. Professional experiences in the US include Patient Care and Cardiac monitoring Tech in ICU/PCU, College Professor of Western Medical Sciences and Clinical Supervisor in Acupuncture Clinic of FCIM, Clinical reviewer/Quality assurance Audit Specialist ME, Licensed Acupuncturist.
Personal note - I opened my own practice in Ormond Beach in 2022. As small as it is - it is certainly a challenge for me, but the decades of dedication to Medicine - a Sacred field for me, - and full support of my family give me confidence I can assist my patients and community in achieving their health goals.
Thank you.
Can Acupuncture help me?
..with my unique situation/ my chronic ailments/ my goals for healthier lifestyle?
The short answer would be - Yes, it can help.
Think of the fact that there were times and places where acupuncture was the main modality and the tool of Medicine. Dedicated Doctors of Asian World were researching and treating everything - from infections and injuries to beauty concerns and support for ageing.
Internal diseases, muscular-skeletal issues, pediatrics, gynecology, dermatology, psychiatric disorders - anything and all have extensive volumes of priceless knowledge written, methodology and prescriptions collected - in the East.
However!
Please keep in mind that we live in the West! The greatest achievements of Western Medicine are implemented in healthcare, lifestyle and culture here. The Oriental Medicine is “new” to the West. While Acupuncture is one of the oldest forms of medicinal practice that is known in the world today (it has been around for more than 3,000 years) – in the US it was brought only in 1972 when US President Richard Nixon learned about it during his historic trip to China. Due to cultural/philosophical differences and strict, well developed structure and rules of the Medical System in the US, Acupuncture is not well integrated neither in education, nor in practice. The Doctorate degree in Oriental Medicine is available only in spars research centers/hospitals; the main bulk of Acupuncture practitioners in the US are receiving Master’s Degree and thus are somewhat limited in the range of tools and procedures if compared to those being taught and used in the Clinics of the East.
Generally speaking – there are situations where Western Medicine has much better choices/achievements, and, equally, there are ailments that the East has discovered more effective solutions for.
It is my sincere belief that "Western Medicine" vs "Eastern Medicine" is not an "either or" scenario, but can often be used in harmony to treat a vast variety of ailments and improve the outcome. I have studied both Western and Eastern Medicine and know first hand the excellent results that can be attained by using both modalities.
In my opinion, Acupuncture rightfully fills a strong position among treatment options offered to patients here, in Florida. Other than an important tool in pain management program for the patients, which is already officially accepted and advertised, I shall mention a few more areas where it can be helpful, even preferred:
1. To smooth-down the harsh corners and speed up recovery after aggressive treatment and procedures sometime necessary in Western Medicine. Acupuncture is a modality that sends signals and "speaks" gently to the body in a language that the body can understand; it can undeniably reduce irritation, revive circulation, improve nourishment not only on the surface, but in deep areas of the body.
2. To cover "unclear", "uncertain" areas where nothing shows on imaging, in lab tests. There are many cases where although treatment has been done properly, and there are no signs of infection, inflammation or structural abnormalities left - the patient is still in discomfort, pain, disturbed sleep, reduced appetite, etc. Oriental Medicine, since its origins, was less concerned with what specific tests can show or not show, rather it focuses on the signs and signals of disharmony in the body (including emotional/mental aspects) as a whole, thus has a tactic and an approach to harmonize it.
3. To help with borderline disorders, prevent them from progression and going deeper. How many times do we ignore symptoms, blaming our age, thinking "it's normal" to have head heaviness, hot flashes, joint stiffness, mood drops? In our hurried, intense, high-speed life style - we rather shut down those warning signals that the body sends with a tablet, distraction from TV, alcohol.. because we need to get back to work in the morning.. no time for sensing and dealing with discomfort, to follow its path to the source. Acupuncture is one of those rare modalities that directly touches body, does not add anything artificial and synthetic, searches for hidden stress-spots, calling them out - not suppressing them in. Before reaching for a tablet - please try Acupuncture - let it show what your own body can do to deal with stress, pressure and challenges of environment, changes coming with age.
How does Acupuncture work?
..and how much of it is a placebo effect?
Another good question.
For the answer I am referring to the highest experts in the field of Medicine and Science and posting two excerpts from the book “Translational Acupuncture Research” - a joined work of scientist and clinicians from China, USA, Canada and other countries:
“Acupuncture has been broadly used in many clinical settings worldwide. Although the precise mechanism underlying the therapy is not well understood yet, it is generally accepted that acupuncture, by either manual or electrical stimulation, can trigger nerve signals in the acupoints that get transmitted from the peripheral to the central nervous system and elicit a therapeutic effect through neural and humoral regulation.”
“It is still a hot argument if acupuncture only has a placebo effect because both positive and negative reports have been published in the past. After reviewing literature from both China and Western countries, we found strong evidence supporting acupuncture as a therapeutic modality, but not as a placebo. A placebo effect requires a person with clear mind to react to the placebo hint, and believe in the hinted result. However, acupuncture works in some clinical conditions in which patients are in a condition without, or with very weak consciousness such as coma, shock, persistent vegetable state, general anesthesia, delayed wake-up after surgical operation, and so on. Moreover, the healing effect of acupuncture varies significantly among different acupuncture techniques. Acupuncture can also work in infants and animals. Acupuncture and control acupuncture have different influences on physical and chemical conditions of the body. All these observations suggest that acupuncture has a unique and specific healing effect, independent of placebo effect.”
“Translational Acupuncture Research” ©Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019 Y. Xia (ed.) Shanghai Key Laboratory of Acupuncture Mechanism and Acupoint Function, Fudan University; Laboratory of Molecular Neurology, Shanghai Research Center for Acupuncture and Meridians.