I can’t believe it made it 75 degrees today, the first weekend in November. This time last year we already had two snow storms! So what better way to enjoy the day then to take a hike?
I decided to explore the Caribou Ranch Open Space. Same say it’s Boulder County’s open space crown jewel. While the 4.5 mile round trip hike’s difficulty is easy, it provides some splendid views. And because of the lack of elevation gain, Caribou Ranch may not appeal to hikers who value more rugged terrain. For more information regarding this trail visit www.bouldercounty.org/openspace
But my goal was to research terrain for cross-country skiing this winter. Last year was my first experience with classic style cross-country skiing at Eldora. Being an avid cyclist I found the classic form closely mirrored that of cycling. Because of this the winter activity immediately resonated with me. However, as the season passed by I became jealous of the speed and agility of the skate skiers.
I am hoping you readers can compare and contrast the differences between the classic style of skiing and the skate skiing style. As well as make some recommendations for trails to ski around Boulder this winter.
Steven Rizzolo L.Ac. DOM
www.BoulderSportsAcupuncture.com
303.506.4637
Boulder Sports Acupuncture
Photo provided by Megan Newton Photography
www.MeganNewtonPhotography.com
970.405.7126
Megan Newton Photography
Caribou Ranch Open Space
Acupuncture may ease pain by triggering release of natural painkiller
This article was published in the Guardian on Sunday the 30th May 2010.
Please respond to this post with your opinions and experiences regarding acupuncture as a legitimate medicine as well as your opinion of this study.
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Study in mice suggests that acupuncture relieves pain not just through the placebo effect but also by stimulating cells to pump out the body's own painkiller
Scientists have performed acupuncture on mice with sore paws to pinpoint how the ancient Chinese medical practice might alleviate pain in humans.
After a half-hour session, the mice felt less discomfort in their paws because the needles triggered the release of a natural painkiller, say the researchers. The needles stimulated cells to produce adenosine, an anti-inflammatory and painkilling chemical, that was effective for up to an hour after the therapy was over.
The discovery challenges a widely held view among scientists that any benefit patients feel after having acupuncture is purely due to the placebo effect.
"The view that acupuncture does not have much benefit beyond the placebo effect has really hampered research into the technique," said Maiken Nedergaard, a neuroscientist at the University of Rochester Medical Centre in New York, who led the study.
"Some people think any work in this area is junk research, but I think that's wrong. I was really surprised at the arrogance of some of my colleagues. We can benefit from what has been learned over many thousands of years," Nedergaard told the Guardian.
Acupuncture was developed in China around 4,000 years ago. The procedure involves inserting fine needles at specific points around the body and then heating, twisting or even electrifying them.
Traditional practitioners claim acupuncture works by improving the flow of "qi energy" along "meridians", but the latest research, published in Nature Neuroscience, points to a less mystical explanation.
"I believe we've found the main mechanism by which acupuncture relieves pain. Adenosine is a very potent anti-inflammatory compound and most chronic pain is caused by inflammation," Nedergaard said.
The scientists gave each mouse a sore paw by injecting it with an inflammatory chemical. Half of the mice lacked a gene that is needed to make adenosine receptors, which are dotted along major nerves.
The therapy session involved inserting a fine needle into an acupuncture point in the knee above the sore foot. In keeping with traditional practice, the needles were rotated periodically throughout the half-hour session.
To measure how effective the acupuncture was, the researchers recorded how quickly each mouse pulled its sore paw away from a small bristly brush. The more pain the mice were in, the faster they pulled away.
Writing in the journal, Nedergaard's team describe how acupuncture reduced pain by two thirds in normal mice, but had no effect on the discomfort of mice that lacked the adenosine receptor gene. Without adenosine receptors, the chemical will have no effect on the mice when it is released in their bodies.
The acupunture had no effect at all in either group if the needles were not rotated.
Nedergaard said that twisting the needles seems to cause enough damage to make cells release adenosine. The chemical is then picked up by adenosine receptors on nearby nerves, which react by damping down pain. Further tests on the mice revealed that levels of adenosine surged 24-fold in the tissues around the acupuncture needles during and immediately after each session.
One of the long-standing mysteries surrounding acupuncture is why the technique only seems to alleviate pain if needles are inserted at specific points. Nedergaard believes that most of these points are along major nerve tracks, and as such are parts of the body that have plenty of adenosine receptors.
In a final experiment, Nedergaard's team injected mice with a cancer drug that made it harder to remove adenosine from their tissues. The drug, called deoxycoformycin, boosted the effects of acupuncture dramatically, more than tripling how long the pain relief lasted.
"There is an attitude among some researchers that studying alternative medicine is unfashionable," said Nedergaard. "Because it has not been understood completely, many people have remained sceptical."
Although the study explains how acupuncture can alleviate pain, it sheds no light on any of the other health benefits that some practitioners believe it can achieve.
Posted by Steven Rizzolo owner and primary acupuncturist at Boulder Sports Acupuncture (BSA)
Yoga Teacher Training for Cancer Survivors
One purpose for the blog at Boulder Sports Acupuncture is education. The following information is for Laura Kupperman's seminar covering how to teach yoga to cancer survivors.
Dear Yogi,
Would you like to:
o Distinguish yourself from other yoga teachers in your community?
o Expand your yoga teaching to a new and deserving clientele?
o Continue your yoga education while giving to others?
o Make a positive difference in the lives of cancer survivors?
Well, now you can! This July, The Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado will be hosting the Yoga for Survivors™ Teacher Intensive. This course includes two major offerings:
1. A six day intensive at The Yoga Workshop and,
2. A full year of mentoring as you begin teaching survivors in your community.
Laura Kupperman leads this course which includes a wonderful array of guest speakers. Laura is a certified yoga therapist, certified yoga instructor, and cancer survivor. She has taught Yoga for Survivors™ in hospitals, clinics, yoga studios, and privately, since 2005. Laura is also a Life & Career Coach who helps independent professionals and small business owners grow their businesses. www.laurakupperman.com
For more detailed information on the course or to register visit www.yogaworkshop.com
Kind regards,
Laura Kupperman
Acupuncturists Without Borders Haiti Relief Effort
Six years ago I began my journey to become an acupuncturist. I was drawn to this medicine because of its ancient wisdom in promoting harmony in the body, as well as my desire to serve the people in my community in a meaningful way.
It has been my objective to help as many people as I can with acupuncture. To me that meant to administer as many treatments as I can to the people in my community. Last week I was inspired to help the people of Haiti by also helping the people in my community. The inspiration came from my partner’s father. When she asked her father what he wanted for his birthday his reply was, “please make a donation to the Haiti relief fund in my name.”
My goal is to raise $500.00 in the month of February. On Saturday February 20th and 27th all earnings from treatments and patient contributions will be donated to the Acupuncturists Without Borders Haiti Relief Effort. All treatments on those dates will be administered in a community clinic setting. All treatments will be one hour, and the cost is whatever you would like to give. This amount will be donated in your name.
Although I cannot be in Haiti at this time to administer acupuncture, I would like to symbolically serve Haiti by serving you, and together, with your donations, help provide medical treatment to those Haitians in need. This donation will allow Acupuncturists Without Borders to continue their work in Haiti. Please take the time to help Haiti by doing something good for your health.
Please call me at (303) 506-4637 to schedule your appointment or to make a donation.
Acupuncturists Without Borders is a New Mexico based non-profit organization that was originally created to treat the survivors of hurricane Katrina in 2005. To find out more about this organization please visit http://www.acuwithoutborders.org
If you wish to donate supplies, this is a list of items that can always be used:
- .5 cun ear acupuncture needles
- Biohazard containers
- Alcohol swabs, rubber gloves and cotton balls
- Tackle boxes for mobile clinics
- Office supplies including printer cartridges, paper, etc.
Yours in health,
Steven Rizzolo, L.Ac.
Boulder Sports Acupuncture
2935 Baseline Road Suite 200
Boulder, CO. 80305
A2 Finger Tendon Pulley Injury
So there I was, another beautiful winter day at Shelf Road near Canon City. For me it is just another day of climbing, and my excited eyes have wandered to a beautiful line ascending the limestone cliff face just ahead. The temperatures are perfect, and before I know it, I am already roped in and fifty feet in the air, about to face the most difficult moves of the route. I take a second to preview the terrain ahead and then take off. I reach my right hand high, having my feet on two little nubs, and sink it in a hole just big enough to fit one finger. As I transfer my weight onto the single finger I feel something start to give and then “pop!” A tingle and gradual pain surge through the finger and then into my hand and forearm. I have just partially torn my A2 pulley, (a ligament that holds the tendon sheath close to the finger bone) and am now out for the count.
It really is an amazing thing when you think about. To have your entire bodyweight hanging on only the tips of your fingers is an amazing anatomical feat! Climbers put a lot of stress on their fingers, so it is no surprise that they can get injured more easily. Unfortunately many climbers also suffer from the affliction of obsession, and the road to recovery from a finger injury can be just as difficult as sending your long time project.
I was out for months and couldn’t put weight on the finger for weeks!! After about two months, I gradually got back into climbing, always making sure to tape around the base to help support the tendon sheath and keep it close to the bone. Still, it would hurt sometimes and I never felt like I had recovered to 100%.
It was not until I was introduced to acupuncture, and specifically “E-Stim”, that my finger actually began to feel as if it were truly recovering. Imagine how good a massage feels when you are sore. Ok, now translate that feeling, but miniaturize it, and zoom in on a small area of the body. We’re talking on a very small scale here, in my case the single finger where the tear occurred. “E-Stim” sends a low electrical current through two points (acupuncture needles) and stimulates the muscle into contracting and relaxing. It essentially helps pump and direct blood into the region of the injury.
For us climbers, this is a very good thing. The tendon/pulley complexes in the finger have fairly poor blood flow compared to other areas in the body, and this sometimes can compound an injury even further. Acupuncture loosens the area and allows for better blood flow. The best part to all this is that no surgery is required and treatments are quick and painless.
I have now gone to Boulder Sports Acupuncture several times, and with the help of Steven Rizzolo, managed my pain and improved my overall recovery from this injury in a very natural way. I no longer have to tape for the majority of climbs and feel stronger than before the injury. Speaking as a previously skeptical person of acupuncture, I am amazed at how much of a positive difference just one treatment can have. Acupuncture might not be for everyone, and the extent of its help can vary from person to person, but I highly recommend checking it out as an alternative to surgery and a way to speed recovery. I am sure that if you visit Boulder Sports Acupuncture, you too will be impressed after only one treatment!
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Thank you for the contribution Dan. Along with rotator cuff injury, a strained or torn A2 pulley tendon is one of the most common injuries a climber will experience. Acupuncture with e-stim is very effective in decreasing the pain and discomfort of this injury. More importantly it will decrease the healing time allowing you to get back to doing what you love.
Thank you for reading this patient contributed article on the Boulder Sports Acupuncture blog. Please call or email with questions regarding this injury or anything else you would like to inquire about as well as to schedule an appointment.
For a closer look at this injury, read the article at
http://www.nicros.com/archive/A2_pulley_injury.cfm
And don't forget to comment on this post!
Steven M. Rizzolo, D.OM
Boulder Sports Acupuncture
2935 Baseline Road
Boulder, CO. 80305
303.506.4637
