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Acupuncture
Services
At Loyola University
Health System, we have established a program of complementary
and alternative medicine to give patients the best of
both worlds traditional Western medicine blended with
therapies developed in Eastern cultures, such as acupuncture.
Acupuncture is a branch of Chinese medicine in which needles
are inserted into the skin as a therapy for various illnesses
or injuries. Traditional Chinese medicine holds that the
life force, or "Qi," flows through the body
along channels called "meridians." Health problems
result when one of the channels is blocked. To restore
health, acupuncturists insert needles at specific points
along the meridians. The condition being treated determines
where needles are inserted, how many needles are used
and the precise technique of insertion.
Acupuncture has
been proven an effective treatment for the following
health problems:
Acute sprain and strain
Arthritis
Cancer pain
Carpal tunnel syndrome
Chronic abdominal and pelvic pain
Chronic fatigue immunodeficiency syndrome
Chronic sinusitis
Constipation
Depression, anxiety and stress
Fibromyalgia
Gout attack
Headache
Hemorrhoids
Herniated disk
Irritable bowel syndrome
Lower back pain, including sciatica
Menstrual dysfunction or PMS
Neurological and speech deficit from stroke
Neuropathy
Phantom limb pain
Post-herpetic neuralgia
Post-operative and chemotherapy induced nausea and
vomiting
Pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting
Spinal stenosis
Tennis elbow
Tinitis
TMJ
Urinary incontinence
A Typical Treatment
A typical acupuncture
treatment lasts 30-45 minutes. Patients lie on the examination
table in the physicians office. Between 10 and 20 needles
are inserted in places on the arms, legs, back or torso.
Patients are usually very relaxed and feel no pain or
discomfort. In some cases, when the physician deems
appropriate, the needles are stimulated with an electrical
current for greater therapeutic effect.
Practitioner
Tony Lu,
M.D., is director of integrative medicine for Loyola
University Health System and an assistant professor
of medicine at the Loyola University Chicago
Stritch School of Medicine. He has an active practice
in internal medicine, acupuncture and homeopathy at
Loyolas Family Health Center at LaGrange Park. He earned
his medical degree from the Albert Einstein College
of Medicine in New York City. He studied clinical acupuncture
at the University of California at Los Angeles and is
board-certified by the American Board of Medical Acupuncture.
He studied medical homeopathy at Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine.
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