Contemporary Chinese Pulse Diagnosis: A Modern Interpretation of an Ancient and Traditional Method

Karen Bilton,Leon Hammer,Chris Zaslawski 사단법인약침학회 2013 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.6 No.5

Contemporary Chinese pulse diagnosis (CCPD) is a system of pulse diagnosis utilized by Dr. John He Feng Shen, OMD, and documented by Dr. Leon Hammer, MD, in the book Chinese Pulse Diagnosis, A Contemporary Approach. It is the traditional method of the Ding medical lineage from the Shanghai region and dates to the 15th century in Chinese language texts. The fundamentals of this system are, however, much older and can be directly traced to the Neijing Suwen. Having been passed from the last direct inheritor of Ding knowledge (Dr. Shen) to modern practitioners of Chinese medicine by way of Dr. Hammer and his students, it represents an important system of advanced diagnosis. Although modern diagnostic technology provides very sophisticated diagnoses, for these instruments to be effective, the disease process must already have a physical manifestation. CCPD, on the other hand, provides the earliest warnings of physiological processes, which if left unchecked may result in the subsequent appearance of a disease. This article describes the derivation and the principles of this system of pulse diagnosis and explores its successful integration into the modern practice of Chinese medicine.

Protocol: Testing the Relevance of Acupuncture Theory in the Treatment of Myofascial Pain in the Upper Trapezius Muscle

Dale S. Elsdon,Selina Spanswick,Chris Zaslawski,Peter C. Meier 사단법인약침학회 2017 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.10 No.1

A protocol for a prospective single-blind parallel four-arm randomized placebo-controlled trial with repeated measures was designed to test the effects of various acupuncture methods compared with sham. Eighty self-selected participants with myofascial pain in the upper trapezius muscle were randomized into four groups. Group 1 received acupuncture to a myofascial trigger point (MTrP) in the upper trapezius. Group 2 received acupuncture to the MTrP in addition to relevant distal points. Group 3 received acupuncture to the relevant distal points only. Group 4 received a sham treatment to both the MTrP and distal points using a deactivated acupuncture laser device. Treatment was applied four times within 2 weeks with outcomes measured throughout the trial and at 2 weeks and 4 weeks posttreatment. Outcome measurements were a 100-mm visual analog pain scale, SF-36, pressure pain threshold, Neck Disability Index, the Upper Extremity Functional Index, lateral flexion in the neck, McGill Pain Questionnaire, Massachusetts General Hospital Acupuncture Sensation Scale, Working Alliance Inventory (short form), and the Credibility Expectance Questionnaire. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with repeated measures were used to assess the differences between groups.

Health and well-being benefits of spending time in forests: systematic review

Oh, Byeongsang,Lee, Kyung Ju,Zaslawski, Chris,Yeung, Albert,Rosenthal, David,Larkey, Linda,Back, Michael Japanese Society for Hygiene 2017 Environmental health and preventive medicine.['97. Vol.22 No.-

<P><B>Background</B></P><P>Numerous studies have reported that spending time in nature is associated with the improvement of various health outcomes and well-being. This review evaluated the physical and psychological benefits of a specific type of exposure to nature, forest therapy.</P><P><B>Method</B></P><P>A literature search was carried out using MEDLINE, PubMed, ScienceDirect, EMBASE, and ProQuest databases and manual searches from inception up to December 2016. Key words: “Forest” or “Shinrin -Yoku” or “Forest bath” AND “Health” or “Wellbeing”. The methodological quality of each randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was assessed according to the Cochrane risk of bias (ROB) tool.</P><P><B>Results</B></P><P>Six RCTs met the inclusion criteria. Participants’ ages ranged from 20 to 79 years. Sample size ranged from 18 to 99. Populations studied varied from young healthy university students to elderly people with chronic disease. Studies reported the positive impact of forest therapy on hypertension (<I>n</I> = 2), cardiac and pulmonary function (<I>n</I> = 1), immune function (<I>n</I> = 2), inflammation (<I>n</I> = 3), oxidative stress (<I>n</I> = 1), stress (<I>n</I> = 1), stress hormone (<I>n</I> = 1), anxiety (<I>n</I> = 1), depression (<I>n</I> = 2), and emotional response (<I>n</I> = 3). The quality of all studies included in this review had a high ROB.</P><P><B>Conclusion</B></P><P>Forest therapy may play an important role in health promotion and disease prevention. However, the lack of high-quality studies limits the strength of results, rendering the evidence insufficient to establish clinical practice guidelines for its use. More robust RCTs are warranted.</P>

Protocol: The Effect of 12 Weeks of Tai Chi Practice on Anxiety in Healthy but Stressed People Compared to Exercise and Wait-list Comparison Groups: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Shuai Zheng,Sara Lal,Peter Meier,David Sibbritt,Chris Zaslawski 사단법인약침학회 2014 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.7 No.3

Stress is a major problem in today’s fast-paced society and can lead to serious psychoso- matic complications. The ancient Chinese mindebody exercise of Tai Chi may provide an alternative and self-sustaining option to pharmaceutical medication for stressed individ- uals to improve their coping mechanisms. The protocol of this study is designed to eval- uate whether Tai Chi practice is equivalent to standard exercise and whether the Tai Chi group is superior to a wait-list control group in improving stress coping levels. This study is a 6-week, three-arm, parallel, randomized, clinical trial designed to evaluate Tai Chi practice against standard exercise and a Tai Chi group against a nonactive control group over a period of 6 weeks with a 6-week follow-up. A total of 72 healthy adult participants (aged 18e60 years) who are either Tai Chi naı ¨ve or have not practiced Tai Chi in the past 12 months will be randomized into a Tai Chi group (n = 24), an exercise group (n = 24) or a wait-list group (n = 24). The primary outcome measure will be the State Trait Anxiety Inventory with secondary outcome measures being the Perceived Stress Scale 14, heart rate variability, blood pressure, Short Form 36 and a visual analog scale. The protocol is reported using the appropriate Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Inter- ventional Trials (SPIRIT) items.

Development of a Novel Questionnaire for the Traditional Chinese Medicine Pattern Diagnosis of Stress

Shuai Zheng,Christine Kim,Peter Meier,David Sibbritt,Chris Zaslawski 사단법인약침학회 2017 Journal of Acupuncture & Meridian Studies Vol.10 No.4

Currently, there is no definitive diagnosis or list of signs and symptoms for “stress” in either modern biomedicine or Chinese medicine (CM). While modern theories on stress relate to the neurological interaction of a stressor or stimuli on the autonomic nervous system, it is generally regarded as subjective in nature and as such each individual will likely present varying somatic or cognitive signs and symptoms. A questionnaire was therefore developed, based on textual research, that incorporated both general as well as gender specific signs and symptom responses to determine the most common CM patterns associated with individuals who report as feeling stressed. For the 45 females who completed the questionnaire, the mean percentage of symptoms per CM pattern showed that the pattern with the highest average percentage was heart qi deficiency (61.88%) followed by liver blood deficiency (60.23%) and then heart blood deficiency (60.12%). For males (n Z 16), heart qi deficiency was also the highest scoring CM pattern with a scoring percentage of 54.81%. In males, however, heart blood deficiency was second with 53.29% followed by liver blood deficiency with 51.10%. Of the general non gender-specific symptoms collected (n Z 65 symptoms), the symptom most commonly reported by both men and women was “anxious or racing thoughts”, followed by “constant worrying” and “inability to concentrate”. The CM diagnostic pattern results may prove useful for clinicians as the change in diagnostic understanding will also modify the treatment principle and subsequent treatment with acupuncture or herbal medicine. Future CM research studies should consider including the questionnaire either as a diagnostic aid or as an outcome measure for acupuncture or herbal medicine studies related to stress.

Ginseng for Erectile Dysfunction: A Cochrane Systematic Review

Lee Hye Won,Lee Myeong Soo,Kim Tae-Hun,Alraek Terje,Zaslawski Chris,Kim Jong Wook,Moon Du Geon 대한남성과학회 2022 The World Journal of Men's Health Vol.40 No.2

The objectives of this study were to assess the effects of ginseng on erectile dysfunction. We searched multiple electronic databases from their inceptions to 30 January 2021 without restrictions by language. We included randomized or quasi-randomized controlled trials that evaluated the use of any type of ginseng as a treatment for erectile dysfunction compared to placebo or conventional treatment. The authors independently screened the literature, extracted data, assessed risk of bias, and rated the certainty of evidence (CoE) according to the GRADE approach. We included nine studies, and all compared ginseng to placebo. Ginseng appears to have a trivial effect on erectile dysfunction when compared to placebo based on the Erectile Function Domain of the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF)-15 instrument (mean difference [MD] 3.52, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.79 to 5.25; I²=0%; 3 studies; low CoE). Ginseng may have little to no effect on adverse events compared to placebo (risk ratio [RR] 1.45, 95% CI 0.69 to 3.03; I²=0%; 7 studies; low CoE). While ginseng may improve men's self-reported ability to have intercourse (RR 2.55, 95% CI 1.76 to 3.69; I²=23%; 6 studies; low CoE), it may have a triv-ial effect on men's satisfaction with intercourse based on the Intercourse Satisfaction Domain of the IIEF-15 (MD 1.19, 95% CI 0.41 to 1.97; I²=0%; 3 studies; low CoE). No study reported quality of life as an outcome.