PART 2

COURSE OUTLINE
 

1. CONTRAINDICATIONS

2. ACUSCULPTING ® WAIVER

3. INTAKE

4. ACUSCULPTING® NEEDLING PROTOCOLS PART 2: ANTERIOR (*MODEL ENCOURAGED FOR PRACTICAL PORTION OF TRAINING)

5. ACUSCULPTING® VIDEO TUTORIAL PART 2: (*PAUSE VIDEO DURING PRACTICAL PORTION OF TRAINING TO PRACTICE PROTOCOLS ON YOUR MODEL)    

6. ADDITIONAL READING: TO REVERT BREAST CANCER CELLS, GIVE THEM THE SQUEEZE

 1. CONTRAINDICATIONS 

Acusculpting ® is for a healthy individual. If an individual is experiencing any type of extreme pain or disease the treatment should be solely dedicated to addressing these symptoms. Pregnancy, cancer, skin diseases, and heavy medications are all contraindications for this protocol. Hormonal regulating drugs may also affect results. Please note that the Acusculpting® protocol for the breasts is NOT suitable for anyone with breast implants.

 Minor aches and pains, as well as minor yin yang imbalances below a 5 on a scale of 1-10, may be addressed at the same time during sessions.

2. ACUSCULPTING ® WAIVER

*Please note this wavier should be used in addition to a regular acupuncture waiver/ consent form.

 I _______________________________(client’s name) am aware that Acusculpting ® performed by ____________________________(practitioner’s name) involves a wide variety of techniques applied to hips, buttocks, abdomen, breasts, thighs among other areas of my body. My signature below indicates that it has been explained to me in a way that I understand including:  

1.    Risks involved with the procedure (ie: bruising and or lightheadedness in rare cases)

2.    Frequency of treatments (ideally 3 treatments per week)

3.    How the treatment will be performed and what areas of my body will be exposed during treatment 

Patient’s Signature:_____________________________Date:___________________ 

Practitioner’s Signature:________________________Date:___________________ 

3. INTAKE

During intake, it’s important to highlight the nature of the treatment and areas of the body that will be exposed/treated during the course of treatment. It is also important to be thorough about which modalities are being used (acupressure/guasha/cupping/tui na) and products to ensure that the patient is comfortable and knows what to expect.

Client expectations are important to discuss beforehand as clients may have a variety of ideas of what can be achieved through cosmetic acupuncture, although effective, each client’s health, age and environmental factors(smoking, alcohol, stress) will affect the overall outcome.

Ideally, the protocol requires 3 visits a week and so it’s important to highlight treatment frequency for best results. However, the patient must be willing to commit to a minimum of 10 treatments.

You must also discuss a patient’s level of comfort with taking a before and after photo. However, if a patient is not comfortable with a photo, usually he/she will feel the treatment working by judging their own appearance and how their clothes fit. If you obtain consent for a before/after photo, you can also ask permission to use it for promotional purposes which will help to demonstrate your successful results for potential clients who are interested in trying Acusculpting®.

The client should allow for 75 minutes for the first session (intake and treatment). Before and after photos are ideally taken with the patient wearing the same clothing and standing in the same location (also consider your lighting and the distance that you take the photo – try to keep that consistent).

Measurements of the waist (level with umbilicus), hips (level with the greater trochanter) and thigh (three cun below buttocks crease) upper arm (three cun below axilla fold), and breasts level with the nipple.

During the sessions, it is recommended that the client abstains from alcohol and excessive sugar and fats. The recommended diet consists of vegetables, with smaller amounts of fruit, grains, and protein. Recommend plenty of fluids and an active lifestyle and encourage a wide variety of exercise options such as yoga, tai chi, qi gong, running or walking, etc.

The client should also be advised that bruising may occur over the course of the sessions. It is recommended that the client does not wear makeup prior to acupuncture treatments. Recommend that clients allow 2-3 weeks to recover from any possible bruising during their sessions before planning an event such as a wedding, etc.

Treatments should be performed in 60-minute intervals to allow for the comfort of the patient. General body points are inserted first followed by specific Acusculpting ® points. Needles are retained for 30 minutes with the Acusulpting ® points removed first followed by the general body points.

4. ACUSCULPTING® NEEDLING PROTOCOL PART 2: ANTERIOR

*Please study the general point prescription and areas of focus below thoroughly before using them in conjunction with the video segment during your practical portion of this course.

GENERAL POINT PRESCRIPTION: 

If the patient has good health and organs are relatively harmonized the general acupoints used are:

Li 4 Hegu, Lv 3 Taichong, St 36 ZuSanLi, Du 20 Baihui, M-HN-3 Yintang.

Alternate between two to three of each distal point per acupuncture group below each Acusculpting ® session:

Group one

Kd 3 Taixi, Kd 7 Fuliu, Sp 6 Sanyinjiao, Sp 9 Yinlingquan, Sp 10 Xuehai, Gb 34 Yanglingquan.

Group two

Lu 7 Leique, Lu 9 Taiyuan, He 3 Shaohai, P 6 Neiguan, P 5 Jianshi, P 4 Ximen, Sj 10 Tianjing, Li 11 Quichi

Additional areas and conditions:

Breasts - Rn 17 Shanzhong

 Weight loss – St 44 Neiting, St 40 Fenglong, Sj 6 Zhigou, leg weight loss pts (fig 5 & 6 below)

 AREAS OF FOCUS:
 

BREASTS

A lot of health complications can be avoided if the proper prevention and treatments are applied. From registered massage therapy to self-massage (self-assessment), a lot of focus is moving towards treating the breasts.

 Conditions affecting the breasts:

Fibrocystic changes: A general lumpiness that can be described as “ropy” or “granular,” these lumps are the most commonly seen benign breast condition, affecting at least half of all women. Symptoms of fibrocystic change include tender, fibrous, rubbery tissue; a thickening of tissue; or a round, fluid-filled cyst. These changes, related to hormone fluctuation, may increase as you approach middle age and then disappear with menopause. Sometimes, doctors will recommend limiting salt and caffeine in your diet to ease fluid buildup. You may also be prescribed hormones, in the form of birth control pills, to help ease particularly troublesome symptoms. Your doctor may also recommend a needle or surgical biopsy to make sure your breast condition is related to fibrocystic change and not cancer.

Cysts: Related to fibrocsystic changes, these are round or oval sacs, measuring one inch to two inches across. They are tender to the touch and filled with fluid. They may come and go with your menstrual period, becoming larger and more tender at the beginning of your period and disappearing at the end. Your doctor may order an ultrasound or a fine needle aspiration to make sure it's a cyst and not something else. In very rare cases, when a cyst is particularly large or painful, your doctor may use a needle to withdraw and reduce the fluid inside it. Cysts generally affect women between the ages of 35 and 50.

Fibroadenoma: Occurring in young girls and women in their teens and 20s, fibroadenomas are more common in those who use use birth control pills before age 20. This benign tumor ranges in size from microscopic to several inches across. It is movable under the skin, round and hard like a marble, and may be diagnosed by aspiration or removal of the lump. If the fibroadenoma shrinks or doesn’t grow over time, and your doctor is sure of the diagnosis, he or she may decide to simply leave it alone.

Fat necrosis: This occurs when fatty breast tissue is damaged by injury to the breast, resulting in the formation of round, firm lumps. It is more common in women with large breasts, particularly in women who are obese. Your doctor will most likely watch the lump through several menstrual cycles and may decide to remove it surgically. Sometimes the necrosis will produce what is called an oily cyst, which your doctor will drain with a needle.

Nipple discharge: Sometimes women experience nipple discharge with or without a breast lump. The color of nipple discharge related to benign fibrocystic changes can vary from yellow to green. A clear to milky discharge may mean a hormonal malfunction. Green-black discharge could be related to duct ectasia, a narrowing or blockage of the duct. It can even be bloody in appearance, which can, in fact, mean cancer. More than likely though, a red discharge means injury, infection, or a benign tumor. Your doctor may study the fluid under a microscope to determine its origin, particularly if there is also a mass or lump in your breast.

Mastitis: An infection of the milk duct, this can create a lumpy, red, and warm breast, accompanied by fever. It occurs most commonly in women who are breastfeeding, but can occur in non-breastfeeding women as well. Treatment involves warm compresses and antibiotics.

All breast lumps should be evaluated by a medical professional, who will help you decide how to proceed. Most benign breast conditions are treatable, and some will even go away on their own, but it's best to let your doctor be the one to tell you that.

Cancer:

Most breast cancers occur in women. The main reason women develop breast cancer is because their breast cells are exposed to the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. These hormones, especially estrogen, are linked with breast cancer and encourage the growth of some breast cancers.

A link between breast cancer and hormones is clear. Researchers think that the greater a woman's exposure to the hormone estrogen, the more susceptible she is to breast cancer. Estrogen tells cells to divide; the more the cells divide, the more likely they are to be abnormal in some way, possibly becoming cancerous.

 Cancer of the breasts is related to genetics with additional risk factors such as improper diet, alcohol, drugs, stress, lifestyle and many other factors.

 “Conditions of the breasts” sited above: Debra-Lynn B Hook, (12/5/2011), When to Worry About Breast Lumps (online article), http://www.everydayhealth.com/womens-health/when-to-worry-about-breast-lumps.aspx

 TCM Perspective

 From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, many factors can affect the health of the breasts such as wind, cold, heat, damp, etc, but the most common is qi stagnation (due to stress). By harmonizing yin and yang we are regulating the body towards homeostasis. Homeostasis is the ability to maintain a constant internal environment in response to environmental changes. The nervous and endocrine systems control homeostasis in the body through feedback mechanisms involving various organs and organ systems.

 * Any hardness or abnormalities in the breasts should be first examined by a doctor to rule out any chances of cancer or any other serious condition involving medical intervention.

 * Minor aches and pains as well as minor yin yang imbalances below a 5 on a scale of 1-10 may be addressed at the same time during sessions.

 * Acusculpting ® can address hardness, nodules, cyst, lopsidedness, inverted nipple as well as increase size and lift.

Breasts: (Needle size  .25 * .30 - .30 *.40 - .30 *.60)

Surround the breasts with needles inserted approximately 1 cun from the breast base of the chest cavity. Insert needles about 2-3 cun apart from each other, surrounding the breast needling in an upward direction towards the areola.

Cupping: pre or post-treatment oil may be applied to the breasts followed by cupping technique in a clockwise motion from the base of the breast to the base of the areola 2-3 minutes per side.  

ABDOMEN (BELLY) AND WEIGHT LOSS

Excessive weight is a great concern to many individuals from a few extra pounds to obesity. Acusculpting ® can address these areas with specialized techniques.

TCM can treat the underlying imbalance through consultation and examination, establishing the organ pattern and applying our needles respectively. 

A general approach is to promote elimination and metabolism while at the same time reducing appetite. 

* There are a wide variety of treatments from a TCM point of view to address weight loss. Treatments vary from ear staples, multiple needle techniques to electric stimulation.

*Acusculpting ® uses two needle patterns that can be alternated or solely used to treat excessive weight in this area.

  BELLY PATTERN 1:

(Needle size  .30 *.40 - .30 *.60)

Traditional local acupoints: Starting from a north position on the abdomen approximately Rn 12 Zhongwan to south Rn 3 Zhongji to a west position Sp 15 Daheng to east Sp 15 Daheng all needles are transverse to transvers –oblique towards the umbilicus. This pattern is continued in a clockwise circular pattern until needles are approximately 2 cun apart.

Acusculpting® protocol: Four needles surround the umbilicus north, south, east and west 1-2mm from edge of the umbilicus.

BELLY PATTERN 2:

(Needle size  .25 * .30 - .30 *.40 - .30 *.60)

Involves needling most acupoints on the abdomen along ren, stomach and spleen channel respectively. The points consist of acupoints and Acusculpting® points. 

*Additional points: If your client is also concerned with the waist or “love handles”, you can incorporate the “leaf technique” which is demonstrated in the Posterior Part 3 video tutorial.

Waist: (Needle size  .25 * .30 - .30 *.40 - .30 *.60)

Using leaf technique in the direction of the meridian.

ADDITIONAL AREAS: INNER THIGHS & LOWER THIGHS (LEGS), AND UPPER ARMS  (Needle size  .25 * .30 - .30 *.40 - .30 *.60)

The three-needle technique is used for areas such as the inner thighs (legs) and upper arms. Three evenly spaced needles are inserted perpendicularly into the targeted tissues. See Fig 5 & 6 below.

*Please note that although the weight loss protocol in Fig 5 above shows 6 needles in each thigh, you should alternate/rotate between your choice of 2 needles per thigh per treatment. You can see that these points incorporate traditional acupoints of stomach 34 liangqiu and stomach 32 futu, as well as Acusculpting® points.

Perform abdominal Tui Na massage after all anterior needles have been removed.
Apply coconut oil to the abdomen and with a clockwise motion, circumnavigating the abdomen, working the intestines, to promote peristalses.

(*Please note, if it’s easier for you to print out the Acusculpting® Needling Protocol to follow along with the video tutorial below, please click the PRINT PDF button below. Otherwise, simply pause the video and scroll back up to refer to the course outline above.)

5. ACUSCULPTING® VIDEO TUTORIAL PART 2: ANTERIOR

(*Pause video during practical portion of training to practice protocols on your model).

CLICK THE IMAGE BELOW TO PLAY:

6. ADDITIONAL READING:
TO REVERT BREAST CANCER CELLS, GIVE THEM THE SQUEEZE

 MIND & BODY, RESEARCH, SCIENCE & ENVIRONMENT

By Sarah Yang, December 17, 2012

Researchers at the UC Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have put the squeeze — literally — on malignant mammary cells to guide them back into a normal growth pattern.

The findings, presented Monday, Dec. 17 at the annual meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology in San Francisco, show for the first time that mechanical forces alone can revert and stop the out-of-control growth of cancer cells. This change happens even though the genetic mutations responsible for malignancy remain, setting up a nature-versus-nurture battle in determining a cell’s fate.

“We are showing that tissue organization is sensitive to mechanical inputs from the environment at the beginning stages of growth and development,” said principal investigator Daniel Fletcher, professor of bioengineering at Berkeley and faculty scientist at the Berkeley Lab. “An early signal, in the form of compression, appears to get these malignant cells back on the right track.”

Throughout a woman’s life, breast tissue grows, shrinks and shifts in a highly organized way in response to changes in her reproductive cycle. For instance, when forming acini, the berry-shaped structures that secrete milk during lactation, healthy breast cells will rotate as they form an organized structure. And, importantly, the cells stop growing when they are supposed to.

One of the early hallmarks of breast cancer is the breakdown of this normal growth pattern. Not only do cancer cells continue to grow irregularly when they shouldn’t, but recent studies have also shown that they do not rotate coherently when forming acini.

While the traditional view of cancer development focuses on the genetic mutations within the cell, Mina Bissell, Distinguished Scientist at the Berkeley Lab, conducted pioneering experiments that showed that a malignant cell is not doomed to become a tumor, but that its fate is dependent on its interaction with the surrounding microenvironment. Her experiments showed that manipulation of this environment, through the introduction of biochemical inhibitors, could tame mutated mammary cells into behaving normally.

The latest work from Fletcher’s lab, in collaboration with Bissell’s lab, takes a major step forward by introducing the concept of mechanical rather than chemical influences on cancer cell growth. Gautham Venugopalan, a member of Fletcher’s lab, conducted the new experiments as part of his recently completed Ph.D. dissertation at UC Berkeley.

“People have known for centuries that physical force can influence our bodies,” said Venugopalan. “When we lift weights, our muscles get bigger. The force of gravity is essential to keeping our bones strong. Here we show that physical force can play a role in the growth — and reversion — of cancer cells.”

Venugopalan and collaborators grew malignant breast epithelial cells in a gelatin-like substance that had been injected into flexible silicone chambers. The flexible chambers allowed the researchers to apply a compressive force in the first stages of cell development.

Over time, the compressed malignant cells grew into more organized, healthy-looking acini that resembled normal structures, compared with malignant cells that were not compressed. The researchers used time-lapse microscopy over several days to show that early compression also induced coherent rotation in the malignant cells, a characteristic feature of normal development.

Notably, those cells stopped growing once the breast tissue structure was formed, even though the compressive force had been removed.

“Malignant cells have not completely forgotten how to be healthy; they just need the right cues to guide them back into a healthy growth pattern,” said Venugopalan.

Researchers further added a drug that blocked E-cadherin, a protein that helps cells adhere to their neighbors. When they did this, the malignant cells returned to their disorganized, cancerous appearance, negating the effects of compression and demonstrating the importance of cell-to-cell communication in organized structure formation.

It should be noted that the researchers are not proposing the development of compression bras as a treatment for breast cancer. “Compression, in and of itself, is not likely to be a therapy,” said Fletcher. “But this does give us new clues to track down the molecules and structures that could eventually be targeted for therapies.”

The National Institutes of Health helped fund this research through its Physical Science-Oncology 

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE CLICK HERE.

—>NEXT COURSE: POSTERIOR PART 3