Wendy Gan has been the acupuncturist at Grossbeak Chiropractic and Rehabilitation since 2004.
Educated at the University of Shanghai, Wendy obtained her doctorate in Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine and has practiced in both China and Canada as a certified and licensed Doctor of Acupuncture and is a member of the Canadian Society of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture (CSCMA).
Wendy believes in educating her clients. She feels that if her clients have the knowledge in their hands, they can start facilitating the healing process and become more in tune with their bodies.
Relaxation of “stuck” myofibrils, increased local blood supply, the release of spinal dynorphin and encephalin (endogenous opioid, or pain-relieving compounds) have all been put forward to explain the rehabilitative effects of trigger point needling.
In addition to local needling, distal points below the elbow or knee are used to modulate the sympathetic nervous system and modulate pain signals at the source.
Trigger points or “Ah Shi” points can be analyzed clinically by using direct palpation.
The contribution of trigger points to the pathogenesis and maintenance of pain remains unknown, and is an important area of research that may well resolve many of the questions involving common pain states.
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for relieving pain through both direct and indirect mechanisms.
When fine needles are inserted into specific points on the body, they create a small stimulus that encourages the body’s natural healing response. This helps improve circulation and stimulates healing in muscles, nerves, skin, and connective tissues.
Acupuncture also helps release myofascial trigger points, which are tight muscle areas that cause pain. Many traditional Chinese acupuncture points closely correspond to these trigger points.
Research, including work by R. Melzack, co-author of The Gate Theory of Pain, highlights the connection between Western pain science and traditional Chinese acupuncture.
Traditional “Ah Shi” points (meaning “Oh yes”) are often the same as trigger points—sensitive areas in muscles that reproduce pain when pressed.
The results of controlled studies which have been extensively reviewed show good evidence for the short term effectiveness of acupuncture in many pain states.
Long term studies, particularly where the well trained acupuncturist has been given the freedom of traditional normal practice profiles, have been encouraging, with success rates far higher than those associated with the placebo response.
