Dr. Li, Which medical center do you work at?
I am an on-call Acupuncture Physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (CSMC) and I have my own TCM practice. My clinics are located at Henry Mayo Hospital and in Encino, next to West Valley Medical Center.
What is TCM?
TCM refers to Traditional Chinese Medicine. TCM practitioners use herbal medicine and techniques such as acupuncture, cupping, massage and maxabustion to treat and prevent health problems.
What is acupuncture? How does it work and what is Qi?
Qi is an energy that flows through the meridian and it regulates the movement of blood.
Blood is responsible for delivering oxygen and nutrients to each organ and cell and carrying away metabolic debris and waste.
Meridian is the invisible energy pathway in our body. It connects acupuncture points with corresponding internal organ. It carries life-force energy Qi around all parts of our body.
Acupuncture restores one’s energy balance and maintains proper energy flow. Practitioners are trained to insert fine and sterile needles at a specific point to break up the blockage that hampers the smooth flow of Qi so that Qi can travel freely through the body.
Does Acupuncture cause pain? Are there any side effects?
There should be no pain at all. Acupuncture needles are fine and very thin, each needle is comparable to our human hair, much thinner than the needs used to draw blood.
Acupuncture has no side effects. We only use safe and disposable needles.
What conditions does acupuncture treat?
Together with proper Chinese herbs, Acupuncture treats and helps control:
All kind of pain such as a migraine, headache, TMJ, neck pain, shoulder pain, arm pain, hands pain, carpal tunnel, back pain, hip pain, leg pain, knee and ankle pain, foot pain, arthritis, and much more.
Stroke (WHO), Bell’s palsy, MS
Problems with the women, infertility, fertility, and pregnancy’ complication such as vomiting, nausea, menstrual pain or cramping, irregular menstruation, lack of periods, fibroid, menopause syndrome like hot flashes, night sweating, insomnia and much more.
Eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration, eye floating, and all the non-surgery eye diseases.
Respiratory system problems such as chronic coughing and sinusitis. Usually few treatments can make the problems go away.
Circulation: hypertension, palpitation
Endocrine: hyperthyroid, hypothyroid, anxiety, depression, insomnia
Digestive system: IBS, sibo-IBS, diarrhea, constipation, GERD
Allergy, motion sickness, weight control
Does herb have side effects? When do patients need use herbs?
Chinese herbs do not have any side effects because all herbs are natural, made from leaves, trees, and roots.
Ginger, green onion, red dates, peach seeds are often used in herb formula. Are they poisonous? Of course not.
Chinese Medicine practitioner will choose right herbs based on each patient’s unique circumstance. There are many forms of herb such as pills, tea, tablets, capsules, and oil, cream, patches for external use. Practitioners could prescribe a single herb or a combination of herbs.
It is also important to remember that sometimes herbs are more important than acupuncture.
Are herb and acupuncture covered by Insurance?
Depends. For instance, Landmark healthcare covers herb expenses while some companies do not. However, many insurance companies cover acupuncture.
What does cupping do?
Cupping is a complementary treatment with acupuncture for pain relief. It removes Qi blockage and blood stagnation, detoxification, and also improves circulation when used to treat muscle numbness.
Can you treat children? what about Asthma?
Yes, we treat children. Acupuncture has been employed as an effective healthcare modality for over 3000 years, while Western medicine only entered China for 100 years. Before that, TCM treated everyone including children and newborns.
Can acupuncture treat urgent cases?
Acupuncture can treat urgent cases.
High blood pressure: acupuncture can lower blood pressure from 180 / 110 mmgh to 140/ 90 and even to normal in 30 mins.
High Fever: acupuncture can lower body temperature from 39 to 37.8 in 30 mins
Toothache: acupuncture often immediately relieve the pain
Injury pains caused by swelling of muscle or joint
Do you do cosmetic and weight control?
Acupuncture is popular for wrinkles and face lifting.
Our weight control program is very effective. We had a patient who lost 7 lb in the 1st week, and 20 lb in 2 months and another patient lost 35 lb in 3 months.
Do you refer patients to Western Medical Doctors?
Of course, western medicine is also very important. In fact, many patients are first recommended to attend acupuncture sessions by MDs. If patients come to our office, we always urge our patients to see their MDs for an annual checkup and special visits.
For patients diagnosed with cancer, acupuncture is a supportive treatment of its side effects. It is an alternative and adjunctive treatment in hospitals and medical center.
To achieve the best outcome, I always recommend a combination of Western and Eastern medicine.
How do we contact your office to make an appointment?
Please call 818-736-7365 or 661-565-6526 for appointments. Same day appointments can be accommodated. Thank you!
