It is simply amazing how fast technology is moving. Change happens
every day right in front of our eyes. We often do not even notice
that transformation because it becomes a part of our lives.
Medical science is changing too. Every day we learn more and
more about the delicate mechanisms of health and illness; we
have easy access to advanced diagnostic equipment and have developed
thousands of highly effective medications and surgical techniques
that are more sophisticated and safer than ever before.
However, some of our problems seem to be immune to all this
progress, and pain is one of them. It affects the young and the
old, men and women, fit and unfit. It sneaks up on us in a variety
of different ways. From acute sports injuries to chronic problems,
pain claims a huge part of our lives and limits our choices.
Sometimes a medical or surgical solution is available, conversely,
the results of the treatment might be less than we expected.
Many physicians are trying to look beyond the traditional way
of treating pain. Acupuncture has been known and used worldwide
for thousands of years. And while it is not the answer to everything,
it can frequently provide help where other treatments have failed.
What is acupuncture? The American Academy of Medical Acupuncture
defines it as a method of encouraging the body to promote natural
healing through the application of different types of stimuli
in special points on the body. It is recognized by the World
Health Organization for its role in the treatment of a variety
of medical conditions, including digestive, respiratory, urinary
and reproductive problems and different types of pain like headaches,
frozen shoulder, tennis elbow, various forms of tendonitis, and
low back pain.
Although acupuncture can be very effective, it is not the only
complementary approach used to treat pain. The recently developed
Active Release Technique (ART) is promising to be extremely helpful
for treating strain related problems. Many well known athletes
use it to recover from injuries and improve their performance.
ART utilizes more than 500 precise protocols to examine the texture
and movement of injured tissue. Carefully directed tension combined
with specific patient movements treats the discovered problems.
HealthPoint, P.C. is a medical practice that is attempting to
make these and other complimentary technologies available in
our area. It is located on Ga. Highway 54 (Shamrock industrial
center, on the border of Peachtree City and Tyrone) and will
be opened for patients in early December 2004.
Marat Plotkin, M.D. received his medical acupuncture training
at the University of California in Los Angeles and an additional
training in integrative acupuncture treatment of sports injuries
from McMaster University in Canada. He is also a certified ART
provider.
Come and visit our new office in December. We will try to help
you to live life with less pain.
