While in Bohol, I went to see Dr. Jefferson Huan Ong for acupuncture treatment. Dr. Ong is a licensed doctor of medicine and graduated from Cebu Doctor's College. He went to China to train in acupuncture and has now opened an acupuncture clinic in Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Dr. Ong is accredited with the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care (PITAHC), a government owned and controlled corporation attached to the Department of Health.
I can't believe that Bohol is so fortunate to have this alternative treatment available.
Had I known about acupuncture during my pregnancy, perhaps, I never would have gone through two days of induced labor and ended up with a c-section just the same. Oh well, I am charging everything to experience and blogging about it so people are informed of other choices.
Dr. Ong was very accommodating. He agreed to see me during his lunch break, though, it was a bit unusual. I had no other time and was running really late for my other activities. He explained very well what the procedure is about. It was my first time to have a heated moxa (a bitter herb) used on my acupuncture needles. Dr. Ong explained that sometimes a person's qi (pronounced: chee) is very deficient that you need external stimulus like the heat from the moxa to fire up the qi. He also adds that the moxa is used to treat dysmenorrhea, insomnia, etc. People with insomnia would put moxa herbs under their pillows and would have really deep sleep and very vivid dreams.
Clinic facade
From Dr. Ong's flyer:
What is acupuncture? It is an ancient system of treating and preventing disease developed in China. It has at least 4,000 years of history and is based on the balance of the vital energy of the body called Qi (chee). Qi follows consistent pathways through the body connecting the outer skin and muscles to inner organs. By inserting very thin sterile needles into the skin and underlying tissues, a well-trained acupuncturist can manipulate the flow of the qi and improve the target health issue.
How does it treat disease? Diseases are generally classified as excess or deficiency of qi. The manipulation of qi along its pathways in the body allows the physician to regulate the flow, reducing excesses and increasing the deficient. Obstructed pathways which are usually responsible for pain are also freed through manipulations. An herb called moxa from the Mugwort plant is sometimes heated over the acupoint to increase positive energy. this is especially useful in diseases where pain has been present for a long time (e.g. arthritis, spondylosis, disc diseases, etc)
Acupuncture is safe to combine with most modern medicines and maintenance medications should be continued even while undergoing acupuncture.
Inside the clinic
Is it painful? The insertion of the needle is hardly perceivable due to the very thin gauge of the needle used. When the needle contacts the acupoint, there may be one of a number of sensations around the area. Feelings such as numbness, tingling, heat or cold, heaviness or a sensation of electricity passing through the limb may be felt. This is called the "arrival of qi" and is directly related to the benefit that can be derived from the acupuncture session.
Dr. Jefferson Huan Ong, M.D.
What diseases can be treated with acupuncture? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) believes that all diseases can be treated using acupuncture becase the qi affects everything in the body. The World Health Organization however has a list of around 30+ medical conditions approved to benefit from acupuncture:
- Low back pain
- Neck pain/stiffness
- Sciatica
- Elbow joint problem
- Knee pain
- Arthritis of the shoulder
- Sprains
- Facial pain/Bell's palsy
- Headache (including migraine)
- Dental pain
- Temporomandibular Joint (TMU) dysfunction
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Induction of labor
- Correction of malposition of fetus (breech presentation)
- Morning sickness/dizziness
- Nausea and vomiting
- Pain after surgery
- Stroke
- Essential hypertension
- Primary hypotension
- Renal colic
- Leukopenia
- Adverse reactions to radiation or chemotherapy
- Allergic rhinitis including hay fever
- Billary colic
- Depression (including depressive neurosis and depression following stroke)
- Acute diarrhea
- Primary dysmenorrhea
- Acute abdominal pain
- Peptic ulcer/gastritis
- Insomnia and generalized anxiety
Moxa
Location:
Point of Care Acupuncture Clinic
Upper Ground Floor, Bohol Quality Mall
CPG Avenue, Tagbilaran City, Bohol
Philippines
Phone:
+63 38 411 3164 loc. 294 (landline)
+63 920 962 3457 (mobile)
Clinic Days:
Monday to Saturday but call for appointment
Rates: PHP500 for first session
PHP300 for succeeding sessions
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