Chinese medicine still helping area residents after 10 years

By Abby Morris
Star Staff
amorris@starhq.com

   If you are looking for something to supplement your regular health care regimen, then New Paradigms Health Care may be what you are looking for.
   With an herbal dispensary, three licensed and certified massage therapists, yoga classes and a certified acupuncturist the individuals at New Paradigms Health Care can help you on your way to achieving your health and fitness goals.
   Patricia Danda, who is the owner of New Paradigms, has a master's degree in Oriental Medicine from the Oregon College and is a certified acupuncturist. She founded New Paradigms Health Care in 1994 and has spent the last 10 years offering acupuncture to clients as well as consulting them regarding Chinese herbal remedies and dietary modifications.
   According to Danda, New Paradigms is committed to offering quality health care to the Tri-Cities region in an effort to alleviate pain and promote health and well being, all within simple, natural and time-honored means.
   Acupuncture is an ancient healing artform which originated in China and dates back at least 2,500 years. "To me one of the valuable parts about Chinese medicine and acupuncture in particular is that we have a 2,500-year-old written history of acupuncture and Chinese medicine," Danda said. "I don't know of any other medical practice that can boast of a 2,500-year written history. Chinese medicine has continued to evolve over those 2,500 years and become more sophisticated."
   In the early 1990s, practitioners of Western medicine began to realize the benefits which could be reaped through acupuncture and other such therapies. In 1993 the National Institutes of Health opened the Office for Alternative Health. In 2001, the name changed to the Center for Alternative Health.
   According to Danda, out of all the research grant money that the Center for Alternative Health allocates through the NIH, research on acupuncture receives the most grant funding. "The amount of research money spent on acupuncture by the government gives it a legitimacy that we didn't enjoy in the past," she said.
   Danda said that a variety of ailments can be treated with acupuncture. "I have a lot of people who come in to help them control their high blood pressure or their diabetes or to manage stress or depression," she said. According to Danda, many illnesses and conditions can be treated with acupuncture including cataracts, toothache, menopausal symptoms, carpal tunnel syndrome, "tennis elbow," migraines, low back pain, osteoarthritis, stroke rehabilitation, acute bronchitis and even the common cold, just to name a few.
   The practice of acupuncture and Oriental medicine is based on a paradigm of the human body unlike any used in Western medicine, according to Danda. The model used by Oriental medicine and acupuncture centers around the concept of "qi" (pronounced "chee") which loosely translated means energy. Oriental medicine studies the affect that qi has on the physiological function and health as it flows in channels through the body.
   "When there is too little or too much 'qi' in an acupuncture channel or meridian, or when the 'qi' stagnates, illness results," states information on acupuncture available to clients at New Paradigms. "Acupuncture theory is supported by Western scientific understanding that human beings are complex bioelectrical systems. Oriental medicine functions to promote the body's ability to heal itself."
   Danda first was introduced to acupuncture through a personal experience. "What first got me to an acupuncturist was back pain from an auto injury," she said. "Then like so many of my clients I realized that you can use acupuncture for a lot more than just pain relief and that intrigued me."
   One of the first things Danda noticed after receiving acupuncture treatment was that her energy level began to go up. "I had the energy to accomplish all the things I wanted to do in my life without a hyperness," she said. "It increased my energy and calmed me at the same time. The calming effect had to do with the endorphin release. The brain releases endorphins into the body during acupuncture and that calms the body."
   Her visits to the acupuncturist in the late 1980s led her to want to study acupuncture and in 1991 Danda began studying the Chinese artform at Oregon College. After receiving her degree, she moved to Johnson City in 1994 and opened New Paradigms Health Care as a way to introduce others to the medical practice which literally changed her life.
   "The community was very receptive from the beginning. This community was the exception in that they were ready and wanting a full-time acupuncturist," she said. "It truly is a joy to have a profession in which you can see people's lives transform."
   In an effort to help her clients achieve the best health possible, Danda also provides for other types of therapies to be available at New Paradigms such as massage therapy and yoga.
   "I really think that yoga is one of the best things we can do for our bodies to help keep them functioning properly and for preventing muscular-skeletal problems," Danda said.
   According to Danda, she recommends to her acupuncture clients that they attend a yoga class two times a week and receive massage therapy once a month. "We do a lot of therapeutic (massage) work here as opposed to a spa," she said.
   Another focus of Danda's efforts to help her clients achieve better health is by educating them about what the therapies they are undergoing do and how their own behavior can contribute to their condition. "Education is a big emphasis here. Educating the clients as well as educating yourself," she said. "You have to educate yourself in order to educate and help your clients."
   For more information on the acupuncture and massage therapies or the yoga classes available at New Paradigms Health Care, located at 113 E. Unaka Ave., Johnson City, call (423) 928-9394.