When we come off of a substance, any substance, our bodies have withdrawals.If we drink too much caffeine, take prescriptions drugs, consume alcohol and or even sugar it will produce a reaction in our body when we stop. This reaction can last for hours to weeks, and it can be annoying to life threatening. The main organ that is responsible for cleaning our body is our Liver.

The Liver has a multitude of functions but a few important ones we will talk about are the fact that the liver moves, cleans, and stores our blood. When our blood is filled with chemicals, it is the Livers responsibility to clean up the mess.
In Chinese medicine we have herbal formulas that detox or dredge the liver and we also use acupuncture to help the liver detox the body.When treating a patient forwithdrawal symptoms, I typically treat three to six times a week.This high number of treatments is during the acute phase of the detox process. As the symptoms relent, the numbers of treatments per week are reduced. I will typically prescribe an herbal formula as well. These formulas will not only deal with the acute withdrawal problems one is having, but also it would treat and support the liver, the main organ responsible for detoxifying the body.

Acupuncture can be so effective in helping the body recover quicker and heal faster is because of one technique call the Dao Ma. One of the translation of the word The Dao Ma in chinese means the, “most effective way to pull a carriage”.The most effective way in ancient China to pull a carriage was with two horses, not one.The technique of Dao Ma maneedling is to use 2 needles (or more) in a given area to maximize the effect verses one needle in a given area that is so typical in many acupuncture styles. By placing needles in line, close to one another, the therapeutic effect is magnified.

So, how does a placing thin needle in the body help it detoxify itself? An aspect to Dao Ma Needling is the term,reaction area.”These reaction areas represents the anatomical and physiological (in both Western biomedical AND TCM terms) areas of influence exerted by a given Dao Ma group (a set of 3 needles place in close proximity to each other on the body).”(Maher, Jame; Advanced Tung Acupuncture) These Dao ma groups affect and effect the nervous systems such as the peripheral and central nervous system.This style of acupuncture affects not only the actual anatomy of the organ in question,20(the liver) but it affects the pathophysiology as well. So by placing needles in the body that react to the zone of the liver, one can correct and assist the liver in the process of detoxifying the body.

As the liver detoxifies our bodies there can be damage done to the liver by all the processing of chemicals that are in our bodies.The Dao Ma principal of treating a liver reaction area can be exceptionally helpful in restoring the liver to healthy state and returning the body to its natural state of balance.

By combing chinese medical herbs and the advanced techniques to Dao Ma/reaction zone acupuncture the body can once return to state of health that is free of cravings and withdrawals.