Treatment Frequently Asked Questions
About Dr. Ryan’s Practice
What conditions does Dr. Ryan treat?
He has treated patients with a wide range of conditions, including:
- Conditions undiagnosable or untreatable in biomedicine
- Pain: musculoskeletal (back, neck, knee), herniated disks, migraines, postoperative
- Gynecological: infertility, PMS, menses related
- Gastrointestinal: IBS, ulcerative colitis, GERD
- Respiratory disease: viral influenzas, allergies
- Dermatological: acne, hives, eczema, psoriasis
- Mental-emotional: depression, anxiety, PTSD
- Neurological: neuralgia, nephropathy, Parkinson’s (early stage), stroke recovery
- Urological: prostate issues, infertility, nephritis, kidney stones * Autoimmune disease
Are all acupuncturists and treatment the same?
While evidence based treatment is a goal of modern medicine and is being adopted where possible in Chinese medicine, an acupuncturist often follows a particular lineage or unique combination of lineages whose empirical knowledge and skills have stood the test of time. Thus, while licensed acupuncturists share a common theoretical foundation, each develops their own individualized style. And, like in any vocation, a given individual’s mastery of their art and science depends upon their talent and dedication. My immersion training with masters in China spanning three decades, extensive clinical practice in China and the USA, and my study of Western traditions of nutrition and osteopathic manual therapy allow me to create individualized, integrative treatment protocols from a broad base of safe and effective wellness restoring treatments.
Who practices Chinese medicine and acupuncture?
Licensed Acupuncturists (L.Ac.) are the health professionals in the United States who provide diagnosis and treatment of conditions based upon the theoretical framework of Chinese medicine.
What are the training requirements for New York State acupuncturists?
In New York State, they are required to study at accredited schools with a standardized curriculum that equates to a four-year masters degree totaling 4050 hours, including 1365 clinical contact hours. Practitioners with advanced training in the USA may earn a clinical doctorate, Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (DAOM), or Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine (DACM) title. In California, acupuncturists are considered general practitioners because of the level of training they receive and the difficulty of the board exam.
Where did Dr. Ryan train?
He trained in China and the United States.
His hours of training at the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and affiliated hospitals alone double the minimum requirements in the USA, not to mention the countless hours apprenticing with his teachers. He completed a doctorate of clinical Chinese medicine from the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine in 2016 and holds licenses in New York and California.
About Chinese Medicine
What does Eastern medicine treat effectively?
Like biomedicine, Chinese medicine is a system of medicine that has its strengths and weaknesses and does not purport to be a panacea.
Currently, in Western countries Chinese medicine — and acupuncture in particular — is most familiar to people in the West for pain management. This is in part due to Western research into the mechanisms behind acupuncture’s effects and extensive studies in musculoskeletal pain conditions, like low back and neck pain. A growing number of physicians recommend acupuncture for treating pain and insurance companies cover it.
When is Chinese medicine better than biomedicine?
Clearly diagnosising a disease in biomedicine is almost always an advantage and provides safe context for implementing alternative forms of medical treatment. Hoever, in many cases, it is recommended to try Eastern medicine first because it offers a holistic perspective, is non-invasive, has virtually no side effects when used properly, and it avoids the adverse effects of pharmaceutical and surgical interventions.
While Eastern medicine can be used to treat any disease, its strengths are in the following fields:
Disease prevention
Pain
Chronic: geriatric, metabolism, autoimmune, hormonal
Gynecology
Gastroenterology
Dermatology
Mental-emotional, especially conversion disorder
Respiratory: viral influenza, allergies
Historically, what diseases did Chinese medicine treat?
For millennia, Chinese medicine (like its East Asian offshoots in Japan and Korea) was the only medicine available in China, and it was used to treat all maladies. For example, Sun Si Miao (581- 682 CE) diagnosed and treated the equivalent of type II diabetes by observing whether or not ants were attracted to strips of cloth dipped in a patient’s urine and giving treatments with herbal medicine and diet instruction. The first analgesic medicine, called ma fei san (boiled cannabis powder), and open skull surgery are attributed to the Chinese physician, Hua Tuo, in the second century CE. Modern clinical research in Asia reflects the broad number of indications treatable with Chinese medicine and it can be found in many departments for most of the hosptials in China today.
About Biomedicine
When is biomedicine better?
In certain circumstances, such as recent contraction of Lyme disease, physical trauma from a car accident, cancer, and conditions needing surgery, conventional medicine is more reliable and effective than Chinese medicine. Diagnostically, biomedicine offers great advantages for identifying diseases with specific pathologies, and such diagnoses are useful in all contexts of care. We encourage patients to feel confident about using conventional medicine for diagnosis and for treatment when needed.
Can biomedicine and Eastern medicine be used simultaneously?
Yes. This is very common and it is safe when the necessary precautions, like identifying drug-herb interactions are taken.
What is the role of Chinese medicine when the primary treatment is biomedicine?
When biomedical intervention is the best treatment for a disease the role of Chinese medicine is supportive —- addressing complications by restoring function, boosting vitality, and integrating the body and mind to enable the return of general well-being.