Suffer from poor circulation and blood flow? Read this

There is a point for that

Symptoms of poor blood flow are easy to spot and often include having cold extremities, headaches, dizziness, or muscle cramps. Contact our office at (425) 686-4498 to schedule your initial consultation to learn how we can help your circulation and neuropathy concerns.

Do you suffer from poor blood flow or poor circulation issues?

This is a common complaint I hear about in my office. Especially in the PNW in the Fall and Winter months, cold hands and feet due to poor circulation. Think of poor circulation like rush hour traffic in your veins, causing a backup of blood flow that can lead to numbness, pain, and even tissue damage.

We all know that keeping your head and feet properly covered maintains our internal temperature, but what about when we feel like we just can’t seem to warm up, get our blood flow moving, or have a circulatory disorder that’s hindering your extracurricular activities.

Symptoms of Poor Circulation

Symptoms of poor blood flow are easy to spot and often include having cold extremities, headaches, dizziness, or muscle cramps. The area that is easiest to spot are in the arms and legs because these are the areas that blood collects but due to poor circulation, isn’t able to properly make its way back to the heart which leads to the cold, numb and tingling sensation.

Common conditions associated with poor circulation include: neuropathy, Raynaud’s, hypothyroid, peripheral artery disease, diabetes, obesity, blood clots, and varicose veins to name a few.

Ways to improve your circulation

There are many ways to help aid in your circulatory blood flow including acupuncture, changing your diet, and herbal remedies. Acupuncture can be helpful to increase local blood circulation because it raises levels of nitric oxide around the area that the needles are entered, thus enhancing peripheral blood flow as shown in a study from the Journal Anesthesia and Analgesia. Not only does it help with blood flow, it can help with abnormalities of circulation with disorders such as Raynaud’s, high blood pressure, and hypertension.

Another study looking at the possible mechanisms of how acupuncture could change blood circulation and heart rate variability, found that blood volume and oxygen saturation increased and maintained high during and after acupuncture treatments in the tested tendons. The study also found that the heart rate decreased during acupuncture treatment. This study concluded that acupuncture could help to improve blood circulation and increase oxygen saturation and it may do this through an autonomic nervous system response.

Contact our office at (425) 686-4498 to schedule your consult today with Dr. Heintze today to learn how we can help your circulation and neuropathy concerns.

Dr. Ellie Heintze, ND, LAc, is a naturopathic doctor and acupuncturist in Bothell, WA at her practice Starting Point Acupuncture. She specializes in chronic and complex cases and commonly treats neuropathy, fibromyalgia, migraines, autoimmune, and infertility cases. Dr. Ellie Heintze is also the author of the book, A Starting Point Guide to Going Gluten-Free and Keep Calm and Zen Out available on Amazon.