acupuncture:
one woman’s story
by doug holt
!
e’ve all been there: It’s Monday morning and you’re
lying in bed with no motivation. The day hasn’t even
started, yet you have no energy to move. This is what
happened to successful local business owner Anna
Salcido. A debilitating loss of energy and vitality was
just one of the many health problems this young entrepreneur was
facing. All small business owners know the importance of looking
your best while at work, but no one knows this better than Anna.
Anna is the owner of one of Santa Barbara’s hottest hair salons –
Salon Bamboo.
photographs by jaimi kercher
Salon Bamboo quickly rose to become one of Santa Barbara’s beauty
hot spots; the place to get the latest style and gossip on the who’s
who in our small, but chic community. Things couldn’t have been
better for Anna. She owned a successful business and had been asked
multiple times to franchise, but her lack of energy was becoming too
much. Anna had also struggled with dropping weight for years. She
had tried every diet, workout regimen, and even sought the help of
personal trainers. Nothing worked. Anna had come to a point where
even a small salad was more than she could eat. She simply had lost
all appetite - all of this while she was exercising daily. No matter what
she did, she couldn’t lose the weight, although, this was the least of
Anna’s problems.
Anna’s energy continued to slip and her anxiety grew with each day.
“I got to the point where I was going to lose it if the phone rang one
more time!” Anna said. We’ve all had bad days where all we wanted
to do is curl up in bed and forget about the world. For some of us it
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only lasted an hour or maybe a few days, but for Anna this
was a daily feeling of helplessness.
Anna reached the point where she knew she needed more
help. Her hair was now falling out; not something any young
woman wants to go through. Her primary care physician
referred her to a dermatologist who diagnosed Anna with
alopecia areata (al-oh-PEE-shah air-ee-AH-tah). Alopecia
areata is a highly unpredictable, autoimmune skin disease
resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on
the body. The doctor’s solution to this diagnosis was to
administer five shots of steroids to Anna’s head. This did
nothing for Anna’s lack of energy or her feeling of anxiety.
Anna knew this couldn’t be the only problem and wanted
more answers.
After blood work was conducted, Anna was diagnosed
with a thyroid condition. Finally, she was relieved to find
out what the problem had been for all these years. More
bad news came as the doctors explained to Anna that her
condition wasn’t severe enough to justify medication. The
medical treatment for a thyroid condition caries with it a
great deal of risk and Anna’s condition didn’t warrant that
risk. Anna’s anxiety and loss of energy was still in full swing,
when a friend recommended that Anna seek out the help of
an acupuncturist that she had seen at Points of Health on
Upper State Street.
“An acupuncturist? I hate needles! I was very skeptical, but
at this point something had to change or I’d lose it,” Anna
told me. Anna met with the owners of Points of Health,
Erik Smith and Stacy Drinkut, both of whom hold masters
degrees in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) from Five
Branches Institute and are licensed acupuncturists.
“I met with Stacy, who specialized in women’s health first”,
Anna told me. The first hour was simply a consultation;
they chatted about everything going on in Anna’s life to
find the root of the problem. Stacy performed a series of
routine tests and determined the same thing that Anna’s
previous doctor had found: Anna had a problem with her
Erik Smith and Stacy Drinkut of Points of Health
thyroid, but the difference was that Stacy could help. Along
with acupuncture, Stacy gave Anna a series of herbs and
vitamins to take each day as well as dietary guidelines such
as eating more cooked foods rather than cold foods.
“Anna’s supplements consisted of precursor amino acids
and minerals for Thyroid hormone production, and were
used to naturally enhance metabolic efficiency. She took a
variety of Chinese herbal formulas to support her adrenal
and thyroid systems. We use doctor line supplements and
Chinese herbal formulas that are focused on organics,”
Stacy informed me.
The very next day Anna woke up with a new outlook on
life. Her anxiety was completely gone; it was as if someone
had blown away the dark cloud that just yesterday seemed
to linger over her head indefinitely. “I was mentally back to
normal. It felt like taking a Zanex” Anna told me. Anna’s
energy levels crept back to normal. She was feeling good
– something that you can’t put a price on.
continued on page 25
Winter 2006
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ANNA from page 23
applied palpitation) muscle attachment points. This
technique essentially “jumpstarts” the muscles and
allows them to contract on demand.
Not unlike many of us, I’m a “gotta-see-it-to-believeit,” type of individual, so I did little to hide my doubt
of MAT’s claims of immediate, improved muscle
strength. Yet, when I was retested (the final step of
a MAT session), all but two of the nine weak trunk
muscles responded with greater strength than before
treatment. It wasn’t that I had become stronger;
rather, establishing brighter lines of communication
between my central nervous system (CNS) and
muscles allowed my muscles to perform at their
full capability. Subsequently, I welcomed increased
flexibility in my tumbling class and reduced back pain
while running after my MAT session. Of course these
improvements can be chalked up to other extraneous
variables, such as simply having “a good day,” but it
would be unfair to ignore that these improvements, as
well as my enhanced overall feel, transpired after my
first MAT session.
It is important to note that the degree to which
the body compensates for muscular imbalances is
almost unrecognizable, unless these dysfunctions are
specifically targeted. The adaptability of the human
body is undoubtedly crucial for both our survival
and day to day living. However, ongoing failure to
use our muscles and joints properly puts unnecessary
strain on the body and impedes our ability to perform
at an optimal level.
MAT enables your muscles to perform the unique
functions for which they are designed, ultimately
improving the quality of your work-out and daily
routine. May I suggest a visit to the MAT man Santa
Barbara?
To contact Joe, please call (805) 708-3895. !
Sources
Marso, Joe. Personal interview. 12 Oct. 2005.
Marso, Joe. Personal interview. 18 Oct. 2005.
Roskopf, Greg. “Muscle Activation Techniques: Question and
Answer.” Muscle
Activation Techniques.
muscleactivation.com>
27 Sept. 2005
<http://www.
Walsh, Kelle. “Muscle Bound.” Experience Fitness May. 2005:
34,36.
Anna’s herbs have changed over time and she will need
to continue to take them until her body reaches a state of
homeostasis, or balance. Stacy went on to tell me that she
had not only given Anna recommendations on exercise
and diet, but also referred her to a local Naturopath, Amy
Bristol, for more help.
Anna continues to move forward with her new daily
regime. “The treatments weren’t cheap at $90 [including
herbs] twice per week, but considering the results it is well
worth it!” Anna went on to say, “After having a feeling of
hopelessness for so long … Stacy gave me hope again and
you can’t really put a price on that.” !
Resources:
Stacy Drinkut, L.Ac., Dipl.OM
Stacy Drinkut holds a masters degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM) from Five Branches Institute. She is licensed to practice
acupuncture and herbal medicine by the California Acupuncture
Board and the National Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental
Medicine (NCCAOM). Stacy holds specialty certifications in Facial
Rejuvenation Acupuncture and Chi Nei Tsang, a type of visceral
massage used to support fertility. She completed an externship
in Gynecology at Zhejiang College of TCM in Hongzhou, China. In
addition to TCM, Stacy has extensively studied Five Element and
Japanese Acupuncture styles.
Points of Health
2958 State Street
Santa Barbara
(805) 687.7775
Salon Bamboo
231 W Montecito St
Santa Barbara
(805) 965-3171
Winter 2006
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