Longtime Vero Beach acupuncturist Dr. Danny Quaranto got interested in healing via his participation in martial arts and went on to study acupuncture in China at the Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical School, Department of Neurology. He has also received advanced training in Classical Homeopathy at the Bengal Allen Medical Institute, Calcutta, India, and has been practicing as a DOM for more than 30 years.
“There’s a part of Kung Fu that teaches you that if you hurt yourself or someone else, you should be able to take care of that injury,” Quaranto said. “I was already immersed in all aspects of the Chinese martial arts and intrigued by their healing aspects, so I jumped into acupuncture school with both feet and followed the path of holistic healing. I believe in the principles of Oriental Medicine, which state that disease is the result of a blockage in the flow of that life force that allows our bodily processes to function as they should.”
Acupuncture is the most well-known and widely accepted form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). An ancient Chinese technique for balancing the flow of energy or life force known as Qi that is believed to flow through pathways or meridians in your body, acupuncture is increasingly recognized as a beneficial healing and pain-relief technique by Western medicine.
“Studies have shown that acupuncture is effective for a variety of conditions,” according to Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “National Institutes of Health (NIH) studies have shown that acupuncture is an effective treatment alone or in combination with conventional therapies to treat nausea caused by surgical anesthesia and cancer chemotherapy, dental pain after surgery, addiction, headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, low back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome and asthma. It may also help with stroke rehabilitation.”
“Acupuncture services are being incorporated into an increasing number of hospitals and primary care clinics,” according to Northwestern Health Sciences University. “This is a significant development … because it shows that mainstream healthcare providers are doing more than just recommending acupuncture … [and demonstrates] acupuncture’s growing acceptance within the traditional system of Western medicine.”
Acupuncture practitioners believe that by inserting very thin needles at strategic points along the meridians, energy flow can be rebalanced, thereby promoting overall wellness and reducing pain and stress. These points have been studied and mapped by the Chinese over the 5,000-year history of TCM. Recently, electromagnetic research has confirmed the existence of the traditional points and meridians. Practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and tissue, which in turn boosts the body’s natural painkillers.
“We are working with that energy in acupuncture. If you study the lines on an acupuncture chart you see that it’s an actual circulatory system of energy pathways that flow from one organ system to another,” Dr. Quaranto explained. “Qi moves the blood and blood nourishes the Qi. We start to have health problems where there is a blockage in the flow of the Qi in much the same way that a kink in the garden hose will restrict the flow of water coming out of the hose. TCM recognizes your body as an entire organism, with all its functions interconnected and interrelated.
“We don’t treat health problems,” he continued. “We treat people who have health problems.
I can have five different people come in with the same diagnosis and I’ll probably have five different ways of helping those people.
“It’s not about the diagnosis – it’s how your body manifests it. I need to have a complete picture of somebody before I can figure out what’s going on. There may be an emotional component behind their pain, or their allergies may be a result of their internal organs not working properly.”
Acupuncture points are situated in all areas of the body and sometimes the appropriate points are far removed for the problem area. Practitioners may place needles in the lower part of your body to treat the upper part, or on the left side of the body to treat pain in the right side.
“It’s nice because since I’m treating an area away from the problem area then I can ask the patient to move the problem area while the needles are in place and I’m stimulating them with my fingers,” Dr. Quaranto said.
Interestingly enough, every part of your body can be effectively targeted by acupuncture points in the ear that correspond with specific organs, emotions or sensory feelings.
“When you look at your ear it kind of looks like a fetus on the side of your head,” Dr. Quaranto explained. “All the points on the ear that correspond to the head are on the earlobe.
The points that address the internal organs are on the side of the ear in the indentation. Your ear is a map of the whole body, and you can stimulate parts of the body by stimulating the appropriate point on the ear.”
The needles used in acupuncture are different than those used for injections. Hypodermic needles have a cutting edge that slices through the tissue when inserted while the acupuncture needle looks more like a pine needle and glides through the tissue.
Acupuncture needles are so thin that three or four of them would fit into the hole of one hypodermic needle used to draw blood, according to Dr. Quaranto. However, if someone has a strong fear of needles, the points may be stimulated by pressure, heat, vibration, electricity, cupping and by using special magnets placed on the body in the correct polarity.
Dr. Quaranto stresses that stroke victims can benefit greatly from Zhu Scalp Acupuncture, which targets problems with the brain and neurological system. He completed an externship with Dr. Zhu in Qingdao, China, and worked with stroke victims at the Affiliated Hospital of the Qingdao Medical School in the neurology ward. He shares stories of people in wheelchairs who regained the ability to walk and others who quickly regained their speech.
“With stroke victims, early treatment is the key and the sooner the treatment the better the outcome,” said Dr. Quaranto. “The results can be miraculous.”
So when should you see an acupuncturist?
Dr. Quaranto said if you don’t need to call 911 for whatever ails you, you should call your acupuncturist!
Dr. Danny Quaranto has been practicing acupuncture for 33 years with extensive training and degrees in acupuncture and integrative medicine throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. He went on to receive his medical degree from the University of Science, Arts and Technology in Montserrat, British West Indies, in 2015. In 2017, Dr. Quaranto authored the book “My Patients Say It All: Heartfelt Stories of Remarkable Healing with a Holistic Doctor.” To learn more, visit his website at amfcc.info or call 772-778-8877 for a free consultation.
