Why is there such a thing as fake pockets?
How do people who don’t drink coffee survive the day, much less life?
Who looked at shrimp and grits and thought ‘hey, let’s throw these in a bowl’ and charge $15 for seafood oatmeal?
And that’s just the beginning of our list of Life’s Greatest Questions. We’re joking of course, everyone knows that people who don’t drink coffee survive on street drugs and that fake pockets were invented to make yoga pants look professional. Still on that list however, the how, what and why of the ancient art of acupuncture. So when we had the opportunity to host Dr. Tonya Weber of AIM | Acupuncture & Integrative Medicine on our show, we were thrilled.
As a teen she was suffering from cluster migraines when her family doctor referred her to an acupuncturist. With successive treatments, Tonya went from having 3-5 headaches a week to having them only 1-2 times a year and with milder intensity and shorter duration. Six months of acupuncture treatments later and she had her life back. This incredible experience combined with her scientific background (Chemical Engineering at Clemson University) ultimately led her to pursue a doctorate in Acupuncture. She now brings her expertise in treating difficult to manage, chronic conditions to the people of North Myrtle Beach, SC in a world class healing environment that supports the recovery of health and wellness.
First and foremost, what does acupuncture treat?
“A better question would be what CAN’T it treat” responded Dr. Weber. And she’s not wrong. One glance at her website and you’ll see she treats everything from pain to respiratory disorders, constipation to chest infections, and arthritis to asthma, yes even asthma. While acupuncture has been practiced for thousands of years, science has only just begun to grasp it as powerful medicine.
And this is where you picture us as that girl emoji wearing a purple shirt, shrugging her shoulders, I?
Don’t worry you’re not about to get a long lecture on qi, meridians and yin and yang. Dr. Weber used plain language to describe what she does and how it works starting with words like ‘acupuncture points’ and ‘balance’ instead of the more woowoo alternatives. Let’s take pain for example, needles are placed in positions that stimulate specific nerve fibers while others are inhibited. It’s the same reason why rubbing your elbow after you bang it on the door frame trying to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night helps alleviate the pain.
And the most important question, does it hurt?
Dr. Weber explains with a refreshing dose of honesty, “you guys, it’s a damn needle, you might feel it but it’s nothing like you think. Most of the needles you’re not going to feel at all but every once in a while you’re going to feel one…like that random bad eyebrow tweeze.” Co hosts Rachel Pitts and Gina Trimarco grilled her about whether it was better or worse than a tattoo? Botox? A bikini wax? She reassured us it’s nothing like any of those as it’s way less painful, “if you can wax your hooha, you can get acupuncture.”
So how good is she?
On top of having a world class practice for patients she now coaches over 100 clinics and acupuncturists across the country and internationally, making her clinic a world class learning center for practitioners.
So yes, she’s good.
You can learn more about Dr. Tonya Weber and her integrative methods by visiting AIMLiveLife.com or calling her clinic at (843)273-5567.
