Getting to the Root of Pain Local Practitioner Treats with Herbs and Acupuncture By Kathleen McFadden Many of the patients Dr. Torrey Gorla sees suffer from chronic pain. Understanding the devastating impairment chronic conditions can cause to an individual’s quality of life, he has tailored his practice to treating and alleviating the root causes of such health-related problems. Gorla is nationally board certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, so he doesn’t prescribe the medications advertised on television. In fact, Gorla said that many of his patients come in for consultation because they want to stop taking those very medications — prescribed for depression, for cholesterol control, for pain — because of the side effects or because the medicine simply is not working. In western medicine, he said, a patient’s symptoms may seem unrelated, so doctors tend prescribe multiple medications, each to treat a specific symptom. In Chinese medicine, however, nothing is seen as random. All bodily systems are integrated so the symptoms form a pattern, and Chinese medicine, Gorla said, treats the root cause of a condition and does not seek to mask symptoms. Dr. Torrey Gorla examines Raina Redford in preparation for an acupuncture treatment at the Blue Ridge Acupuncture & Herb Center, located at the Rippling Waters Healing Arts Cooperative. Photo by Kathleen McFadden But he emphasizes that the practice of Chinese medicine is complementary to and not antagonistic to western medicine. In fact, Gorla said, “the best medical system is integrated care,” a practice that combines both types of treatment. Both have strengths and weaknesses, he pointed out. While western medicine is unparalleled for its emergency care, he continued, Chinese medicine is safer and more effective for chronic conditions. Treatment begins with a two-hour initial consult during which Gorla takes an extensive medical history and performs a physical examination, followed by the development of an individualized treatment protocol that includes acupuncture and herbal prescriptions, and nutrition and lifestyle changes if necessary. What he looks for during the physical examination are signs of organ malfunction or weakness. “The body is no different from a tree,” Gorla said. “If you know what you’re looking for, the body will tell you.” The length of treatment depends on a number of variables, including how quickly the patient wants results, how long the patient has had the condition, and how compliant the patient is with taking the herbal medicine and following the nutritional guidelines. Gorla said he sees some patients once per week, some two to three times per week and some — those on a health maintenance regimen — only once per month. So where do the needles come in? Acupuncture is an ancient treatment technique for balancing the circulation of energy in the body along critical pathways called meridians. Gorla defined it as the science of electricity and energy, a system, he said, that is as scientific as the basis of western medicine. Specific points along the meridians are energetically connected to specific organs, body structures and functional systems, he explained, and pain or illness can result from the disruption of energy circulation. Gorla said that the insertion of a tiny acupuncture needle is “like plugging in a circuit.” The metal is a great conductor of electricity and helps achieve the bioelectric balancing of the body’s qi, what Gorla defined as “energy on the verge of becoming matter.” While the idea of the needles may give some pain sufferers pause, Gorla insists that acupuncture does not have to be painful and explains that he uses disposable Japanese needles that are about as thin as a hair and gentler than the Chinese technique. With the tiny needles, he said, combined with his insertion skill, most patients do not feel them being inserted. Unlike with many medicines prescribed to treat chronic conditions, there are no harmful side effects from acupuncture. Instead, Gorla said, patients experience feelings of relaxation, stress reduction and overall well-being during and after a treatment. He’s not fond of the word “alternative” as a description for Chinese medicine. “It’s used as the primary health care system by one-fifth of the world’s population,” he said, “so it’s a massive system and is more than 3,000 years old.” In fact, a recent study reported in the British Medical Journal provides more evidence that acupuncture is entering the mainstream. A group of eight British researchers reported in March 2004 that acupuncture is an effective treatment for chronic headache. The study involved 401 patients with chronic headache, predominantly migraine, randomized to two treatment groups: acupuncture and conventional treatment. According to the study results, the patients receiving acupuncture had fewer days of headaches than those who were not, saw their physicians less and were not as reliant on painkillers The researchers concluded that “acupuncture leads to persisting, clinically relevant benefits for primary care patients with chronic headache, particularly migraine,” and called for the expansion of acupuncture services in the British national health system. But while Gorla specializes in chronic conditions, his practice is not limited to them, and he would like to work with more individuals who take a proactive approach to their health. Gorla insisted that the definition of health is not merely the lack of symptoms. Instead, he points to the World Health Organization’s definition of health: “a state of optimum physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” Gorla added, “In our culture, people wait until there’s a problem” before they consult a treatment professional. He estimated that 98 percent of his patients consult him about specific symptoms, while only 2 percent seek his advice on health maintenance. As a service to his patients, Gorla offers family treatment discounts. Before opening his practice in January at the Rippling Waters Healing Arts Cooperative, Gorla practiced for three years in Rhode Island. He and his family relocated to the area late last year. Gorla holds a bachelor’s degree in clinical psychology and a four-year Master of Science in Oriental Medicine from Southwest Acupuncture College in Santa Fe, NM. “I was always interested in medicine,” he said, “but was a naturalist also.” Chinese medicine appealed to him because it is “a very individualized system of medicine that takes in so many factors.” Gorla added, “I’m first a doctor, then a teacher.” Gorla’s office hours are 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. on Monday and Wednesday, 1:00 until 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday. Rippling Waters Healing Arts Cooperative is located at 195 Rippling Waters Lane in Blowing Rock, 1.5 miles from Boone off Highway 321. The phone number is (828) 773-2796.