Extra Dimensions Interview

Lizbeth Ryan • August 3, 2017

Dr. Ryan Treats the Blind

In September of 2010, Mr. Thomas Carroll, host of the local television show Extreme Dimensions, asked to interview me regarding my acupuncture practice. Take a look at the video to the right and read the excerpt below from Mr. Carroll’s website:

We had our friend Dr. Liz Ryan on our show again. She is an acupuncturist with an unusual specialty: she treats people who are losing their sight to macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa, glaucoma, diabetic complications, etc.

A lot of people get the wrong idea, so before we go any farther let me reassure everyone that the treatment is on the hands and feet…not the eyes. She treats the eyes by treating the hands and feet.

Acupuncture originated in China 5,000 years ago. Traders carried the knowledge to other countries where it continued to develop. Each location where it took hold it developed a little differently. For example, the Japanese form is slightly different from the Chinese.

Around 100 years ago, the French were introduced to acupuncture through their experience in “French Indo China.” The French took it home where it was received enthusiastically. Over the intervening years, they continued to develop the science. For example, one of the techniques they developed is treating the whole body by treating parts of the ear.

Another branch the French pioneered was the treatment of blindness by applying acupuncture to the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. Doctors think it brings results by enhancing the bloodflow to the eyes. If the eye receives more nutrients and oxygen, and if the cells can have their wastes removed, the eye will have a fighting chance to heal itself.

Sometimes family members report that their elderly mom or dad suddenly “sharpened up” after having the eyes treated. So there may be some added benefit to the brain that isn’t well understood yet.

The longer a person has had one of the diseases robbing them of vision, the harder it is to get any improvement, so, like other things, early treatment works better than late. Some diseases respond faster, and people differ, too. Some people literally see an improvement after one treatment.

The physical situation that led to the disease in the first place continues to operate, so it is a battle to keep gains ahead of losses. Most patients come to the clinic once a year. Because they come from all over, they like to stay for a week and get three treatments a day. Usually that is enough to “charge them up” for another year. Many of the patients have gotten their driver’s license back.

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