Most of us are familiar with the use of acupuncture for back pain but it's still interesting to see how the studies back that up. I know it has worked for me in the past and I continue to use it today to manage my degenerative disc disease. http://www.jcm.co.uk/research-archive/article/acupuncture-for-acute-back-pain-2077/
0 Comments
I just finished reading a blog post from a very well known endurance athlete, and when I got to the sentence "It turns out there isn't much to do about a broken toe" except RICE. My initial reaction was to feel sadness. Pity? Maybe. But as I sit here, I realize it just shows how much we have lost touch with all the medicine that came before us and how much a large segment of us has yet to re-learn that there are other ways in which we can reduce pain, heal faster, and heal well. But every time I see comments like this, I get it. I totally get it! It took me 30 years to accidentally stumble upon what we now call *alternative medicine. If you told me before to take a certain herb, poke a needle in me, or do a particular qigong exercise to help heal my injuries, I would have probably politely smiled and said "uh huh" before I just popped some Advil and grabbed some ice from the freezer. That's all I knew and we all know that western medicine is the top of it's class, right? Sadly for me, I learned to look outside only after 12 years of back pain, multiple doctors, and tons of prescriptions for hydrocodone, brought me to the point that I could barely walk and I had stopped going out with friends because it was too hard to sit. It took desperation. And this is what I usually see in my clinic. Chinese Medicine is still a last resort. And yet think of how powerful, truly powerful, medicine would be today if western and alternative worked hand in hand. And yes I mean hand in hand. Western medicine is extremely helpful when it comes to diagnoses (though this is not always necessary, for things like broken bones, it helps), xrays/MRI's, and emergency medicine to name a few. And it has been proven to work very well in cases like cancer and fertility. Today, because of that desperation and a bit of luck, I discovered how out of touch I was with remedies that have been effective for thousands of years, being mired in a system that only gave me pain medication which never addressed the problem. The deeper you get into ancient text, the stranger it feels when you realize that the modern medicinal field, through technology, is discovering things today what previous centuries have already established in their medicine systems without all the fancy gizmos. It gets downright weird. For example, it is only recently that modern medicine has started to realize that the fascial planes in our body actually correlate pretty accurately to the channels used in Chinese Medicine along which acupuncture points are found. It brings a modern understanding to why a point in the toe might affect something in the eye. Chinese medicine knew this years ago whereas modern medicine still separates the body parts into "specialties", without considering how something on the opposite side of the body may be related to a problem. Western medicine is just beginning to understand this. A large part of why I entered into Chinese Medicine after years in the graphics field was to be able to bring this medicine further out into the public. I was shocked to realize that no one at the hospitals had told me that I could try acupuncture or herbs, or even chiropractic. There are so many things a person can do for themselves and you DON'T even need to see me. Try turmeric (a known anti-inflammatory. 500 mg 3 times per day. About a 1/4 tsp). Purchase Wu Yang plasters online or at your local chinese herbal market or store. These patches are for red, inflamed and/or new injuries to circulate blood and "cool" the injury. After the inflammation (touch the injury. Does it feel warmer than usual to you? Compare it to the other side) subsides and the injury still feels tight and sore, try an Espom salt soak to bring more circulation into the area and start softening the ligaments and scar tissue that is probably forming. How do acupuncture needles help? Not only can you reduce the pain, needles also increase circulation of blood and allows the body to target a specific area to increase healing. Depending on the injury, acupuncture can help re-align structural weaknesses that may be causing the injury in the first place. Needles and a proper diagnosis can also help resolve other problems in your body that may be preventing the injury from optimal healing. What I most want for people who have never tried acupuncture, is only this. Keep it in your back pocket. You might think it's a joke, that it's weird, that it's not for you, that it's scary. But what I hope for you is that it becomes a part of your collective subconscious. So that when you're ready, when you've come to a point with whatever it might be, that you might remember that there is something else out there that might help you or a friend or family member, and to not resign yourselves to the idea of "isn't much to do". (*though my specialty may be in Chinese Medicine, this does not preclude Ayurvedic or other medicines that has been passed through a myriad of cultures throughout the world. I can't claim to have tried them all, but just like it is ridiculous to think that western medicine is the only healing modality out there, it would be unfair to think that Chinese Medicine is the only thing that works too.) by: Miki Higuchi L.Ac. on July 19, 2011
If you see an acupuncturist, there is usually a point where they insist "No ice!". But why? Growing up here in California, it is fairly common knowledge that ice is what is used for anything that hurts. We are told that ice reduces inflammation and speeds healing. And let's face it, when it hurts, icy numbness makes it feel better. So, what's the big deal? I thought I would give you a real-world example of how this can work. But in a nutshell, this is Chinese Medicine's thoughts on the topic first so you know where I'm coming from. When you create an injury in your body, whether its' a sprained ankle, broken foot, or even a cut on your arm, your body races to repair it. The body is geared to send all it can to that injury to start the recovery process. The body is pretty great that way. Now, what does ice do? Think of ice cubes, icebergs, ice cream! Ice congeals into a hard substance , ice numbs and stops feeling. Ice stops the flow of substances. So, when your body is trying to bring white blood cells, collagen, and other healing substances to an injury, cold blocks it from coming through, thus delaying healing. And something that is admittedly a little harder to grasp is the idea that "cold" can get trapped inside an injury, potentially leading to achey-ness and arthritic symptoms. So, back to me and my story. I am a chronic ankle sprain-er. It started over 20 years ago with a sprain on the softball field, followed by sprains on the basketball court, stepping off a curb, and then falling down on trails and over and over again. This was also all before I understood the mechanism behind injury and healing. This was also before I learned the virtue of patience. This was the typical me (and I know I'm not the only one!): I would get an injury, proceed to complain about how awful it was, yearn to get back to my sport, and even though it was not even close to 100%, I would find myself going on multi-mile runs and signing up for races. And within a few months, longer if I was lucky, I was usually flat on my face with another sprain. And now I suffer the consequences. I have chronically weak ankles. Xrays have showed bone spur growth, I find it difficult to sit "Japanese style", I am forever resigned to wearing ankle support when I run, and worst of all they have started to ache deep inside. This aching really started up over a year ago and it was bearable but really uncomfortable. "Setting" the ankle by a practitioner didn't seem to help too much. And I have to admit, I was a bit lazy with the acupuncture needles. So, what happened? Well, I'm a big fan of socks. They're just cozy ya know? And this past winter, I was holed up a lot studying in cold libraries and sitting around in my cold house. I got into the habit of bundling myself up very well. When I started to pick up the running come February and April of this year, I noticed that my ankles didn't ache anymore. Nothing. At first I thought,"Great! I'm like superwoman or something". Either my body is in complete denial or I healed myself by doing nothing at all! Perfect. Then the summer weather finally came through. It came a little late this year if you noticed. I started using my AC all the time. Well, guess what, my ankle started aching again. And I didn't put 2 & 2 together right away. It wasn't that simple. I started to apply a warming liniment on my ankle several times a day. (As my injury is very old, very chronic, and very stiff, I knew it needed a warming treatment to get it to loosen up.) Well, on one of those mornings after I applied it to my ankle, and wearing flats with no socks, I hopped into my car to head to work. It was then that I noticed that the AC was blasting right on my ankle. It was more noticeable because of the minty liniment I had just applied. I was stunned that the air was focused so directly on my gas pedal foot. I immediately re-directed the air, even going so far as to wrap that ankle when I drove, continued with the liniments, and took a wait and see attitude. Well, 3 weeks later, after logging a fair amount of running mileage each week, the aching is gone. I didn't do anything else to treat it. In fact, in the last week or so I have even forgotten to apply the liniment. It totally makes sense, but I can't help but be pretty pleased at the change. I mean, come on, how easy! So, that's my personal story. I know it's anecdotal, so you can take it or leave it. But it's not only me. I have treated hundreds of patients, and many have said that their recovery took a turn for the better when I told them "No ice!". It's simple. Give it a try.
Start blogging by creating a new post. You can edit or delete me by clicking under the comments. You can also customize your sidebar by dragging in elements from the top bar.
|
Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
|