Acupuncture Secrets For Pain
For thousands upon thousands of years, the therapy of Acupuncture has gone above and beyond to successfully treat pain related conditions. More often than not, many attribute the success to magic or as a placebo effect.
However, only few know the true secrets that make Acupuncture a leading contender in managing pain. In short, Acupuncture is not magic but rather backed by substantial scientific evidence and rich impeccable philosophy.
Without further ado, I will now discuss 3 unexpected Acupuncture Secrets for pain…
1. Stagnation Secret
In Chinese Medicine, stagnation is one of the main patterns we use to understand, diagnose and treat specific conditions. In the body, stagnation can affect any tissue or organ structure which may cause a myriad of symptoms.
For instance, when there is a sharp pain, we may elicit that to a possible local blood stagnation. By promoting the movement of blood with Acupuncture, we can diminish pain and improve the rate of recovery.
On the other hand, when there is stagnation in the liver, there may be a feeling of irritability, anger, stuffiness, heat sensations, bitter taste in the mouth, loose stools, and rib-side pain. By releasing stagnation of the liver, the symptoms may subside.
Lastly, if there is stagnation of Qi in the neck, you may have a general tightness and achiness. The treatment we use is to relax the muscles and get the Qi and blood to flow around the neck areas.
2. Healing Broken Bones
Acupuncture is a great way to employ during the healing phase for a broken bone(s). What Acupuncture does is to promote blood circulation to the local area to heal quicker, and help aid in relieving pain.
Even if one has a cast on, Acupuncture can be used around the injured site. It’s common to get muscle weakness on and around the injured area. That is exactly why it is crucial to always maintain blood flow to the region, as well as, incorporate some sort of mild strength training after the bone has healed properly.
Further, in Chinese Medicine, the bones are related to the Kidneys. When a patient comes in for recurrent broken bones, we can treat the Kidneys directly to help strengthen and prevent the issue from occurring again.
3. Scapula Secret
In the Acupuncture world, there is a famous region between the spine and scapula that elicits lots of tenderness upon palpation (pressing). Feel around the inner and upper edge of your scapula.
You should feel a hook. Gently, press into the area until you elicit an area of tenderness. This specific location is considered to cross your Small Intestine channel (SI13) and is a very famous point.
Often, pain and tightness may occur along the medial (inner) edge of the scapula. The scapula uses a gliding motion as the rotator cuff muscles move. By gently placing the hand down and behind along the lumbar spine, the Scapula opens up which allows us to conveniently focus on the area.
There is a deep tissue Tui Na technique that employs using the forearm and elbow to release the stagnation that is accumulated under the under edge of the Scapula.
-Christopher Maslowski, L.Ac.