3 Essential Back Stretches
Sep 1, 2010
This is the third post about how to treat back pain with acupuncture.
Back stretches and exercises are helpful to loosen your back and keep it pain free. I use them in conjunction with acupuncture.
Here are three stretches to loosen your back, relieve tightness, and prevent pain. Go slowly and don’t overdo it in order to avoid injury.
Bouncing
Bouncing is a great way to loosen up the back. Place your hands on your lower back and gently bounce at the knees. If you have tight spots, make your hand into a fist and massage them out.
Rotate the Waist
Put your hands on your back and rotate at the waist. The goal is to keep your shoulders and ankles steady, and move the waist in a circle. This will loosen the muscles of the lumbar, hips, and pelvis.
Rotate the Waist
Rotating the Waist
Tilting the Pelvis (This is going to look a little like Dirty Dancing)
Tilting the Hips Back
Tilt the hips forward
Put your hands on your hips. Tip your butt backwards to tilt the pelvis. Now, tilt the pelvis up int the front, and repeat 9 times.
The combination of these exercises will help you loosen and, over time, strengthen your lower back.
Call 917-887-4946 to find out more about acupuncture for chronic back pain.
Relieve Back Pain with Acupuncture
Aug 30, 2010
This is the second post focusing on acupuncture for back pain relief. In my last post, I wrote about an article in the New England Journal of Medicine in support of acupuncture for back pain. Today I will explain how acupuncture works for chronic back pain.
Acupuncture for Back Pain
Acupuncture is a Natural Choice for back pain treatment
Back pain is one of the most common reasons to go to the doctor as well as miss work. It decreases quality of life and causes people to avoid activities they would normally enjoy. Acupuncture is one of the best ways to treat back pain.
Acupuncture is over 2000 years old, and has a long track record of treating back pain. Acupuncture needles are solid, there is no medication in or on the needle. It is not anesthesia that helps to reduce the pain. Acupuncture works by stimulating the body to heal itself. It does this through relaxing the back muscles, stimulating the release of anti-inflammatory chemicals, and regulating how the brain feels pain.
Acupuncture needles, placed in specific points correct imbalances that can cause back pain. The two major imbalances that cause chronic back pain are inhibition of qi (energy) circulation and too little qi.
Kidney 3
Back pain treatment will most often be focused on the back. Needles will also be placed in other areas to stimulate movement of the energy and increase production of the energy. Two effective points for this could be inside the ankle on Kidney 3, or on the calf at UB 57.
In my next post, I will write about a few stretches that work with the acupuncture to relieve back muscles pain.
Please call us at 917-887-4946 to schedule an acupuncture appointment.
Recommending Acupuncture for Back Pain
Aug 25, 2010
The New England Journal of Medicine recently published an article on their blog in support of acupuncture for back pain. The authors, all respected and established researchers, carefully analyze the current situation with regards to back pain, and even though there is controversy in the research, recommend treatment.
Acupuncture and Moxa for Back Pain
Some skeptics are asking why would these scientists make a recommendation even though the research is unclear? The answer is easy, because it works and it is very safe.
The issue with the research was that the acupuncture group was not different from the placebo acupuncture group. But both the acupuncture and the acupuncture placebo groups were better than standard treatment. Yes, you read that correctly, the placebo acupuncture was better than conventional treatment.
The Ouch Point Dilemma
The placebo acupuncture treatment has been a pain for years. Study after study shows that acupuncture does not work better than the placebo. Yet, at the same time, both the acupuncture and the placebo have a clinical effect which is better than conventional treatment. Why?
First, there is the ouch point dilemma. Ouch points are points which are sensitive and tender when you press them. Often they are not classical acupuncture points, rather they are simply on the muscle in the area of the pain. When an acupuncture investigator selects points for the placebo treatment, they use points off of the standard acupuncture channels. Many of the non-channel point may be ouch points and may aid in the pain reduction.
Second, designing a placebo needle that does not have a physiological effect is very difficult. Often they use a needle with a retractable tip that does not puncture the skin. This is much like a magicians sword which retracts the blade as he stabs his assistant. Other needles may be light touch needle, or even toothpicks, that gently prick the skin. But this too may have a physiological effect. Some styles of acupuncture use this light tapping as a way to relieve pain.
In the end, acupuncture is a physical medicine. It is difficult to create a placebo intervention that does not have a physiological reaction with the body.
Because it is Safe
The researchers recommend acupuncture for back pain because it is safe and it works better than conventional treatment. Studies after studies show there is minimal risk of severe side effects. To those with back pain it does not matter if it works better than a placebo. They just need to feel better.
In my next articles, I will explain how acupuncture works to treat back pain.
Exercises for Opening the Shoulder, Neck, and Rotator Cuff
Aug 16, 2010
Acupuncture is remarkably effective at treating shoulder pain, neck pain, and rotator cuff injuries. I treat these issues with great success.
I recommend these simple stretches as part of my approach to treatment and post therapy maintenance.
A Wooden Hinge Gets No Worms
There is a saying in Chinese medicine, “A wooden hinge gets no worms.” The idea is that a wooden door, cabinet, bench, or stump will get worms because it does not move. It just sits there. But a hinge moves all the time and prevents decay. In other words, move it or loose it.
These are exercises which I have collected from many excellent teachers. They should be performed slowly with smooth movements. You can read more about them in two excellent books: Xing Yi Nei Gong
Rotate your head
The head, neck, and shoulders are connected, pretty obvious. The muscles of the shoulder are interconnected to these areas, and tightness in the neck will cause tightness in the shoulders, and vice versa.
Neck Stretch
Neck Stretch Right
Standing straight, feet shoulder width apart. Slowly look to your right, and now slowly look to your left. Don’t push it. Don’t go farther than you naturally can turn your head. Repeat 10 times.
Look Up and Down
Looking Up
Looking Down
Standing with relaxed shoulders, gentle look up. Do not push beyond your natural limit. Now, gently look down. Repeat 9 times.
Open the shoulder
Stand straight. With your right arm, grab under your left shoulder. Rotate your arm, at the shoulder in a big circle. First going forward 9 times, and then doing it in reverse, backwards ten times. Switch arms.
Opening the Shoulder
Opening the Shoulder
It is very simple. Open the joints, keep them moving, and you will feel better. Do these exercises a few times per week. If you are very stiff, you can perform them slowly steadily, but do not push beyond your limits. Gradually your body will loosen up.
Read More:
Acupuncture for Interstitial Cystitis
Aug 4, 2010
I often treat women and men for the symptoms from interstitial cystitis (IC) or painful bladder syndrome (PBS) with very good results. I think this is because TCM has been treating syndromes with painful and frequent urination for thousands of years. So there has been significant amount clinical experience and scholarship about these conditions.
What is Interstitial Cystitis or Painful Bladder Syndrome in Chinese medicine?
Over two thousand years ago, Chinese medicine scholars described a condition which they called Lin syndrome. Lin syndrome is characterized by painful and frequent urination. Other symptoms can be tenderness in the lower abdomen, a feeling of incomplete urination, sexual dysfunction, changes in the color of urination, urinating at night, and also mental health issues such as depression and anxiety.
How does Acupuncture and Chinese medicine treat Interstitial Cystitis or Painful Bladder Syndrome?
Most conditions are caused by imbalances. Chinese medicine works by correcting imbalances in the body. Once the imbalance is removed, the body can heal itself.
Diagnosis and treatment are tailored specifically to the symptoms of the patient. The most common imbalances are a lack of energy in the body as well as lack of circulation of energy in the body that can lead to the development of heat.
For example, if there is painful urination mostly when the patient wakes up or after sitting all day at work, and it gets worse with stress, then it is probably qi stagnation. These are times when there is less circulation that can lead to a build up of qi. Another patient may experience frequent urination, fatigue, poor digestion, and a feeling of fullness in the lower abdomen. This is probably a lack of qi.
What is treatment like?
Acupuncture uses thin needles that are placed in points selected for the specific imbalance you are experiencing. The needles stay in the points for about twenty minutes to a half hour. Usually, people feel very relaxed during the acupuncture treatment. This is probably from the release of pain relieving chemicals in the brain.
Just like other therapies, acupuncture’s effects are most powerful from a series of treatments. It has a cumulative healing effect and long lasting results. A full treatment course is usually 12-15 visits, once or twice a week. Generally, people will start to feel some relief after 3 or 4 sessions.
Please visit the Interstitial Cystitis Network to learn more about Interstitial Cystitis and Painful Bladder Syndrome.
Learn more about how acupuncture works:
Acupuncture Meridians that Treat Headaches
Aug 2, 2010
One way that acupuncture and acupressure work for reducing migraines and headaches is by treating pain along specific acupuncture channels (also called meridians). Different meridians go to different parts of the head, and you have to choose the correct one to be effective. Click here to read some background on acupuncture channels and points.
Headache locations and channels
The choosing the correct channel depends upon choosing the proper channel.
Frontal Headaches- Stomach and Large Intestine Channel points are the most effective. This is because the stomach and large intestine channel covers the forehead and sinuses. LI 4 and ST 36 are both good points for this area.
One sided or Temple Headaches- choose the Gall Bladder and San Jiao channel. This area is covered by these channels. GB 34 and GB 31 are discussed in my previous post, Acupressure for a Kid with a Headache.
Back of the head or occipital headaches are treated best by Urinary Bladder channel. Points at the end of the channel, such as UB 60, UB 65, or UB 67 are all effective. These points can be found at Acupuncture.com.
Headaches that are located behind the eyes are generally from Kidney channel imbalances. These headaches are often difficult to treat with acupressure. Acupuncture therapy can help to boost the kidney qi to stop the chronic headaches. One of the points that is often effective is Kidney 3.
Acupressure for a Kid with a Headache
Jul 28, 2010
Last week I was over the in laws’ place in Queens for dinner. It was hot and humid. After we cleared the plates, when the thunder and lighting started booming, my nephew, Jacob, suddenly got a headache.
The pain was dull throughout the right side of his head, with an intense pain in the middle of his right forehead. He had nausea, and sensitivity to light and sound. Jacob is nine, and generally a healthy kid. He has never had a headache like this before. Judging from the weather that day, it was most likely heat related. But it was stubborn and not going away by just drinking water.
I thought acupressure would help.
Acupressure for a Kid with a Headache
Gallbladder (GB) 34
Because the headaches was only on one side, the right side, I chose to start with the gallbladder channel. This channel is very effective for one sided headaches. I rubbed GB 34 and GB 31, both on the left side, in a circle. GB 34 is just below and inside the head of the fibula. GB 31 is located on the outside of the thigh, half way in between the hip and the knee on the Iliotibial band.
Large Intesting 4
His entire GB channel below GB 34 was very tight. He was sensitive when I rubbed it, so I began very softly. Soon, it relaxed a little and he started to feel a little better. I continued down the GB channel to relax the muscles on the lower leg. I massaged this area for about 5 minutes until it relaxed.
I then gently rubbed Heart 7 and LI 4 on the left hand. His nausea started to go away. I rubbed these points for about 2 minutes until his nausea stopped.
Now, Jacob was feeling less of the general pain. But the sharp pain on the right side remained.
Heart 8
I rubbed Spleen 10 on the right side, which is just above the knee. This point is great for relieving sharp pain because it moves blood stagnation. The point was very sensitive so I started very gently. Gradually, as the point relaxed I pressed with more force. I rubbed this point for about 2 minutes. The intense pressure in his head began to relax.
Spleen 10
The last thing I did was gently rub his neck. I used a pinching technique on the base of his neck. Don’t pinch so that is causes pain, simply to relax the muscles and reduce some of the heat. This relieved the last of the headache. Jacob was back to his old self again, just a little tired. He went to bed and woke up feeling fine. In the end, the headache was from the heat, and it did not come back again. If you have recurring headaches, then you should see a physician.
Gentle Pinching Technique
Listen to the body
These points can help anyone with a headache, from children to adults. The key is to be gentle and listen to the body during the acupressure. You have to gently relieve the stagnation in order to provide relief for the headache.
In my next post, I will discuss the areas on the head which are effected by different channels.
Heat Illness: A Balance of Yin and Yang
Jul 26, 2010
In New York City we have already had a number of heat advisories this July. It is important to stay cool and hydrated to avoid getting heat stroke or exhaustion.
Symptoms of chronic illness often flare up during heat waves. This can occur due to the extra stress on the body from the weather, but also because the heat itself can lead to many illnesses.
Chinese medicine see illnesses developing from imbalances in the body as well as imbalances between the body and the environment. Heat imbalances are very common
A Balance of Heat and Cool
tai ji symbol
Heat and coolness are balanced and balance each other in the body. Chinese scholars have described this terms of yin and yang: yin is the cooling properties while yang is the warming properties.
This symbol, the Tai Ji, represents the concept of yin (black) and yang (white). The yang comes to an end and the yin begins. The yin gets large, and yang recedes. And vice versa. In the center of the yin, we see yang, and in the center of the yang, there is yin.
Types of Heat
There are two major types of heat, when there is excess heat itself, and when there is a lack of cooling in the body. Either of these imbalances make the body susceptible to the an exacerbation during the hot weather. Chinese medicine and acupuncture work by restoring the balance of heating and cooling, or the balance of Yin and Yang.
yin and yang are balanced
I am going to use images of water glasses to explain the types of heat. In this image, you can see that yin and yang are at equal levels in the body.
They are balanced which is normal and healthy. In the image below, Yin gets too low. You can see there is relatively more yang.
yin level is too low
This results in too much heat in the body because there is not enough cooling properties of yin. This is the most common cause of hot flashes. In order to treat yin deficient heat, I use acupuncture and Chinese medicine to increase the yin in the body and restore balance.
yang level is too high
There can also be too much yang. In the image on the lower left, you can see the levels of yang are too high, leading to too much heat which overpowers the cooling of the yin. This is a common cause of headaches and digestive illnesses. I treat this by using acupuncture and herbs to reduce the amount of excess yang.
Illnesses Caused by Heat
There are too many illnesses that come from heat to list. Here are some of the most common. It is common for the hot weather to exacerbate your symptoms because they are caused by heat imbalances.
- Headaches
- Hot Flashes
- Hyperhydrosis
- Acne
- Eczema
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- Parkinson’s Disease
- Burning and painful urination
- Joint pain
The Treatment of Heat
Chinese medicine and acupuncture work by restoring the balance of yin and yang. The treatment focuses on the specific type of heat. For yin deficient heat, the yin properties of the body are increased. For yang excess heat, the heat is drained from the body.
Read more:
images: Wikipedia
We’re Having a Heat Wave
Jul 26, 2010
Here in NYC, we’re having a heat wave. It is important to stay cool and hydrated.
Here are a few of my favorite posts with tips from the Chinese Medicine cabinet to stay healthy in the summer.
This weather can also exacerbate chronic illness, which is the subject of my next post.
How Acupuncture Works to Relieve Pain
Jul 21, 2010
For years, much of acupuncture research has focused on the release of opiates and other pain relieving chemicals in the brain. In practice, acupuncturists often choose points that are close to the painful area. However, the research on the brain does not answer how this technique, needling close to the area of pain, works to relieve pain.
A recent study in the journal Nature Neuroscience looked at what happens locally near the needle insertion to relieve pain.
After an acupuncture needle was inserted at the acupuncture point Zu San Li (St 36) and stimulated by twirling every five minutes for a half hour, the cells around the acupuncture needle released the anti-inflammatory and pain relieving chemical called adenosine. The concentration of adenosine remained high for at least 60 minutes after the treatment. Also, they found that acupuncture stimulates a specific pain relieving receptor on the neurons, which is called A1. This receptor is stimulated by many pain medications as well. What is remarkable is that acupuncture targets the receptors in areas close to the pain.
Interestingly, this effect does not occur when the researchers do not twirl the needle.
Why do they twirl the needle?
Twirling the acupuncture needle
The art of acupuncture is not only inserting the needle but also manipulating it after the insertion. Often the needle is rapidly twirled in a small circle. Depending on the type of manipulation, one can stimulate the circulation of qi or boost the production of qi. By adding the twirled acupuncture, these researchers were replicating what happens in a real treatment, a very important aspect to high quality research.
It is exciting that researchers are piecing together how acupuncture works to relieve pain, both at the needle site as well as in the central nervous system.
Read more about how acupuncture relieves pain:
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