East Meets West

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used for thousands of years to treat pain and injuries. More and more people are discovering what has been passed down from generation to generation in Chinese culture. Whether you are a professional athlete, a weekend warrior, or a newly motivated couch potato, injuries can slow you down. TCM can get you moving again. Here is an overview of TCM.

Acupuncture--For a minor scrape or a fracture!

How strange is it that sharp objects can actually help you heal! It's true!

Hollywood would have you believe every TCM doctor by day is a martial arts master and by night saves the world. While I don't work at my clinic late in the evening, I can assure you I'm not capturing bad guys! I never learned the "kiss of the dragon" in school; nor did I learn a special series of pressure points that could paralyze you. However, I do know that acupuncture on your hands and wrist can treat back pain while points on the legs can be used to treat a frozen shoulder!

How is this possible? Because everything inside us is connected. The same blood that supplies your big toe also travels to your eyes, your hips, your knuckles, and so on. Patients are often surprised when they come in with something like tennis elbow. If the problem is in the right elbow, I'll often treat the patient's left knee! This style of acupuncture is called balance acupuncture. Now this might conjure up thoughts of Chinese acrobats—like me standing upside-down on one hand while I acupuncture with my toes! Not the case! It’s simply a matter of choosing points along acupuncture channels that are opposite to the injured ones. This style of acupuncture is beneficial because I can test to see whether or not it is helping before the treatment is over. If someone has needles in a sore muscle or joint, he or she cannot move that body part when the needles are in. However, if another area is acupunctured, we can test the range of motion, the strength, and the level of pain or discomfort. Sometimes even I am astonished!

Herbs--Season your body, not just your foods!

With hundreds of Chinese herbs to choose from, the first step is to determine the proper TCM diagnosis. More than just the injury must be taken into account. It is really about the person who is injured. After all, there is so much more to a sprained ankle or chronic knee pain than just the muscles, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments. While I will most likely use herbs that promote blood circulation and reduce inflammation, I will also take into account the person's digestion, sleep issues, emotional state, medical history, and so on. For this reason, in TCM we rarely prescribe just one herb. We usually build a customized formula of several herbs specifically fitted to the individual we are treating. This means you can't share your TCM formula with another family member just because they get neck pain similar to what you experience.

Food Cures--If we are what we eat, I think I'll avoid the escargot!

Most people don't think about the food they eat, or don't eat when they injure themselves. Nevertheless, there are nutritional questions that should be addressed. Are there nutritional deficiencies that rendered the person more susceptible to injuries? Is the chronic pain that someone feels related in some way to a food issue or sensitivity? Why do some people thrive on one way of eating, while others wilt? Did you know that some foods have an anti-inflammatory action?

Other TCM treatments

Other forms of TCM treatment for pain and injuries include tui na Chinese massage, acupressure, electro-acupuncture, ear acupuncture, scalp acupuncture, cupping, Qi Gong and Tai Chi (exercises), and lifestyle changes. Hopefully you have found something in this orientation you would be comfortable trying to speed healing of your injury, relieve your pain, or ease your discomfort.