The American College of Physicians has just recently issued new guidelines regarding the treatment of low back pain – specifically advocating that patients first choose natural and alternative therapies, such as acupuncture and massage, over pain medications.
Acupuncture is the one modality recommended for both chronic and acute back pain.
Pain in the lower back is one of the most common complaints heard by doctors. The vast majority (80%) of adults experience this pain at some point. Low back pain is the 2nd most common cause of disability among adults in the U.S.
Back pain presents a challenge for physicians, because in many cases, there is no clearly discernible “cause.” Imaging scans may help us get a picture of structural damage to the spine, but they do not tell us the whole story. Pain is not just about structural or mechanical problems in the body. The problem may be mechanical, but it may also be chemical, emotional, behavioral, sociological, or a combination of any of these.
In my 30 years of practice in treating all different types of lower back pain, I have often seen patients who had only minor structural problems but were experiencing severe pain. I have also seen many patients who have had surgery to correct a problem; their scans may show that the problem has been “fixed”–but they are still in a lot of pain. In other words, a person’s experience of pain or loss of mobility may not correspond to what we see in an image.
Common conditions leading to back pain include (but are not limited to):
Acupuncture has traditionally been the primary treatment for back pain in China, and still is today. It is an excellent modality for treating back pain, because the TCM approach to diagnosis and treatment is to address the underlying cause of the pain. It not only reduces symptoms, but works to correct and rebalance the body’s function, promote and rebuild the body’s healing process and therefore, not only eliminate pain, but boost your ability to avoid lower back pain in the first place.
The most common TCM differentiations of back pain include deficiency type pain – which is chronic, dull pain that feels better when you rest, Qi and Blood stagnation – a sharp, stabbing pain that is often reduced when exercising but feels worse once you slow down, and Cold/Damp – which feels stiff, sore, or tight, feels better with warmth and is worse in the morning and when the weather is cold and damp.
With TCM, we aim for long-term, lasting results. At the same time, we guide the patient in vital lifestyle improvements, such as regular de-stress meditation, gentle exercise such as Tai Chi or yoga, and an anti-inflammatory diet.
Here are some specific things you can do at home to help enhance the effects of acupuncture treatment:
Acupressure for Low Back Pain
Using your opposite thumb or forefinger, locate the crevice between the bones of your 4th and 5th finger, just beneath the knuckles. Press deeply until you feel tenderness there. Hold the pressure while you gently but vigorously move and stretch your lower spine and hips. Then, drag your thumb or finger down, finding another crevice just above the base where the 4th and 5th metacarpal bones meet. Apply pressure, again, while wiggling and turning from the lower back. This will help release tension and tightness and relieve pain.
Traditional Chinese Medicine is a medical system that incorporates numerous methods for treating disease and illness. One of the tools found in the toolbox of the TCM practitioner is known as moxibustion.
Moxibustion is a technique that involves the burning of mugwort, known as moxa, which is an herb that facilitates healing. The purpose of moxibustion is to stimulate the flow of Qi (pronounced “chee”), strengthen the blood and maintain general health. Qi is translated as life energy. There are two types of moxibustion, direct and indirect. Direct moxibustion uses moxa shaped into a small cone and is placed on top of an acupuncture point and burned. This type of moxibustion has two subcategories, scarring and non-scarring. Scarring moxa burns until it distinguishes on its own. This may lead to localized scarring and blisters. Non-scarring moxa allows for the moxa to be placed on the acupuncture point, lit, extinguished and removed before it burns the skin. continue reading
Bian Que answered, “My oldest brother is the best. My second brother is better than me. Actually, I am just average.”
The King was surprised. “But you are the one who is famous throughout China! Why do you say they are better than you?”
Bian Que said, “My oldest brother believes in a lot of prevention. He looks for the source of illness and treats problems before people even feel anything. So, his patients don’t even realize how much he has done for them, and they don’t talk about him much.
“My second brother treats people at the first sign of a disease. They are having some symptoms, so he treats them before they get any worse. Because of this, people notice that he has helped them, and he has become fairly well-known in our home town.
“But me? People come to see me as a last resort, when they are already very sick. I use the strongest herbs, the most powerful acupuncture treatments. I even perform surgeries! In fact, a lot of the time, I can’t do anything to help them because they are already too ill. But sometimes I am able to save someone’s life. That is the kind of thing people like to talk about, so I am the one who has become famous.”
So, the King understood his meaning: the best physician is the one who prevents his patients from becoming sick, not the one who tries to save them when they are already near death.
The organs in Chinese medicine are more than just a physical representation. The organs include not only their physiological function, but also their mental, emotional, spiritual and elemental qualities that align with nature and the seasons. Let’s explore the heart.
The heart season is summer, and heart is considered the most yang: hot, bountiful and abundant. Yang is what is bright, moving, outward, hot and loud. Yin is what is more inward, still, dark and cooler. The color of the heart is associated with red, the climate is heat, the flavor is bitter and it’s paired organ is the small intestine (many urinary issues are due to “heart fire” heat descending). The sense aligned with heart is the tongue, and the vessels associated with heart are the tissues. The heart sound is laughing, and the emotion is joy. The heart houses what is known as the shen, which is the mind and spirit. continue reading
