Tag Archives: Acupuncture

plantar fasciitis, self-care

Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis with Acupuncture

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Have you been living with sharp, stabbing pain in the sole of the foot or heel? Or pain when standing after a period of rest? You may have a case of plantar fasciitis.

Plantar fasciitis is an inflammatory condition affecting about 10% of the population at some point in their lives. Inflammatory conditions have up to four main components: heat, pain, swelling and /or redness.

The issue with plantar fasciitis is often tissue fatigue – the same movements repeated over and over irritating the fascia. The plantar fascia is also a shock absorbor for when the feet hit the ground. This condition typically appears in people after:

  • excessive standing, walking or running
  • a recent change in activities
  • people who carry an excess of weight
  • alignment issues in the foot or leg

What are the conventional treatments for plantar fasciitis?

Conventional treatments for plantar fasciitis include pain relievers, stretching, icing, rest and limiting aggravating activities. Steroid injections are a less conservative treatment that may bring some temporary relief. Steroid use does come with side effects such as weakened bone in the affected area after repeated use and systemic hormonal imbalance such as adrenal hormone excess or deficiency. As a last resort, surgery can be done but this is usually not necessary.

How does acupuncture treat plantar fasciitis?

The plantar fascia is a shock absorbor that runs along the Kidney channel of the foot. Typically, people with plantar fasciitis also have a Kidney channel deficiency which is the underlying root cause for this condition.

Using a system of mirroring, acupuncture can be done on the hand, and not the necessarily the affected foot. This is often a real bonus because it makes for a more comfortable treatment for the patient. The palm of the hand mirrors the sole of the foot. Using the Pericardium and/or Heart channel of the hand will relieve pain along the Kidney channel of the foot and support the Kidney system as well.

Acupuncture here will cause the nervous system to signal the brain to send more blood, energy and nutrients to the plantar fascia without needling the feet directly. The increase in blood and oxygen to the foot has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. The micro-tears and inflammation in the fascia that have developed from absorbing shock can now be repaired, allowing you to use your feet comfortably.

Other points may be used to promote circulation to the feet and to support the body`s endorphin production. Endorphins are feel-good hormones that provide an experience of well-being, and attach to the opioid receptors in the brain, making it easier for you to deal with pain without using prescription medications. 

Acupuncture shines as a treatment for many types of pain and especially plantar fasciitis. I have many cases of treating plantar fasciitis using this treatment and it has worked well every time. Most patients will start to feel some relief within the first 1-3 treatments and full resolution within a short course of regular treatments in simple cases.

What else can I do to heal my heel?

Since plantar fasciitis is largely an issue of wear and tear, the most important lifestyle changes are:

  • rest when and where you can
  • stretching the calves and plantar fascia
  • losing the weight

Acupuncture is used as a natural low-risk therapy that strengthens the fascia over time allowing you to be on your feet for longer. By improving blood flow to the area it will allow for greater flexibility to the band which allows for greater range of motion so that you can get back to doing the things you love.

self-care, Dupuytren's contracture

Healing Dupuytren’s contracture with Acupuncture

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If you are experiencing tightness, knotted tissue, poor mobility and pain in the palms of one or both hands, you may be suffering from a condition know as Dupuytren’s contracture.

Dupuytren’s contracture is a condition where the connective tissue under the skin of the palms becomes contracted, thickened and shortens over time.

This condition is inherited and tends to be more common in people of Scandinavian or Northern European descent, and more often in older people and in men . While there is no known cause, research has suggested correlations with other medical issues such as alcoholism, smoking, diabetes, seizure medications, and interestingly, hypothyroidism.

Symptoms of Dupuytren’s contracture include:

  • inability to extend the hand flat on a table
  • one or more small sore nodules on the skin of the palms
  • nodules of hardened tissue that is most often seen to connect with the ring finger or middle finger
  • the nodules tighten and thicken into bands and cause the fingers to fold forward
  • difficulty using the affected hand

What are conventional treatments for Dupuytren’s contracture?

Surgery or steroid injections are the main forms of conventional treatment. Surgery I feel should be used a last resort. More conservative treatments can be tried first. Surgery in this case involves opening up the skin over the cords and removing fibrous tissue. Surgery is not curative and the condition may return at a later time. Steroid injections come with side-effects. Steroids are hormones that alter the delicate overall hormonal balance of the body.

Left untreated, this condition can cause inability to use the hands for certain tasks. Gripping objects and straightening the fingers becomes harder.

Thankfully, there are alternative treatments.

How does acupuncture treat Dupuytren’s?

A newer conventional form of treatment is needling into the cords to break the cord that is contracting the finger. This form on treatment is described on the Mayo clinic website. The main advantage of this treatment is that there are no large incisions to heal as with surgical treatment. It can be performed in an office on an out-patient basis.

However, conventionally-used needles are still large enough to carry risk of tendon and nerve injury. The advantage of having this done by an acupuncturist is that an acupuncturist’s needles are much smaller so there is no risk of injuring tendons or nerves in the hands and there is no need for any recovery time.

Acupuncture is applied along the cords. Healthy terrain is restored using electrical stimulation whereby electrical stimulator wires are attached to the base of the acupuncture needle. You will feel either nothing at all, or a mild tapping or pulsing sensation. The amount of voltage is always carefully done to your comfort level. As healing electricity flows through the wires it moves into the tissues to support faster healing than simple acupuncture alone.

From an acupuncture point of view, Dupuytren’s contracture is a tendon issue. The tendons are governed by the liver system. This would also explain why Dupuytren’s is correlated with other conditions where the liver is compromised such as alcoholism, and seizure disorders.

Dupuytren’s is found mainly along the Pericardium and Heart channels

of the hand. Treating these unbalanced channels is essential to treatment. When disease forms along a channel it signifies that healthy terrain has been lost.

Will acupuncture reverse the contractures and nodules?

If treatment is started in its early stages complete resolution is possible and does happen in a shorter period of time than if treatment is delayed. If treatment is started in later stages, Dupuytren’s may be stabilized and more treatments will be required.

Is there anything else I can do to heal the hands?

A great self-care tool you can use is guasha on the palms, over the contractures and nodules. You will need a guasha tool and these can be found on Amazon and sometimes in your local Chinese herb shop.

  1. Apply a small amount of massage oil of any variety on to the palm .
  2. With the guasha tool, use forceful strokes over the nodules and contractures to loosen up the tissues.
  3. Stop when it becomes too uncomfortable.
  4. Repeat this process daily.

Other self-care advice:

Soak hands in hot water or apply hot compress for 15-20 minutes daily.

Massage and stretching of the hand and fingers will also help soften the tissues.

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

frequent urination

Acupressure Points for Frequent Urination

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Greetings Dear Readers,

Please enjoy this video I made explaining some good acupressure points for dealing with frequent urination.

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

 

asthma

5 Acupressure Points for Asthma

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Greetings Dear Readers,

Please enjoy this video I made explaining five acupressure points that can be used to treat asthma.

Yours in health,

Cynthia

insomnia

Acupressure for Insomnia

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Greetings Dear Readers,

Please enjoy this video I made on treating insomnia with acupressure.

Sleep well!

Yours in health,

Cynthia

heart conditions, tachycardia

3 Acupressure Points to Lower your Heart Rate

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Greetings Dear Readers,

Please enjoy this video where I show you how to lower your heart rate using acupressure.

Yours in health,

Cynthia

knee pain

Great Acupressure Points to Heal Knee Pain

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Greetings Dear Readers,

Here are some great points for treating your knee pain using acupressure according to pain location.  Enjoy!

Yours in health,

Cynthia

self-care

Meridian Stretches

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Greetings Dear Readers,

“Where there is Qi flow there is no pain”. – Chinese proverb

I thought I’d share some excellent exercises to balance the body by focusing on releasing the meridians one by one.

5eThese stretches come from the Shiatsu tradition which is based on the five element system of medicine.  If you already know which meridians (also known as channels) are out of balance you can focus more on those ones.  For a general tune-up you can work through the whole sequence.  For the entire sequence, the exercises are performed in the order on the flow of energy according to the Five Elements as they are linked below.  You can incorporate these stretches into your daily or weekly routine for best results.

Please remember that the effect of these stretches, like acupuncture, is cumulative, meaning that each session builds upon the next so that the energy is building up in each organ system over time. It takes persistence but often one can start to feel the boost in energy after the first session.  Intention is important.  You can set an intention to increase the flow of energy in the body, to relax the channels, to strengthen the energy of the channels and organs, and the corresponding muscles, tendons and ligaments so that your energy is directed to flow in a smooth and unobstructed way for the relief of pain, to improve mobility and for general health.

 

Enjoy!

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

self-care

Immune-Boosting Tips from Traditional Chinese Medicine

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Greetings Dear Readers,

Our immune system performs a complex range of tasks to overcome various types of foreign invaders and diseases.  Several organs and processes are involved such as bone lymph-systemmarrow, lymphocytes, the spleen, lymph nodes, and the thymus gland.  White blood cells such as neutrophils, macrophages and dendritic cells identify what is not our body and destroy those cells.  Eastern medicine focuses on building up the body’s internal defense system so that the microbe has no chance of getting a foothold.

Strengthening the immune response involves building the Defensive Qi, an energetic layer of Yang (warm, invigorating) energy that lives between the skin and the muscles.  Since Defensive energy depends on sufficient strength and warmth of the body, this explains why we need to keep our body warm in fall and winter and get enough rest to keep colds at bay.  When the Defensive energy is strong we either don’t catch the cold or flu going around, or if we do catch it, our body has the strength to fight it off quickly.  One recent study presented bysleep the Sleep Research Society concluded that those who sleep only 5-6 hours per night have a greater risk of catching a cold.

The lymph system acts as the body’s internal vacuum cleaner, cleaning up all the microbes and waste materials and flushing them out.  Since the lymph system does not have a pump, it requires exercise or therapy such as massage, cupping, or skin brushing to move the lymph to promote proper drainage.  For this reason, it is so important to get some type of regular exercise to avoid lymph stagnation which can weaken immunity.

Two Great Acupressure Points to Stimulate Your Immune System

Stomach 36 (Zu San Li). This is one of the most important points of the whole body because it strengthens the body in a multitude of ways, strengthening energy, blood, Yin and Yang.  You just can’t go wrong

st36
Here is ST 36

using this point:)  You can find it by placing your hand under your knee cap, then directly under your hand at about one thumb’s distance lateral to the tibia (that big bone at the front of your leg) you will find a depression, or little dip along the skin and this depressed area is ST 36.  Give this point some good pressure for several minutes, then do the other side.

Another great point is point is Large Intestine 11. You can find this point by bending your arm so that you see the elbow crease on the li11skin at the lateral side of the elbow joint.  The end of the elbow crease marks Large Intestine 11.  Pressing around this area may reveal some tenderness.  Give this area some good pressure regularly.  It is a homeostatic point that regulates both an under-active immune system (frequents colds, flus, cancer) as well as an overactive immune system (allergies, auto-immune disorders).

Regular acupuncture treatments can also build up immunity using point combinations to strengthen your Defensive energy, your warming invigorating Yang energy, as well improving circulation of blood and lymph depending on what each individual requires.  Each acupuncture treatment builds upon each other and for this reason I recommend a relaxing-acupunctureseries of 5 treatments for the fall and winter season, to encourage you to see for yourself the immune supporting benefits acupuncture can provide.

There are also foods and herbs that can support the strengthening of the Yang/Defensive energy as well as improve blood circulation to support lymph drainage.

Foods that Strengthen Immunity:

Green leafy vegetables (kale, spinach, collards, broccoli, cabbage, parsley), mushrooms (shitake, reishi, chaga, oyster, etc.), raw honey, goji berries, fermented foods (such as kombucha, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh, pickles, yogurt without sugar), coconuts and coconut oil, berries, chlorella, garlic, ginger, green tea.miso-soup

Herbs that Strengthen Immunity

Licorice (avoid if blood pressure is high), tusli,  honeysuckle, chrysanthemum, elderberry, black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, oregano, yarrow, tumeric, echinacea.

Wishing you health and happiness!

Cynthia

References:

  1. Aric A. Prather, PhD1; Denise Janicki-Deverts, PhD2; Martica H. Hall, PhD3; Sheldon Cohen, PhD2 Prather AA, Janicki-Deverts D, Hall MH, Cohen S. (November 2016).  Behaviorally assessed sleep and susceptibility to the common cold. VOLUME 38, ISSUE 09.SLEEP
diabetes

Treatment of Type II Diabetes with Acupuncture

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Greetings Dear Readers,

We all know people in our family or circle of friends who suffer from Type II diabetes.  It is one of the most common diseases of the modern world and yet in North America, few know about the healing benefits that acupuncture and Oriental medicine has been providing for sufferers in Asian countries for centuries.  Acupuncturists have identified roughly 20 acupuncture points on the body that appear to assist with lowering blood sugar, as well as protocols

images

for dealing with diabetic neuropathy.   One very commonly used point, ST 36 (find this point by finding a slight depression in the skin at 4 fingers below the knee can and one thumb lateral to the tibia bone).  Yes, try some acupressure here!.  It is considered to be the most important point on the body for its wide range of uses such as strengthening Yin which is considered the root of this disorder, as well as strengthening Qi (vital energy) and Yang, which assists with the complications of Type II diabetes.  It is also interesting that some of these points have shown to have the side-benefit of lowering blood cholesterol which is also a important for reducing neuropathies.

Type II Diabetes is a metabolic disorder involving resistance to insulin, lack of insulin and high blood sugar.  Left unchecked, Type II diabetes can lead to a number of secondary conditions such as degenerative eye disorderscirculation, cardiovascular disease, limb pain and numbness, skin ulceration and kidney failure.  Maintaining a healthy diet, exercise and medication or herbs to control blood sugar are very important and acupuncture is not a substitute for these.  Regular check-ups with your doctor are also important.

A number of studies on acupuncture treatment for Type II diabetes have shown significant benefit over the control group. Acupuncture can lower blood sugar during the treatment session, reduce stress (elevated stress is known to raise cortisol levels which leads to weight gain around the 3-jiaosabdomen).  When there is excess insulin in the blood, the insulin creates inflammation in the body, otherwise known as Heat in TCM, affecting either the Upper Burner (Jiao) causing excessive thirst (polydipsea), the Middle Burner causing the urge to eat too much (polyphagia) or the Lower Burner causing too much urination (polyuria). This Heat clearing ability of acupuncture has been demonstrated scientifically in the before and after

diabetic-before-acu
Infared before acupuncture

diabetic-after-acu
Infared after acupuncture

photos shown here.

Acupuncture has been recommended by the Mayo Clinic as a good alternative treatment for diabetic neuralgia (numbness, tingling and pain in limbs, poor balance, etc.).  Pain conditions are something I treat daily in my clinic and one of the main reasons why acupuncture works so well for pain is because it increases the flow of energy and blood in the body .  This relates to an ancient axiom in Chinese Medicine: “Where there is pain, there is blockage of Qi (energy); Where there is no pain, there is no Qi blockage”.

Although some doctors have advised diabetic patients to avoid acupuncture because of risk of infection, in fact the standards of acupuncture practice idownloadn North America are  very high and requires practitioners to only used pre-packaged, sterile, single-use disposable

needles.  The acupuncturist is required to follow Clean Needle Technique which, among many things, involves cleaning the area of skin to be needle with rubbing alcohol thus making the risk of infection very low.

There is an abundance of research studies showing many of the positive effects of acupuncture for Type II Diabetes, more than what I have room to talk about here so I believe it is well worth looking into as a natural way to support the body.

A few other helpful things to consider for Type II Diabetes self-care are:images-2

  1. Getting enough sleep.  A Japanese study showed sleep-deprivation was connected to high blood sugar.
  2. Bitter Melon tea.images-1

 

3. Cinnamon also regulates blood glucose.     Caution if you have night sweats or a feeling of heat at night, please don’t take cinnamon, it’s too heating in this case.

 

Yours in health,

Cynthia

References:

  1. Subhuti, Dharmananda, Ph.D. Treatment of Diabetes with Acupuncture and Chinese herbs (2003). Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon Retrieved from: http://www.itmonline.org/arts/diabacu.htm.
  2. Mayo Clinic Staff. Mayo Clinic – Diabetic Neuropathy. (February  2015).  Retrieved from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/diabetic-neuropathy/basics/alternative-medicine/con-20033336
  3. Lo, Yin. Ph.D.  Diabetes and acupuncture. (November 2003). Acupuncture Today. Retrieved from: http://www.acupuncturetoday.com/archives2003/nov/11lo.html
  4. Authors at Healthcare Medical Institute. Acupuncture Regulates Insulin and Blood Glucose in Diabetics. (June 2015). http://www.healthcmi.com/Acupuncture-Continuing-Education-News/1485-acupuncture-regulates-insulin-and-glucose-in-diabetics