Tag Archives: traditional-chinese-medicine

self-care

4 Key Signs of Inflammation

Leave a comment

You may be wondering, do I have inflammation? So I`m going to share with you all an easy way to know and remember the signs of inflammation and how you can check for them.

There are four cardinal signs of inflammation. These four signs are found in an easy mnemonic which are their Latin names because medicine was and still is often written in Latin. These four signs are:

Calor, Dolor, Rubor and Tumor.

Let`s go through them.

  1. Calor – this refers to a feeling of heat. Its also similar to the French word chaleur which also means heat. If you have a right wrist that isn`t healing well, feel the right wrist temperature, and then compare that with the left wrist temperature. Better yet, have someone else test both wrists for you. An elevated temperature of the area is a key sign of inflammation. Figure 1 - The pillars of inflammation.
  2. Dolor – this refers to pain. Its also similar to the French word douleur which also means pain. Pain is often the first signal that something is wrong and the signal we tend to act on quickly. Pain and inflammation are linked because inflammation creates pain. Pains` function is to put us into fast action to care for the injury. If pain has gone on longer than six weeks, youre now dealing with chronic pain. In a chronic pain case, acupuncture points that help the body turn off continuous pain signaling by the nervous system will also be used.
  3. Rubor – refers to colour, the reddish colour that happens during an inflammatory process when blood has rushed to an area to feed the injured tissues, providing key nutrients to the area as the building blocks of the repair process. Blood flow to the area is part of the acute healing process. However, acute inflammation should not become chronic, meaning more than six weeks. If you`re still having signs of inflammation past six weeks what you want to do is get in for acupuncture treatment to decrease inflammation in general as well as decrease inflammation to the injured area. The acupuncture treatment goal will be to increase micro-circulation to the injured areas, and the affected channels so that the repair work can complete and the inflammatory process can be put to rest.
  4. Tumor – is just like the English word we use with the same spelling. Tumor in Latin simply means swelling. You can check for swelling of an injured area by comparing the size of your right wrist for example, versus the size of your left wrist. The swelling happens because of the increased blood flow to the area that is there to complete the repair work of the injured tissues. Again, although swelling is a normal part of acute injury, this process should not be going on longer that six weeks. If your knee is so swollen to the point that you haven`t seen it in a year, it`s time to come in and get acupuncture and clear up the swelling by increasing circulation to the area.

Are you noticing any of these four signs? If you have even one or two of these signs, its very likely that inflammation is part of the picture. Give me a call at 647-378-3182 and let`s talk about getting you out of inflammation and allow your injury to complete the repair process.

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

vertigo/dizziness

Vertigo: Healing the Internal Wind Storm

Leave a comment

The word vertigo comes from the Latin word vertere which means to turn, whirl or spin. When the room spins or we have that light-headed feeling, it does feel like a wind blowing through our head – and we aren’t wrong.

young female patient suffering from dizziness

Eastern medicine has long understood the Wind element to be a pernicious influence. When the Wind element is in excess we can also experience things like tremors or twitches, rashes that migrate, headaches that also move around the head, joint pains that move around the body, and any symptoms that come on rapidly or move rapidly, or where there is an excess of movement are said to be caused by the Wind element. In the case of vertigo or dizziness, the excess Wind element is in the head.

Three main causes of vertigo which I will cover here are:

  1. Extreme Heat Generating Wind
  2. Liver Fire Generating Wind
  3. Deficiency of Liver Blood leading to Liver Wind

Extreme Heat Generating Wind

Symptoms that fit this pattern include elevated body temperature, stiff neck, spasms, tremors or convulsions, opisthotonus or extremely arched neck

and spinal column as seen with meningitis and tetanus, and there may be loss of consciousness, delirium.

Signs of Extreme Heat include: complaints of feeling hot, poor tolerance to hot weather, when I take the pulse I can feel their skin feels abnormally hot, the pulse will often be fast, which in Eastern medicine terms is anything over 80 beats per minute (bpm), but in this case 100 bpm would also be very common. and the tongue will often be bright red, and/or have a yellow coating.

If the heat is long-standing, there may be cracks on the tongue as well. Some people with a heat-related vertigo also have ringing in the ears that has a high-pitched tone.

The head is the area of most Yang (Heat) because it is the highest point on the body. In thermodynamics heat always rises to the uppermost point. When the head gets hot enough, then Wind is generated just like this wildfire storm. The main problem here is the Heat. The Wind issue (vertigo) is secondary (caused by) that Heat. So in terms of healing, the main priority is to clear the Heat (aka inflammation) and once the heat is cleared, the Wind and its’ manifestation, the vertigo, will abate naturally.

This scenario is similar to the way a windstorm is generated during a wildfire. Here you can see these palm trees getting fiercely blown during a wildfire. In fact, what also happens here is that wildfires draw in wind. In other words, the Yang of Fire generates more Yang in the form of Wind where they synergistically feed off each other to create more Fire and Wind.

For this type of vertigo, I have seen good results using Fire-clearing guas on the channels most indicated by the tongue and pulse. The Small Intestine channel carries the most heat in the body, and second to that is the Heart channel, and experience has shown me how clearing heat from these two channels is very effective in this instance. When the body starts to cool down, the vertigo tends to dissipate, and the person comes back into balance.

Liver Fire Generating Wind

Here the experience of dizziness will feel more like strong vertigo or the room spinning.

The pathology is in the Liver channel primarily, often with Liver Stagnation that lead to the development of Liver Heat. In this case the tongue is red or purplish-red colour or the sides of the tongue are curled. The pulse may be fast and/or showing fullness or wiry-ness on the Liver pulse position. Some may have headaches behind the eyes or ringing in their ears with a high-pitched sound indicating Liver Fire.

The Liver system has the most affinity with the Wind element. Poorly balanced Liver energy will create Internal Wind disturbances such as those listed above. In this case, regulating the Liver energy will cause the Wind element to dissipate. The acupuncture treatment here is a about descending Liver Heat from the head as well as balancing both the

Liver and its’ sister organ, the Gall Bladder system to dissipate the Wind. Using the Five Element system, the Liver and Gall Bladder channels are controlled by the Metal element (Metal Cuts Wood) so a Metal Gua is helpful in controlling the Excesses of the Liver. Points on the Governing Vessel channel are also effective in controlling the excess Yang (Wind and Fire) at the same time.

Deficiency of Liver Blood leading to Liver Wind

In this case the dizziness is felt more as a light-headedness. Often people with this pattern will feel better from lying down, because the dizziness is coming from a deficiency and a hallmark of deficiency patterns is improvement from rest. There can be weakness, fatigue or faintness with this picture. There can also be blood sugar issues, hypo-glycemia. The tongue will be pale, and can also have paler sides. In extreme cases the sides may be orange. The pulse will be weak overall and even weaker in the Liver and Spleen positions.

With Liver Blood deficiency, the healing is about nourishing the Liver both energetically and with the Liver Blood-building foods. Acupuncture is targeting the Liver and Stomach/Spleen to allow for the Earth element

to harmonize with the Wood element (Liver) according to the Five Element system. When the Spleen and Stomach energy are stronger there will be improved absorption of nutrients. We aren’t just what we eat, we are what we can digest. In this case, Earth guas on the Liver, Gall Bladder, Stomach and Spleen channels are used.

If you or someone you love is experiencing vertigo or light-headedness, Eastern medicine and acupuncture have much to offer in terms of diagnosis and effective treatment. Reach out to me at 647-378-3182 and let’s get you on a path to good health.

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

mental aspects of acupuncture, women's health

Healing the Mental Aspect of the Liver, the Hun (Part 1)

Leave a comment

The classic Eastern Medicine text, the Huang Di Nei Jing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon) explains that “ the liver opens to the eyes”.  The health of our physical eyes but also our ability to *see* on a more mental plane is related to our Liver, and the spirit of the Liver, the Hun.  Our vision has two parts. One is the physical ability to see objects outside ourselves, such as reading the words on this page.  The other is a little more subtle: the vision in our mind, the vision where we “see” the life we want, the dreams we weave as we stare out the window in our quiet moments and picture life in 1 year, 10 years from now.  Or it may happen when we see others living in ways that we long for; we light up when we “see” our future dream through theirs.  

From our inner visions, inner seeing, we use dreaming to craft a plan which we then use to bring these dreams into reality.  This planning

aspect is the subtle aspect of the Gall Bladder energy, the sister organ to the Liver.  This is affirmed by the expression “to have a lot of gall” in describing a courageous person.  To have gall, is to have the guts, the courage, the chutzpah to make our dreams real, to plan and act on those plans without fear, fear of what others will think, or what might happen next.  The vision comes first, then the gall, the courage to plan and act out that plan. 

In the same vein, the Chinese character for gall bladder contains the character, “dan”, which means courage, bravery. When someone’s gall bladder is weak, there is the opposite, timidity.  Timidity is a clear sign of gall bladder deficiency. Tonifying points are used on the Gall Bladder channel to bring back courage.  

Inability to plan also shows up when these channels are weak.  Problems with planning curiously can manifest as chronic habitual lateness.  Do you experience habitual lateness even when you conscientiously try to not be late,  or are you embarrassed by your chronic lateness?  It comes down to poor planning which falls under the jurisdiction of the Liver, the mental aspect which is the Hun. All the steps to get to where we need to go, the ability to nail down how much time it takes to do the various things that have to happen before we can get out the front door, and allocating the right amount of time for each part of the journey are the jobs of the Hun.  When our Liver system is working well this happens easily, perhaps without a lot of conscious thought. But when the Liver Hun is weak, well, not so much. So there you have it, a very esoteric (but valid) explanation for being late should you need one.  Your acupuncturist said its your liver/gall bladder (Hun) systems  that are too weak.  

The Liver/Gall Bladder is associated with the Wind element.  When the Wind blows, leaves scatter.  Apply this to your own life.  Are your plans often getting scattered?  Blown around and changed far too often creating little structure or consistency for your dreams to be realized?  What were your goals , hopes and dreams one year ago?  Have you been anchored enough to put those plans into action and see them through, or did things get blown by the wind and scatter, waiting another year?  If one is so often changing ones mind, flitting about from this to that, it actually works against the liver system and our ability to plan and see manifestation in our lives.

But it can get better with the right tools.  One tool I use to help people with this situation is to book their appointments at the same time every week.  So if Thursday works, then Thursday at 11AM, for every appointment, every week.  This  commitment helps patients healing the Hun to develop their planning muscles.  They start to get used to having a clear plan. They can “see” their week in advance because it stays the same, EVERY SINGLE WEEK. 

With this time commitment to work around, people with weak Liver/Gall Bladder systems also find that other parts of their lives start to become more structured and routine.  If you are feeling very scattered, take one small activity and try committing to a routine time to focus on it. See what happens.  This regular stable rhythm is a magic sauce that nurtures our plans so that they come to fruition; providing enough anchoring for goals to be completed, for dreams to come true.  

Women need special advice when it comes to their Liver and the spirit of the Liver, the Hun.  With the blood loss we go

through monthly for much of our lives, our Liver Blood runs low, especially during the menses.   If it’s not  replenished monthly by a diet rich in foods that build the liver blood (dark greens, red meats, beets, egg yolks, molasses), our Liver, and hence the Hun become weak and deficient.  This shows up in many ways in  our lives.  We can be inexplicably held back from moving forward, lacking plans and initiative to move towards our dreams, sometimes from not even having a vision for our life, or lacking actionable clarity in this regard.   This can also show up as depression, feeling stuck in a rut and feeling unable to plan a way out, or envision another kind of life, the one we actually want. This is where acupuncture and correct diet therapy for the Liver help create the physical and mental terrain to support us living out our true calling.

Some keys signs that the Liver Hun is healing:

  1. A steadiness in your chosen path, less shakiness or switching directions too often due to indecision
  2. A greater ability to *see* your life path, why you are here, and envision a healthy, happy future, resulting from a more lavish and vivid imagination
  3. Greater courage to be assertive about one`s beliefs
  4. More propensity to take action on making your dreams come true, with less stalling, delaying or feeling stuck in a rut.

If any of these themes are resonating for you, please reach out and let’s talk about how I can help you get your liver and gall bladder systems running at greater capacity so that you can move forward and make your dreams come true.  

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

References:

  1. Dechar, Lorie Eve, M.Ac. 2006. Five Spirits: alchemical acupuncture for psychological and spiritual healing. Lantern Books.

Understanding acupuncture

5 Signs that your Acupuncture Treatment is Working

Leave a comment

You may be getting acupuncture treatments and wondering, how do I know if it’s really working? You may have never had any explanation for what signs to look for and the healing process can be gradual. So here I will share with you five signs you can look for. It’s unlikely that you would have all five signs so please don’t be waiting for all of them to happen. Most often it would be one or two signs per issue being treated, depending on the nature of the complaint.

#1. The area of the complaint, or the area of pain starts shrinking. An example of this is someone coming for shoulder pain, initially the shoulder pain can be all over the shoulder, the front, side and back of the shoulder. After a few treatments the pain is only at the back of the shoulder. The size of the area is smaller.

#2. The pain or complaint is diffusing, spreading out across a larger area but becoming less intense as it spreads out. In this case the pain is

leaving by fading out. I’ve seen this with headache pain where the pain was once very localized and fixed and after a few minutes the feeling spreads out but becomes lighter and lighter as spreads and fades away. I’ve also seen this happen with skin rashes, say an angry red rash above the knee, with a few treatments it spreads across the thigh but as it spreads the colour changes becoming lighter and lighter from red to pink and then fading into skin colour as it disappears. This sign can be a little confusing at first because it may seem like it’s worse because the area is larger but since the intensity is less and less, this is a sign that it is fading out and leaving the body.

#3. A stubborn old symptom changes in a new way. An example of this would be a migraine that always happens over the right eye, for years the person has suffered migraines, and reliably always over the right eye. Then after a few treatments, the migraine shows up over the left eye instead! When there is a stubborn symptom that has gone on for years and nothing seems to fix it or change it in any way and then after acupuncture it changes, this is a great sign. Yes, the pain or complaint is still there, but it’s a positive development because if the pain or symptom that was unmoving starts to move then it’s a good sign that acupuncture can get it to move out of the body completely with more treatment. Healing often happens on stages so this may be the first sign that the treatment is working, and with more treatment it should clear further and further.

A common example I’ve seen repeatedly is where a person comes in with lateral hip pain and after some treatment, the pain is now on the lower back or around the SI joint. It’s not that the pain has actually moved. We have to think of healing as peeling layers of an onion. So the pain from the hip resolved, and that was an outer layer, and then once that layer got cleared, now the deeper layers of issues or pain such as the low back are felt. This is happening because pain signals are competitive. We can usually only feel the worst pain signals at any one time and older areas of pain or milder complaints fall into the background until the most pressing issue gets cleared. Often as the healing progresses the pain or complaints will happen in reverse order from how they occurred, so in this case the low back pain is usually the older symptom and will usually take more time to clear because of it’s longer history.

This symptom can also be harder to detect because the pain can sometimes move from one channel to another channel that is merely an inch or two away. It can seem that the pain is still at the elbow, and it is, but one channel has been cleared of pain and now another layer needs to be worked on for the full healing to be seen.

#4. Symptoms are moving from the top, downwards. This one can often

go unrecognized as a sign of healing but it is well understood from Herrings Law of Cure. If the symptom is moving is this direction, top to bottom, rather than the reverse, this is a good sign. This can be likened to leaving a building, it’s down the elevator and out the door. An example of this is with heat symptoms, a person comes in complaining of feeling waves of heat in their head. After a few treatments the heat feeling has moved to the chest, and after another treatment, the heat feeling is only in the thighs and then it’s gone.

#5. The pain or issue happens less often or for a shorter period of time. This one is pretty obvious but still worth mentioning because it’s helpful to have a baseline before treatment is started. It helps to know how often, for how long, and how severely a symptom is happening at the beginning of the treatment. This helps you to see what’s changing and also to share with your acupuncturist for them to understand your progress. For example, if you’re having sleeping problems, how often are you waking up at night, and how long before you fall back to sleep? With treatment there should be fewer wake-ups and falling back to sleep happens sooner, and the following morning you should feel less tired. Or in the case of afternoon fatigue, perhaps initially the fatigue would start at 2 pm and happen until 6 pm, but with treatments now the fatigue happens from 4-5 pm.

What you should have is at least some small shift within the first 1-3 treatments to know that your acupuncture protocol is working, then if this is the case, further treatments should clear up the issue completely. If there has been zero change after three treatments then what I will definitely do at this point, if not before, is to switch to another protocol to get the healing happening because the body wants to heal. The body has vital force and acupuncture stimulates that vital force. It’s the same thing if a patient hits a plateau, they were healing up nicely and then after a while they hit a plateau and now symptoms are stable but not progressing further. In this case, a different protocol would be used, for example, opening up all 12 main acupuncture channels is often enough to activate the healing response again.

So there you have five specific signs you can look for after you’ve had several treatments. For each acupuncture treatment, please give your body at least 24-48 hours to respond to the treatment. Acupuncture works in a series of treatments to achieve a result. If it’s an old issue that’s been there for years it will usually take a few months of regularly biweekly treatments. Sometimes there will be a healing crisis where symptoms can feel worse for a few hours or a day or two, after which the issue will feel better than before treatment.

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R. Ac.

headache, migraine, self-care, women's health

Headaches and Migraines – Diagnosis and Treatment

1 Comment

Is acupuncture effective at treating headaches and migraines?
When it comes to treating headaches and migraines, large studies show that acupuncture is as effective at treating the pain as pharmaceutical drugs, and without the side effects. Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Migraine: An Overview of Systematic Reviews – PMC (nih.gov)

Effectiveness and Safety of Acupuncture for Migraine: An Overview of Sys…Migraine is a common neurological disease, which burdens individuals and society all over the world. Acupuncture…

How does acupuncture help headaches and migraines?

Acupuncture can relieve headaches and migraines in five main ways:

  1. Reduces inflammation . Inflammation leads to pain, when inflammation is treated, pain is reduced or cleared altogether.
  2. Mitigates pain. Beta-endorphins (natural pain-relievers made by the body in response to electrical acupuncture) are produced in response to a low hertz frequency.
  3. Relieves muscle tension in head, neck and shoulders. Muscle tension is often related to stress-headaches. By relaxing muscle groups in these areas, headache pain can start to disappear.
  4. Increases micro-circulation to the head, neck and shoulders. When the muscles in the head, neck and shoulders are relieved of tension through regulated blood flow, the outcome is pain relief.
  5. Improves physical health and well-being. When stress modulated hormones (cortisol, dopamine, adrenaline, serotonin) are balanced, it is much easier to manage stress and less likely for stress to trigger a headache.

How are headaches and migraines diagnosed in acupuncture medicine?

At the beginning of the session you will be asked where your headache pain is felt. The areas of pain are a key aspect of treatment as they relate to excesses and deficiencies of the main channels covering the head.  These issues involve the:

1) The Stomach channel (yellow line)  – relates to frontal headaches, cheek and jaw pain

2) The Bladder channel (blue line) – relates to inner eyebrow pain and occipital headache

3) The Triple Warmer channel (purple line)- relates to temporal headache that may also involve neck, ear and shoulder tension

4) The Gall Bladder channel (green line) – covers a large portion of the sides of the head and forehead and is the most common issue with headaches

5) Liver system – relates to pain behind the eyes and/or crown of the head

What about women with migraines? 

Women may experience a pattern of migraines or headaches around or just before their menstrual cycle.  If you are a cycling woman and you don’t know your headache triggers you may want to track the timing to see if it lines up with your cycle.  If hormone shifts are part of your headache picture, your acupuncture treatment can address your hormones so that you can achieve hormone balance as well as headache relief.

Migraines in particular tend to follow a pattern of Liver / Gall Bladder Stagnation with Stomach/Spleen Qi Deficiency. The Liver and Gall Bladder system becomes “Excess” which is why there may be a visual aura (the Liver channel “opens to the eyes” and is responsible for healthy vision). The Excess of the Liver and Gall Bladder systems then overpowers (weakens) the Stomach and Spleen systems creating the common experience of nausea and in severe cases vomiting. All the endocrine glands fall directly within the Stomach and Spleen channels so this explains one way the hormones go out of balance when these channels become depleted.

How are headaches and migraines treated with acupuncture?

The strategy for treating headaches and migraines is to first assess which channel(s) are affected and treat those. The second is to use pain relieving points that cause your body to make the feel-good chemicals, the endorphins. Stimulation of endorphin-producing points will take about 24 hours to achieve their full effect as it takes this long for the body to make endorphins in response to acupuncture. The third aspect of treatment is to address nutritional deficiencies or toxins that may be causing the headaches/migraines or interfering with their healing.


What about head trauma? 

For head pain that results from physical trauma to the head after an injury, the Pointoselect tool is used to measure low electrical resistance on the skin on points related to areas of the brain (i.e. frontal lobe, occipital lobe, parietal lobe, etc.) that may have been injured.  Electrical acupuncture is then applied to those areas indicating low electrical resistance (low energy) to provide healing energy to the areas that need it the most as identified by the Pointoselect.

How will I know if the acupuncture is working?

Typically, in the case of headaches and migraines, and depending on your pattern of occurrence, you will begin to notice at first either a reduction in intensity of pain, shrinkage of areas of pain and/or reduced frequency of headaches. Usually there is some change within the first three treatments.

If you’ve had headaches or migraines for 20 years, your first change may be that left side headache pattern shifts to right side or some other change in location. This is considered a very good sign because pain that starts to move means your headache pattern is breaking up. If I can get the pain to move then it’s the beginning of getting the pain to move out of your body completely. A change in pain location is much better than pain that remains fixed in the same location all the time.

It’s also important to understand that pain is by nature competitive. This means that the nervous system which modulates pain can only signal a few areas of strong pain at any one time. So you will usually only feel one or two main areas of pain at once. Then when the initial pain area starts to heal, other areas may start to feel painful, that previously were not painful. It’s not that you suddenly have new pain but more that since other areas have resolved, you can now receive the pain signals from these other layers that are being uncovered, similar to peeling an onion.

You may notice that these other areas of pain have had issues in the past that didn’t get resolved. For example, before your headaches started, you were having hip pain. The headache pain got worse and you stopped noticing the hip pain and forgot about it. Now that the headaches are resolving, you feel your hip pain again. These older layers that got put on the back burner can now get fully resolved.

What else can I do to relieve or prevent headache or migraine pain?

  1. The first step is to rule out dehydration since lack of water or fluids is an easy fix and a common cause of irregular headaches. Sometimes dehydration is not easily fixed by simply drinking more water. If you find that you are still thirsty after drinking more water and are peeing out the water more than usual, the solution may be that you need electrolytes. A simple way to add electrolytes is to use Celtic or Himalayan sea salt (try one 1/4 teaspoon added to your water) or drink coconut water. If that doesn`t solve it, you may need a more comprehensive electrolyte blend such as Re-Lyte or similar that is a mix of sodium bicarbonate, magnesium, calcium and potassium in a powder form. Mix with water for a nice-tasting drink.

2) Keep a headache diary. Consider the time when the headaches/ migraines first appeared, triggers and anything relating to their recurrence. Caffeine withdrawal from quitting or reducing intake of coffee or even tea can create severe headache for a day or so.

3) Since many headaches and migraines have a Liver/Gall Bladder channel imbalance as part of the picture, you may want to look for things in your diet/lifestyle/medications that could be causing this imbalance.

4) Rule out side-effects of your medications by looking them up on drugs.com. Lyrica has headaches listed as a common side-effect. Tylenol is hard on the liver. Relying on Tylenol for long term pain relief may be significantly contributing to headaches and migraines. There are other alternative forms of pain relief, acupuncture being a major one. Acupuncture can also be used to detox and repair liver damage from medications.

5) In terms of diet, foods that are harder on the liver/gall bladder include alcohol, plasticky “fake” fats such as margarines, or any hydrogenated oils such as hydrogenated peanut butter, denatured oils found in processed canola oil, factory processed baked goods, and deep-fried seed oils such as that found in potato or tortilla chips. Try reducing these fats and replacing them with coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, organic butter and /or organic tallow or lard for liver-friendly fats that remain more stable at high temperatures. The liver is the body`s chemical processing plant so anything that is unnatural is unrecognizable and puts an added burden on the liver (think Splenda, aspartame, artificial flavourings, colourings, GMO foods).


If you or a loved one has been experiencing headaches or migraines without relief, now is the time to take action.


Call or text me at 647-378-3182 and we can discuss how to best help you or a loved one get relief from pain and bring things back into balance.


Warmly,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

plantar fasciitis, self-care

Treatment of Plantar Fasciitis with Acupuncture

1 Comment

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 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 treated many cases of plantar fasciitis using this technique 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.

knee pain

Great Acupressure Points to Heal Knee Pain

Leave a comment

Greetings Dear Readers,

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

Yours in health,

Cynthia

lupus

Treating Lupus with Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine

1 Comment

Greetings Dear Readers,

If you or someone you know is living with Lupus there is hope.  Oriental medicine has had a lot of success with many types of auto-immune diseases such as Lupus.

oriental medicineSystemic Lupus Erythmatosus (SLE) is an auto-immune disorder  in which the immune system attacks its’ own tissues leading to chronic inflammation. Several orlupus-symptomsgan systems may be affected such as kidneys, heart, skin, blood cells, joints, brain and skin.  Western medicine explains the cause of lupus as essentially unknown but beyond that is believed to be a combination of genetics and environment where some people have a genetic predisposition to developing lupus and then various environmental factors such as sunlight, medications (anti-biotics, anti-seizure meds, blood pressure medications) can be the triggers that set off the lupus symptoms. Commonly used Western drugs such as  NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), corticosteroids, anti-malarial drugs and immuno-suppressants are used to manage symptoms.  Although these drugs may be able to control flare-ups to some extent, there are often side-effects with long-term use.
Natural therapies such as acupuncture that can achieve suppression of flare-ups as well as get to the root of the disease itself.

Oriental medicine describes Lupus as a situation of too much Yang (heat)  and not enough Yin (yin=coolness, moisture) which also creates “Empty Heat” or Heat resulting from Deficient Yin.   I will publish a post about Yin Deficiency soon.

With Excess Heat, often the person has Heat signs such as the red butterfly rash on their face (red=heat)butterfly rash, constipation, excess thirst, a feeling of heat in the body or fever, and dark-coloured urine that may be scanty.  The tongue is often red with a yellow coat, and the pulse is often rapid, and full.  Heat symptoms tend to show up in the upper part of the body such as the face because heat rises.  Lupus also shows up more often in younger people between the ages of 15 – 40 because young people are relatively more Yang than older people.

When the Heat is intense it becomes Fire.  Fire rises upwards towards the heart and brain which can result in mental-emotional symptoms such as irritability or anxiety.  Fire also dries up the body fluids which is why there can be constipation and scanty urine.

With Yin Deficiency, there is a lack of the moistening, cooling body fluids in the body which result in dryness as well as Blood Deficiency symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia and hair loss..  With prolonged Yin Deficiency there can be “Empty Heat” which means a relatred cracked tongueive increase in Heat caused by a lack of Yin which shows up as low-grade fever and night sweats.  Yin involves all the body fluids including blood and sinovial fluids.  A Yin deficient tongue may be peeled (geographic, or cracked) and the pulse may be superficial, thin and fast.  Since women are considered more Yin, and require a greater amount of blood and body fluids for healthy body functions (think of how women’s bodies must replace menstrual blood lost each month) , this helps explain why SLE tends to affect women more than men.

Photophobia often stems from Yin deficiency of the Liver system (the Liver liver blood def.“opens” to the eyes) causing a lack of moistening fluids (Liver Blood) to the eyes resulting in light sensitivity  and dry eyes.  Hair loss is also indicated because in TCM hair is considered a surplus of Liver Blood.  Discoid (small round) rashes are another symptom of Blood Deficiency as it is the function of Blood to moisten the skin so the lack of Blood causes red flaky rashes.

The joint pain in lupus may be the result of the lack of body fluids (Yin) resulting in less sinovial fluids in the joints.  It can also be from Liver Blood Deficiency as the Liver Blood’s role is to moisten the tendons and resulting in arthritic pain.

Without treatment  Lupus can progress into kidney damage and failure.  This can be a life-threatening illness so it’s important to chose your treatment strategy wisely.  Where there are more severe and acute symptoms such as breathing difficulty and acute kidney issues it’s important to see a Western doctor quickly to prevent serious complications.  Once things have stabilized, TCM acupuncture can focus on the other symptoms as well as addressing the root of the disorder.

treatmentThe goals of acupuncture treatment with Lupus will depend on how the individual presents.  In general, points will be used to clear the Heat/Fire and strengthen Yin and Blood of the affected channels and organ systems.  This is achieved by selecting the correct acupuncture points that will do those jobs.  Each acupuncture point has its own functions and indications so the treatment will be tailored to the patient’s unique presentation. The treatment for Lupus tends to be longer than other conditions because Yin Deficiency takes a long time to develop and so a longer time to remove.  With persistent treatment as well as the guidance I offer in self-care including diet there should be a lessening of flare-ups as well as better energy and quality of life.

Yours in health,

Cynthia McGilvray, R.Ac.

References:

1.Weil, Andrew, M.D., (August 2016). Lupus. Retrieved from: http://www.drweil.com/health-wellness/body-mind-spirit/autoimmune-disorders/lupus/

2. Mayo Clinic Staff, (November 2014). Lupus. Retrieved from: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/basics/definition/con-20019676

3. Maciocia, Giovanni. ( 2005). The Foundations of Chinese Medicine. 2nd Ed. Churchill & Livingstone.

post-herpetic neuralgia, shingles

Treatment of Shingles (Herpes Zoster) and Post-Herpetic Neuralgia

Leave a comment

Greetings Dear Readers,

If you or someone you know is suffering from shingles, there is a lot that can be done to shingles in eyereduce pain, strengthen immunity and get relief using natural therapies. A word of caution: if you are experiencing the shingles rash, pain or unusual symptoms in your face, eyes or ears, this symptom that can have serious consequences such as damage to the eyes or ears leading to loss of vision or hearing. Please visit your doctor immediately.
In Western medicine, the virus causing shingles (varicella-zoster virus) is the same virus that causes chicken pox. When someone gets the chicken pox, eventually the rash clears, but the virus itself does not fully disappear. It lies dormant in the nerve ganglia at the dermatonesspine waiting for another opportunity. When the immune system is down, the virus may then reactivate, this time as shingles. Since the virus lives at the nerve root in the spine, it tends to affect one or multiple dermatomes or areas that the affected spinal nerve controls. Prior to the outbreak, the immune system could have been weakened by chemotherapy, radiation, HIV, fatigue, organ or bone marrow transplant, physical or psychological trauma or a very stressful life event. Shingles also tends to affect those over the age of 50 more than younger people.
According to Asian medicine, shingles is a combination of Wind, Damp and Heat pattern often involving Liver/Gall Bladder and/or Spleen system. It’s interesting that the dermatomes at T9-T12 which are often affected by shingles, is also the area of the spine that corresponds to the Liver, Gall Bladder and Spleen in Asian Medicine. Where Heat predominates, the pain tends to be more intense and the sooner the acupuncture treatment is done, the lesser the chances of intense pain that carries on for months or in some cases years. Palpation of the Fire points shows the extent of the Heat in the body and the corresponding points are treated first before treating the immune system. The Spleen system is also treated because of the burden of Dampness caused by either a pre-existing weak Spleen system (the spleen is also an immune organ in both Eastern and Western medicine) or because the virus itself has weakened the Spleen system which is responsible for controlling Dampness. In either case, Asian medicine offers effective protocols to clear any residual pain or immune weakness caused by shingles.
Once the rashes and blistering have died down, there is often lingering post-herpetic neuralgia (read: intense pain) along the nerve pathway of the affected areathat can go onSt. John wort for months, sometimes years. Getting started with acupuncture soon after the pain starts will cut down the amount of time the pain goes on for. Some patients have been told to try various rash ointments that are intended for another purpose such as eczema or psoriasis, but with little success because the pain is not about the skin. It is caused by the infection at the nerve. An excellent remedy for this type of nerve pain is St. John’s Wart oil rubbed onto the affected area.
Dietary changes can help support the immune system. An acupuncturist can determine whether Damp, Heat or Wind is most predominant in your body. If the Dampness is predominant, it is important to avoid Damp producing foods such as roasted peanuts, dairy products such as milk or ice cream, beer, sugar, concentrated juices or sweeteners, pork, bananas and saturated fats. Refined sugar itself is

Image result for immune boosting mushrooms  known to depress the immune system within hours of consumption.1 If Heat predominates, avoid hot spices, alcohol, coffee, chili, ginger, mustard, lamb, ginseng, maca and other heating foods or herbs. Ways to support the body’s immunity include immune tonics such as ganoderma (reishi mushroom), fermented foods because they promtote healthy gut flora, zinc, selenium and keeping stress levels down (stress reduces Defensive Qi) through relaxation, exercise and meditation.
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

Yours in health,
Cynthia

 

References:

1. · Albert Sanchez, J. L. · Reeser, H. S. · Lau, P. Y. · Yahiku, R. E. · Willard, P. J. · McMillan, S. Y. · Cho, A. R. · Magie, and U. D. Register. (1973. The American Society for Clinical Nutrition). The Role of Sugars in Human Neutrophils Phagocytosis. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/26/11/1180

 

 

TMJ

Facial Pain and TMJ Relief with Acupuncture

Leave a comment

Greetings Dear Readers,

Has your dentist told you that you are clenching your teeth at night?  Do you have facial or jaw pain when you wake up in the morning?  Does your jaw hurt when you eat or speak?  If so, there is relief.

Generally speaking, TMJ (Temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders) issues are a set of conditions that manifest as pain in the jaw joint and surrounding muscles that can lead to pain when eating, speaking, chewing, laughing and even breathing.

In the Western medical sense, it is known that TMJ disorders may involve myofascial pain (most cases), structural damage such as dislocated jaw or condyle injury, or arthritic changes impacting the TMJ joint. These causes have been studied and elaborated on further by Master Japanese acupuncturist, Kiiko Matsumoto.

When it comes to myofascial pain, people often have pain at the front of the face where the Stomach channel lies as well as inflammation or heat in the Stomach channel that is indicated with pain at Stomach 41 when pressed. The patient will often show fissures or cracks at the centre of the tongue (Stomach area in TCM), and may also complain of issues relating to Stomach Qi such as ulcers, weakened immune system, anxiety, sensitivity to gravitational or barometric shifts such as being in an airplane, weather changes and time zone shifts, motion sickness, stomach flu and certain problems with pregnancy. Acupuncture treatment here involves regulating the Stomach Qi, often strengthening Stomach Yin and clearing any Stomach channel Heat.

In terms of structural imbalance,  the root of the matter there is often a sphenoid bone imbalance causing an improper alignment. The patient may have pain on palpation of the temporal area, inguinal ligament or just below the navel. They may also have other sphenoid bone imbalance-related issues such as ear problems, headaches, dental problems, or sleep problems such as sleep apnea. A sphenoid bone imbalance may affect the pituitary gland that lies in the centre of the bone causing a hormonal imbalance. Acupuncture treatment here involves supporting proper alignment the bone, as well as correcting the pituitary imbalance.

Finally, issues with degeneration of the bone itself fall into the category of Kidney Essence Deficiency that is most often seen in older adults or those with a constitutional weakness. This may also be associated with symptoms such as insomnia, slow wound healing, skin rashes such as eczema, inguinal ligament pain and temporal headaches. Treatment in this case involves supporting proper bone alignment as well as strengthening the Kidney system.

Acupuncture treatment can go along way to preventing as well as healing TMJ by relieving the underlying patterns.  Treatment will often be weekly for a few weeks or months depending on the severity and how long the condition has gone on for.

In the meantime, a few self-care tips:

  1. Using moist heat such as a hot water bottle or hot pack can be helpful.
  2. Eating soft foods and blending foods in a blender can give the jaw a chance to rest and heal.
  3. Relaxation and stress reduction techniques such as guided relaxation such as that found at the end of yoga classes and breathing meditations to calm the mind.
  4. Sleeping on your side with a pillow between the shoulders and neck.

Yours in health,

Cynthia

References:

  1. Matsumoto, Kiiko. (2014). Kiiko Matsumoto’s Clinical Strategies: In the Spirit of Master Nagano, Vol. 1 (6th ed.). Hanover, MA: J&R Graphics.
  2. (2016). Retrieved June 20, 2016, from https://bconroytc.wikispaces.com/Facial Pain (e.g. muscular, TMJ) – Kiiko Matsumoto Japanese Style