Cascade- the link between where it hurts and where the pain starts. Thoughts from an Acupuncturist and Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner in Sydney.
Something I have observed over the years as a practitioner of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a phenomenon I first learned when I was a student from my teacher- I quote “sometimes where the pain is felt is not the problem area.”
To give an example, patients may often come to the clinic with pain or a diagnosis relating to their elbow or wrist. I always palpate the local area, feeling for knots, tissue changes and ahshi “ow that spot hurts” points. Then I palpate above the affected area (towards the neck and shoulders- proximal) and below (towards the hands and fingers- distal), looking for changes.
When treating the issue with acupuncture I always start from above the area- why? Because it is true “7 out of 10 times where the pain is felt is not the problem area.” In many cases where there is pain in the elbow or wrist, once releasing the neck and shoulders there is often a significant change and relief in the actual pain area.
Why? Because the wrist is actually compensating down the line for the neck. From my observation this is what happens- someone has a tight neck, which is not effectively treated then gets tighter which will then cause the pressure to move to the trapezius (which is now also becoming tight) which then affects the deltoid, which affects the bicep, which affects the elbow which affects the forearm and then ultimately affects the wrist.
When a client walks into the clinic and says “my wrist hurts” and we just treat the wrist- sure it can help but it will most likely only give temporary relief and come back in due time. Though once we effectively treat the entire “chain” from the neck down to the wrist (if there is tension in the chain)- then patients will likely feel much longer relief.
The challenge and reason why I believe this approach has not been the typical one- is that we are used to looking at problem areas in their isolation. A podiatrist looks at the foot, an orthopedic surgeon will likely specialise in a particular joint and as Acupuncturist we are taught to treat the local points in the local area.
But if we zoom out and look at the bigger picture we can see this holistic and broad viewed understanding is very important, and is being adopted by more and more health professionals- why? Because it is practical and gets results.
Any questions or to book in feel free to contact me on (02) 9341 5775 or by email at ahilnaturopath@gmail.com.
Ahil Naturopath/Acupuncture is a clinic located near Redfern, Alexandria and Waterloo. We also service areas across Sydney including Botany, Camperdown, Darlinghurst, Erskineville, Eveleigh, Mascot, Newtown, , Rosebery, Surry Hills and Zetland.
We offer Acupuncture, Naturopathy, Herbal medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Cupping, Gua Sha (Scraping) and Moxibustion services in South-East, Eastern and Inner City of Sydney.
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