Musculoskeletal Injuries
This is an injury that affects any muscle, ligament, tendon, joint or nerve in the body. These injuries could be work related, an accident, sport related or due to the aging process.
Acupuncture is used in both the acute, or initial stage of injury, and in chronic or long-term stage of injury.
In my practise acupuncture has been shown to not only decrease pain but also maximise the speed of healing.
I combine acupuncture with other modalities such as mobilisation, manipulation, massage, myofascial release, stretching and strengthening and herbal therapy programs when indicated.
The causes of muscle and sinew pain have been well described in many Chinese medical texts for thousands of years. They are described as Bi Syndromes or Blockage Pattern.
In TCM, the term bi is specifically used to indicate obstruction of qi and blood in the channels and collaterals due to several kinds of pathogenic factors, such as wind, coldness, dampness, etc. This blockage leads mainly to pain, numbness, and impairment of movement. In order for external pathogenic qi (evil qi) to invade the tissue, correct or righteous qi must be weak, as is often the case in elderly or weakened patients. This makes them more vulnerable to injury.
There are usually other factors that contribute to these Bi patterns. These may include vacuity (depletion) of qi and blood, weakness of one or another organ, and possibly blood stasis.
At the Acupuncture Studio I largely focus on acupuncture, moxibustion and massage therapy to unblock the local area of pain. I will also treat any organ dysfunctions that I discover upon diagnosis as if not addressed will leave the person vulnerable to re-injury. Again I will use acupuncture for this and possibly Chinese herbal medicine.