{"id":19904,"date":"2018-06-20T14:59:43","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T20:59:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/?p=19904"},"modified":"2019-08-28T11:28:51","modified_gmt":"2019-08-28T17:28:51","slug":"acupuncture-for-pain-relief-qi-and-blood-stagnation-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.miridiatech.com\/news\/2018\/06\/acupuncture-for-pain-relief-qi-and-blood-stagnation-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Acupuncture for Pain Relief: Qi and Blood Stagnation Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pain is the number one chief complaint in any acupuncture clinic. Why is that?<\/p>\n

There is a traditional Chinese saying which states: “If there is free flow, there is no pain. If there is pain, there is no free flow.”<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Free flow relates to movement of qi and blood, which move together. If qi and blood are not moving at optimum capacity, symptoms occur. Pain is an obvious side effect of qi and blood stagnation.<\/p>\n

In reality, acupuncturists relate\u00a0all dysfunction in the body to qi and blood stagnation in the acupuncture pathways. Therefore the goal of every acupuncturist is to move qi and blood in the acupuncture pathways.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you GREAT at treating pain?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my opinion, if you want to be a GREAT<\/strong> acupuncturist, you have to be really good at treating pain<\/span>, aka “qi and blood stagnation.”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In this blog post I’m going to share a few tricks I’ve learned over the years that have helped me gain a reputation in my community as being “really good at treating pain.”<\/p>\n

1. Root Versus Branch<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I learned the Root-Branch theory long ago as a massage therapist, long \"bloodbefore I even began doing acupuncture.<\/p>\n

If a patient comes in complaining of pain, and I go directly to the area of discomfort to “pound” on their sore spot, I don’t get great results.<\/p>\n

Here’s why… Acupuncture channels run throughout the body. Qi and blood run through the channels. If you don’t address blockages in the channels, no amount of attention to the area of pain will get the results you hope for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The Bully “<\/strong> (A Kimberly Analogy…)<\/span><\/p>\n

A knot (qi and blood stagnation) at the area of pain is kind of like a bully who is hanging out in the yard. If my goal is to push the bully out of the neighborhood, I have to make sure all roads are clear, and there aren’t locked gates or barriers throughout the neighborhood. Once I make sure all the pathways are clear, I can coax the bully out of the yard and he can get out of town without any interruptions. <\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, if I push that bully around the corner and he doesn’t have a free open pathway to get out of town, he’s going to hide out around the corner until I turn my head and then he will come back to his territory and resort to his typical pattern of meanness.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s important to do a root treatment first. You’ll hear me say time and time again that balancing the graph is my FIRST<\/strong> goal.<\/p>\n

AcuGraph<\/a><\/strong><\/span> tells us where the meridian imbalances are throughout the body. A simple root treatment fixes the overall imbalances so that my branch treatment will be more effective.<\/strong><\/em> Like my analogy above: If you open the passageways throughout the body BEFORE<\/strong> you attempt to resolve the chief complaint, you will get MUCH<\/strong> better long-lasting results when resolving chief complaints such as pain.<\/p>\n

2. The Right Tools<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I have a lot of tools for resolving qi and blood stagnation related to pain. I’m an acupuncturist, so I obviously use needles. Other tools I’ve been using throughout the years include cupping, gua-sha, microcurrent, auriculotherapy, and body work.<\/p>\n

In TCM theory, chronic pain\u2014aka\u00a0chronic qi and blood stagnation\u2014<\/strong>is stubborn and hard to treat. Patients present with long-term pain and limited range of motion from adhesions. When palpating these areas you will feel grizzly, crunchy, knot-like tissue in the muscle and around the joint. It takes all the tools listed above to resolve chronic qi and blood stagnation, plus a lot of deep tissue massage!<\/p>\n

I have a new, absolutely wonderful, favorite tool<\/strong>\u00a0for chronic qi and blood stagnation<\/span>\u00a0that I am now using in my clinic. It has literally been a game changer<\/strong>. Patients are getting better twice as fast. Referrals just keep pouring in.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Patients who get relief from chronic pain are your best referral source ever. Imagine the scenario… They are so grateful you have helped resolve the pain they have been experiencing for SOOOO LONG, they want to shout it to the world!<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The tool I’m using is called the Rapid Release<\/strong><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"blood<\/a><\/p>\n

Vibrational therapy is the mechanism behind how it works. I love it, and patients do too! <\/strong><\/p>\n

There’s all kinds of science behind the Rapid Release but here’s the simple analysis. The higher-frequency waves emitted from the device also trigger a neurological response that quickly relaxes muscles to resolve pain and muscle spasms in soft-tissue related conditions.<\/strong> Rapid Release runs at a frequency of about 150 Hz, generating compression waves combined with tiny strokes of pressure.<\/p>\n

I could go on and on about how the device has expedited the results in my clinic. In fact, my research and experience turned into a published book.<\/p>\n

You can read more about it\u00a0here >><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

I also created a webinar called How to be Great at Stopping Pain<\/strong><\/em> that focuses on using vibrational therapy to quickly, and effectively resolve chronic pain conditions.<\/p>\n

You can watch it here >><\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

3. All Qi and Blood Stagnation are NOT Created Equal<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Qi and Blood Stagnation do not all present the same way. Sometimes there is too much<\/strong> qi and blood in an area, which stops energy from moving.<\/strong><\/em> Other times there isn’t enough<\/strong> qi and blood in the acupuncture channel, which also stops energy from moving.<\/p>\n

When we do an electrical diagnosis through digital meridian imaging, we recognize excess or deficiency in a channel. This simple root treatment to balance the meridians is often enough to get energy flowing where it needs to go. But sometimes, you have go go deeper with your root treatment and figure out WHY<\/strong> acupuncture channels continue to present as excess or deficient.<\/p>\n

Pain symptoms can differ in presentation. Sometimes the patient has constant sharp shooting pain, sometimes pain is dull in nature comes and goes, sometimes it’s always in one spot, other times it wanders from place to place. Understanding the different types of pain will help you to choose the right treatment methods.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Once you recognize WHY<\/strong> the blood stagnation is occurring int he body, then supplementing your treatment with the proper TCM herbal formula, will take your treatment to the next level<\/span>. \u00a0If you are an herbalist and have studied Traditional Chinese Medicine theory, you will understand TCM patterns. Finding the underlying TCM pattern is key for choosing a traditional Chinese herbal formula.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> I’d like to give a shout out to Kan Herbs<\/a>! They do an amazing job of taking classical Chinese herbal formulas and modifying them to fit the presentation of our modern day clients. I’ve gotten to know the herbalists on their team over the years at the many acupuncture symposiums I attend. Their products can be found at Lhasa and Crane Herb as well.\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s a list of my favorite go-to formulas. I keep an abundance \u00a0of each formula on my shelf so that I am ready for any pain patient who comes through the clinic.<\/p>\n

Meridian Passage:\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n