Back & Neck Pain Relief, Treatments, Tips, Exercises, and Resources » Eastern Medicine

Chinese medicine as treatment for pain

Back & Neck Pain Resources — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:32:39 +0000

When people feel some sort of discomfort or pain, they usually resort to popping some pills, and then go back to doing their regular activities. While these may be effective for many people, there are actually some side effects that can occur if you keep on ingesting pills.

Of course, you want to feel better, but not at the risk of your overall health. That’s why one of the things that people do is resort to alternative forms of medicine to be able to find remedies. One of the more popular alternatives for people who want to be able gain treatment but avoid the issue of side effects is using Chinese medicine.

Here are some example of the Chinese medicine and treatments that are used for pain:

Gwa Sha Scraping:

In Gwa Sha scraping, special stones and creams or liniments are used to take away the cramping along muscle groups. Doing so aides in healing and lessens the painful symptoms.

As the name implies, the special stones are scraped over the painful area in the hopes that this movement will remove the stagnant blood, energy, and other toxins in the body. A downside is that by doing so, there is a tendency to leave some blemishes on the skin.

Another thing with Gwa Sha scraping is that it can actually be quite painful.

Nutrition

Perhaps the most important thing we can learn from Chinese healing is using nutrition as preventative medicine. A healthy, pain free body starts with good internal nutrition. The healthier your body is, the less likely you’ll be to have pain.

Sadly, most of us don’t get enough of the proper nutrients that our bodies need to function at their peak. That’s why I strongly suggest taking a daily supplement like Dr. Jon Barron’s Private Reserve Superfood. It’s an easy and inexpensive way to make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need, every single day.

Acupuncture:Perhaps one of the more popular Chinese treatments for pain, acupuncture is the act of inserting needles into various body parts to aid in pain relief.

In acupuncture, the whole body is treated as connected to each other. For example, the pain in your back may be relieved not by sticking a needle on the painful area, but on other body parts such as your hands or your arms.

The theory is that by injecting these needles, there is an improved energy (chi) flow throughout your body which enables you to release the pain.

Guan Fa Cupping

Guan Fa, thanks to the dozens of Chinese martial arts films that depict it, is another one of the famous Chinese treatments. Guan Fa cupping revolves around the method of utilizing a special glass or plastic cup in order to relieve pain and tension in the muscles.

A cup is placed over the stiff area to create a vacuum. This vacuum pulls blood and energy into the muscle area to promote healing. With the movement of fresh blood comes fresh oxygen and nutrients, and thus less pain.

Similar to the scraping method mentioned above, Guan Fa cupping leaves some blemishes on the skin.

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Is Reflexology Effective for Treating Back Pain

Back & Neck Pain Resources — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:19:49 +0000

Reflexology is an alternative treatment method that is based on the belief that the blockage of an energy field is the one that is causing a person’s pain in his or her various body parts. They also believe that they would be able to free up these “energy obstructions” by applying pressure to parts of the feet which corresponds to where the energy is blocked (where the person is feeling pain).

Because it seems quite off beat, there are truly plenty of questions regarding it. Here are some of the common questions regarding Reflexology as an effective Back Pain Treatment:

How does the treatment occur?When you enter the office of the reflexologists, they would first ask you which part of the body where you feel pain or discomfort. This is because they would need to determine which specific part of the foot they would need to apply pressure on.

How do they know which part of the feet to apply pressure on?For example, you are suffering from back pain. When you mention this to the reflexology practitioner, they would consult a reflexology chart. The chart shows the feet and the locations to massage which correspond to the various body parts or zones.

In reflexology both the left and right foot is diagrammed in the chart, as well as the underside, and top are of the foot. To illustrate the point, the human back, corresponds to the area somewhere between the ankle and the toes.

Does it hurt?Applying pressure on the feet can hurt some people. This is because in order for reflexology to be effective, the pressure must be deep and sustained. Many are saying that if there is very little pain, then you are getting nothing more than a massage.

Of course, you should not take this to mean, that the more painful the treatment, the more effective it is.

Does it work?Now, here is where reflexology can get tricky. To be honest about it, there is very little scientific evidence about the belief of energy flow in the body (Chi) which reflexology is based on.

However, there are many accounts of people who say that they feel much better once they have undergone a reflexology treatment. They say that their back pain lessened and that they had a better general feeling all over their body.

Of course, it would be important to get a good reflexologist. You should try to avoid those who were able to get certifications just by reading a couple of books, and instead go to clinics where the people have really been trained well enough to do the job.

Now that you know more about reflexology , you should try to decide for yourself if it would really be an effective back pain treatment.

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What is Reiki Energy Healing?

Back & Neck Pain Resources — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 21:11:47 +0000

All over the world, there are various beliefs that say that the aches and pains in our bodies are not just caused by physical injury but also because of the block of proper energy flow in our bodies. One of the famous of these beliefs would be acupuncture. Acupuncture is the treatment which uses the insertion needles to free up the clogged energy pathways.

Another energy healing method that is slowly gaining popularity these days is Reiki Energy Healing. Reiki energy healing is a complementary and alternative medicine practice wherein practitioners believe that they would be able to transfer “healing energy” from their body through someone who is suffering from pain.

Of course, since Reiki Energy Healing is not as popular as other alternative medicines there are still some questions about how it is able to treat people who are experiencing back pain and other similar conditions.

Some questions regarding Reiki Energy Healing include:

How does the Reiki Energy Healing process take place?Reiki Energy healing employs various techniques depending on the pain that the person to be healed is feeling. There are practices and positions that are used for whole body treatment, and those that are more suitable for localized treatment. All of these positions would usually correspond to the seven major chakras (energy points) in the body.

For back pain, the treatment used is usually the localized Reiki healing treatment. It would involve the practitioner’s palms being positioned near the back for a certain period of time. The practitioners believe that this laying of hands would help in transferring the healing energy which would make the body heal itself faster.

Is it effective?As with plenty of Alternative medicine practices, there are plenty of debates regarding the effectiveness of Reiki Energy Healing treatment. After all, there is no scientific evidence that corresponds to the supposed energy flow that the Reiki treatment is based on.

However, there are plenty of people who say that undergoing a Reiki treatment has truly helped them feel better, and has lessened the pain that they were previously feeling.

Is it safe?Because the process would only involve the laying of palms at the various parts of the body, there had been no known significant adverse effects of using it for your treatment.

The only problem would be if you would not seek medical attention for serious cases because you just keep on relying on this treatment to make you feel much better.

So should I use it to treat my back pain?The Reiki Healing treatment would probably be best for minor conditions only. The process would probably help you alleviate the pain but would not treat your body entirely. In fact, even practitioners would say that you should seek medical help for the serious conditions.

The good thing with Reiki Healing treatment is that it is not exclusive. You could easily use it as a supplement to the more scientific based treatments for your serious conditions.

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