Chinese Medicine Archives - Page 3 of 7

Why Am I So Tired?

As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, I work with many patients who are flat out tired. They struggle to get out of bed in the morning, poop out at night, or don’t have the energy to do the things they want to do throughout the day. Some come to me because exhaustion is their chief complaint; for others fatigue is a secondary symptom of something else going on. Regardless of how it manifests, there are many, many tired people just trying to get through the day.

I know all about exhaustion. Several years ago after major surgery, I was sent home to heal. After a couple of weeks, I was up and about and feeling pretty chipper, with one exception. Every evening after dinner, I experienced exhaustion so profound that that I could barely move. The only thing I could do was go to bed and crash. This fatigue lasted for almost a year after the surgery, but when it finally resolved, I knew that my healing was complete.

What’s interesting to me is that almost every patient I see is clueless as to why they’re so tired. This may be because the underlying cause can be seemingly unrelated to a patient’s symptoms. Most people think lack of sleep is the most common reason that they’re tired. While poor sleep can make you feel exhausted, there are many other causes of of fatigue. Here’s my short list:

-A recent illness or surgery. Your body is programmed to heal, but it takes a lot of energy to do so. It’s common to feel exhausted after an accident, illness, or surgery because all of your energy reserves are going toward putting you right. In addition, if there was blood loss involved, as in the case of surgery, it’s more likely that you will feel fatigued for some time–even years–afterward.

-Childbirth. Like an illness or surgery, it takes many months to regain your energy after giving birth. The actual event, coupled with blood loss and sleepless nights can leave new moms exhausted for as long as the first year of their baby’s life.

-Poor diet. You get your energy from the food you eat. If you’re not eating well, it’s like putting bad gas in your car’s tank–you won’t run well, either.

-Poor digestion. Your body converts food into nutrients and energy through the process of digestion. You can eat the best food in the world, but if your digestion is funky, it can leave you feeling depleted and tired. Signs that things aren’t going well gut-wise include heartburn, gas, bloating, stomachaches, nausea, loose stools, constipation, and lack of appetite.

-Overwork. Considered to be an underlying cause of illness and depletion in Chinese medicine, working long hours without a break can lead to exhaustion. Even when you’re getting enough sleep, working, studying, caretaking, or overexercising can translate into exhaustion.

-Stress. Unrelenting stress affects everything from your muscles to your mood to your digestion. Over time, stress has the ability to deplete you at the deepest level, causing an exhaustion so profound that it can take months to recover.

-Stagnation. This is a term in Chinese medicine in which your energy just isn’t moving well. Stagnation is a little like a car’s engine that is seizing up, and can be the cause of a host of different symptoms. Physically, stagnation causes pain, poor digestion, menstrual symptoms, and muscle tightness. Emotionally, stagnation manifests as stress, frustration and depression. The link between stagnation and fatigue is simple: if your energy is all bound up, it’s not available to fuel your daily activities.

If you can’t muster the energy to get through the day, Chinese medicine and acupuncture has a lot to offer. At Acupuncture in the Park, our first order of business is to identify the cause. Our goal is to eliminate what’s wiping you out as well as to rebuild your energy stores. We have a number of tools to work with, including acupuncture, Chinese herbal formulas, food therapy, heat therapy, and lifestyle changes. You don’t have to walk through life like a zombie–acupuncture and Chinese medicine can help!

Twelve Things You Need to Know About Ginger

Ginger is the chameleon of the food and herb world. In Chinese medicine it’s considered both an herb and a food. It’s used in candy, baked goods, curries, and stir fries because it flat out tastes good. In Chinese medicine, ginger is a common ingredient in many healing herbal formulas. Here are some things that you should know about ginger and ways you can use it at home:

1) Ginger is the rhizome (underground stem) of the ginger plant, which grows in tropical climates.

2) It can be ingested fresh, dried, powdered, chopped, grated, or as an oil or juice.

3) Ginger can easily be made into a tea or added to broth. Just grate some fresh ginger into boiling water or broth, and voila!

4) Whether taken as an herb or eaten in food, ginger is very warming to your body. If you’re feeling cold to the core, grab some ginger tea or broth to warm up.

5) If you’re coming down with a cold or the flu, ginger can help. Combine grated ginger root with scallions in a broth. Boil the broth until it’s hot and drink it down, bundle up and go to bed. The combination of ginger and scallions is hot and should make you sweat a little, just enough to head off the cold before it settles in.

6) Ginger is also what you need if you’re feeling nauseous. It’s known to help with everything from morning sickness and sea sickness, to nausea from chemotherapy. Just grate some ginger into water, heat it and drink.

7) No time to grate and heat ginger? Powdered ginger can be found in capsules at a health food store or Chinese herbal pharmacy.

8) The warming nature of ginger makes it a good digestive aid. You can drink grated ginger in hot water, eat candied ginger, ginger cookies, or pickled ginger after your meal.

9) Ever wonder why you get pickled ginger with your sushi? It’s there because ginger can offset the toxicity of a bad piece of fish. Furthermore, ginger is often used in some Chinese herbal formulas to balance out the effects of other mildly toxic herbs.

10) Ginger can relieve the symptoms of dysentery. It’s true, ginger increases the secretion of gastric juices, so your food is digested more quickly. This creates an unfriendly environment for any bacteria that might otherwise hang around and make you sick.

11) The skin of this fabulous root is useful, too. In Chinese medicine ginger peel acts as a diuretic, and promotes urination as a way of reducing edema (water swelling).

12) Ginger is as close as your nearest grocery store. Raw ginger root is found in the produce section. For ginger powder, look in the spice section of the same store, and look for pickled ginger in jars in the Asian foods aisle.

Ginger is a must-have in my kitchen. Fresh ginger root will last a long time in your refrigerator, and it freezes well, too. I use it chopped in stir fries, and grated in marinades and salad dressings. I keep a chunk stored in my freezer in a zip lock bag, and when I need some in a recipe, I take it out, run one end under some water to soften it, and grate or chop away. Not only does it taste great, it’s good for you, too!

Infertility: Five Common Patterns of Imbalance in Chinese Medicine

When I began the practice of acupuncture over a decade ago, I never thought that I would treat women with infertility issues. It felt complicated and out of my league. But one day a young woman came to me who had been trying to conceive for years, and from a Chinese medical standpoint, her problem was obvious. We worked together for a few months, and she got pregnant. She told her friends, more women came to acupuncture for infertility issues, and more became pregnant. Over many years of treating women who are trying to become pregnant (while not 100 percent), the effectiveness of Chinese medicine is apparent.

When it comes to infertility, not all women are created equal. There are a number of patterns of imbalance in Chinese medicine that can be the underlying cause of an inability to become pregnant. Among them:

1) Kidney organ system depletion. Your Chinese Kidney is considered to be the deepest and most essential of the organ systems. It is the home to many of your body’s vital substance such as Yin and Yang and Essence. The Kidney system is responsible for your body constitution, which determines your overall health as well as how you will develop, mature, and age. It is also directly related to fertility. For most women seeking help from Chinese medicine for infertility issues, strengthening the Kidney system is often the primary focus of treatment.

Some signs that your Kidney system could be depleted include a weak and achy lower back or knees, waking hot at night or feeling cold to the core (or both), deep fatigue, metabolic issues, and frequent illnesses.

2) Depletion of Qi or Blood. Qi is the energy necessary for your body to perform its functions—from digestion to moving your muscles. And in Chinese medicine, your Blood is considered to be only as strong as its nourishing function. Poor diet, eating disorders, blood loss, lack of adequate sleep, and overworking all have the ability to deplete your Qi or Blood, and in many cases, both.

Your body needs adequate Qi and Blood to become pregnant and maintain a healthy pregnancy. Some signs that your Qi is depleted include feeling tired, easy bruising, poor digestion, feeling cold, and catching frequent colds. Blood depletion may show up as looking pale, dry skin, brittle nails, dizziness or feeling light-headed, and scanty menstrual periods.

3) Liver Qi Stagnation. This is stress and strong emotions causing your body to “seize up”. Your Chinese Liver system is responsible for the smooth flow of everything in your body, from your digestion and menstrual cycle, to your emotions and feelings of well-being. When you become very stressed out, emotional, or frustrated (what woman struggling with infertility isn’t?), your Liver Qi becomes bound up and causes a cascade of symptoms. Stress, irritability, a racing mind (especially as you try to sleep), feeling hot, and even pain under your ribs are signs that your emotions are getting the better of you.

4) Stagnation of Qi and Blood. This is similar to the pattern above, in that things aren’t moving very well in your body. However, while Liver Qi stagnation is more emotional in nature, stagnation of Qi and Blood is more physical. Symptoms of this pattern of imbalance include endometriosis, pelvic infections, and pelvic pain and cramping. Any kind of structural blockages of your reproductive system would fall under this pattern.

5) Phlegm and dampness. Wait…what? How can phlegm even be remotely associated with infertility? Let’s start with dampness, which is your body’s inability to properly metabolize fluids. Poor digestion, a slow metabolism, weight gain, and a funky diet all are contributors to this pattern. Dampness in your body may show up as…damp stuff, such as yeast infections, athlete’s foot, water retention, bladder infections, and swelling. When dampness sits around in your body for long enough, it congeals and becomes phlegm. It may show up as actual phlegm, such as sinus problems or congested lungs, but phlegm is also the culprit behind accumulations such as cysts, fibroids, and polycystic ovaries.

If you choose acupuncture and Chinese medicine for infertility issues, the first order of business for your practitioner is to determine what pattern is at the source of the problem. And because everything affects everything else in your body, more than one pattern may be at play here. Your practitioner will then use a variety of tools to set things right, including acupuncture, food therapy, Chinese herbs, heat therapy, stress relief, and other lifestyle changes.

Hangover Help Using Chinese Medicine

Hangovers are an exercise in regret. No matter how much fun I had last night, when the room is spinning, my head is pounding, and my stomach is in turmoil, I always regret that last drink…or two…or three. There is always the wish that I could go back in time and have a do-over. Then there’s the moment when I realize I am hungover to remind me never to do that again, which for me, is pretty effective.

So you’ve got a hangover. Does Chinese medicine have anything to offer in this arena? Well, in Chinese medicine, the action of alcohol is warm, dispersing, and in large amounts, toxic. In both Chinese and Western medicine, alcohol is metabolized by your Liver. The warm and dispersing action of the alcohol dries you out, depleting Liver Yin, which is the nourishing coolant in your body. As a result, Liver Yang, which is warm and active, rises upward creating all kinds of symptoms that you’d rather not have. The overall dryness and heat rising gives you a killer headache, upsets your stomach, and makes you feel miserable in general.

Here are a few things that you can do to be a little less miserable while you’re learning your hangover lesson:

-Rehydrate. This one is simple, as many of your symptoms are the cause of being dehydrated. That said, what you drink makes a difference. Steer clear of coffee, tea, or any other caffeinated drink, as they are also warming and dispersing, which will only make your hangover worse. In addition, don’t even think about having another drink. That advice is most likely coming from your drinking buddies, not anyone who cares about alleviating your hangover symptoms. What they should have told you is to down a couple of glasses of water before passing out in bed last night; you’d be feeling a lot better in the morning.

-As for what to drink, choose warm or room temperature water, herbal tea, or a not-very-sweet sports drink. Even better is Sprite. After studying dozens of drinks, researchers have concluded that Sprite is the most effective drink to reduce your hangover symptoms. That’s because it speeds up the metabolism of acetaldehyde, which is a by-product of alcohol that’s responsible for most of your symptoms.

-For your upset stomach, drink a little ginger tea or ginger grated into warm water. One of the primary actions of ginger is to calm an upset stomach. You can buy ginger root at the grocery store and keep it in the freezer.

-Apply cool compresses to your head or neck. Remember, your headache is coming from a kind of energetic heat rising upward, so help cool it off; you’ll feel better.

-What to eat? When your stomach has calmed down enough to want food, take it easy at first. My go to choice is a congee, which is a kind of rice porridge/soup that’s very gentle on a cranky stomach. Simmer one part rice to seven parts water or broth until the rice is tender. You can add grated ginger, scallions, and a protein of your choice, like an egg, tofu, or chicken. As a breakfast food, add nuts, raisins, and cinnamon, and use a bit of brown sugar instead of broth for flavoring.

By actively rehydrating, cooling your headache, and treating your upset stomach with TLC, your hangover should be a thing of the past in short order. In addition, savor the regret you have for how much you drank last night; it can decrease your risk for hangovers!

Acupuncture for Seasonal Affective Disorder

Early autumn here in Minnesota is perfect. It’s still warm, but the humidity is gone, and we’re blessed with crisp, sunny days that are ideal for playing outdoors. The sky is cobalt blue and there is just a hint of the color to come on the trees lining the lakes, rivers, and streams. It’s an ideal time to live here. It’s interesting though, that during those early days of fall I begin seeing patients in my acupuncture practice who are already struggling with the coming winter. The weather is fine, and there’s plenty of light early in the morning and into the evening hours, but these people are already feeling the beginnings of seasonal affective disorder (SAD).

Seasonal affective disorder is a mood disorder that affects people most frequently in the fall and winter and lasting until spring. Symptoms include depression, fatigue, headache, irritability, food cravings, and lethargy. It affects about six percent of the US population, with another fourteen percent of people having a milder form of the “winter blues”. An estimated 60-70 percent of people who struggle with SAD are women.

While many people believe that seasonal affective disorder is related to the cold, the reality is that it’s more associated with daylight. The lack of sunlight increases your body’s production of melatonin, a hormone that is secreted during the dark which causes drowsiness and regulates sleep. Unfortunately, melatonin can also be related to depression.

From the viewpoint of Chinese medicine, we are strongly influenced by our environment, and the changing of the seasons is no exception. We become active and exuberant in the spring and summer and begin to slow down in the fall. We are meant to hunker down and stay warm during the winter. The excess production of melatonin may be nature’s way of suggesting that we, ahem…hibernate during the winter months.

So why do some people struggle with SAD and others don’t? It may be related to the dichotomy between Yin and Yang. Yang is warm, bright, and active, much like a summer’s day. In contrast, Yin is cool, quiet, dark, and nourishing–a description of what we feel like doing during the coldest days of winter. For those people who tend to have a body constitution that is more Yin in nature, the cold and darkness of the winter months can be overwhelming.

Chinese medicine has a lot to offer someone who is dealing with seasonal affective disorder. Acupuncture, combined with Chinese herbs, food therapy, balancing sleep cycles, and other lifestyle modifications is a first line of defense for many, especially those people who choose not to take medications. Good self-care can also be extremely helpful. If you suffer from SAD, some steps that could help include:

-Get as much exposure to natural daylight as you can, especially early in the day. Keep your blinds and curtains open during the daylight hours,and when you can, work near a window. And while it may feel like the last thing you want to do, get up early in the morning in order to get as much daylight as possible.

-In addition to natural daylight, some people are greatly helped by exposure to full spectrum lights, which are lights that simulate natural daylight. There are lots of full spectrum options from light boxes to light visors, and dawn simulator–lamps that come on in the early morning and gradually get lighter simulating sunrise. If you use a light box, use it daily during the winter, and be sure to use it facing the light with your eyes open to get the full benefit.

-Get enough Vitamin D. Research suggests a link between depleted Vitamin D and seasonal affective disorder. Dubbed the sunlight vitamin, D is produced in your body from exposure to sunlight directly on your skin. Unfortunately, it’s almost impossible to get enough D in the northern climates during the winter. So supplement with 1,000 to 2,000 units daily of Vitamin D in the form of D3.

-Take really good care of yourself. Remember, if you had a friend or loved one who was struggling with their health, you would want to take good care of them, so do the same for yourself. Get enough sleep, eat well (ditch the sugar-laden pastries and desserts and eat enough protein), and get a little exercise.

-Go outside and play. Spending time outdoors increases your exposure to natural light, and if you can combine your outdoor time with an enjoyable activity, even better. In addition, there are benefits to spending time in the woods, even in the winter. Researchers in Japan have documented that walking in the forest can decrease stress, lower blood pressure, and improve mood. So get outside, even if it means bundling up and strapping on show shoes!

-Finally, if your symptoms are severe, get help from a mental health professional. Talk therapy, stress management strategies, behavioral therapy, and even medications can help when necessary.

Remember it’s our natural inclination to want to slow down, stay warm, and put on a few pounds to get through the cold and dark days of winter. Some people love winter and sail through without a second thought. However, if you’re one of those people for whom winter feels like a bleak, dark, endless tunnel, take extra good care of yourself and remember spring is only a few months away.

Orthorexia: The Curse of Righteous Eating

It’s a good thing to want to eat healthfully. With the rising incidence of diabetes, obesity, and other food-related diseases, making good food choices is an obvious step toward better health. However, what if that desire to eat healthfully gets out of control? It happens, and there’s a name for it—orthorexia.

Most people who struggle with orthorexia begin by simply wanting to eat well or improve their health through good dietary choices. However, at some point the desire for healthy food gets derailed and becomes a compulsion. Good food choices move into the realm of a fixation of what to eat, how much to eat, the quality, purity, and nutrients in each morsel of food that is ingested. While not included in the DSM (The diagnostic bible of emotional disorders), orthorexia is recognized by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, as well as the National Eating Disorders Association.

Orthorexia is characterized by rigid and restrictive food choices, often with entire food groups being eliminated from the diet. Sufferers need to control what they’re eating at all times, and frequently have a hard time eating meals or need to modify meals prepared by others. And while it seems counter intuitive that healthy eating could ever be a bad thing, the results of orthorexia can be life-altering.

The problem with orthorexia is that those who have it don’t get all the nutrients they need because they severely restrict their food choices. Much-needed healthy fats, whole grain carbohydrates, and other entire food groups are eliminated completely. Their life is dominated by an incredibly rigid diet that makes it hard to eat with others, and can be socially isolating. In addition, the constant obsession about eating only good, pure foods tends to blunt a sufferer’s natural intuition to feel hungry or full.

From the standpoint of Chinese medicine, food is meant to be a way to feed not only your body, but also your heart, the organ system associated with joy. Eating delicious food with loved ones is meant to be especially nourishing, but for someone with orthorexia, a shared meal often produces anxiety. In addition, Chinese food therapy is based on the idea that each person should eat according to their specific needs as well as what’s appropriate for the season. There are no good or bad real foods, only those that are best suited for each person’s nutritional requirements. Flavorful food eaten joyfully, coupled with moderation is thought to be the way to healthy eating.

While Chinese medicine offers up guidelines as to how one should eat, getting treatment for orthorexia is more complicated than simply letting go and eating joyfully. Orthorexia is similar to to other eating disorders, in that treatment usually involves dealing with the underlying emotional issues that have lead to the compulsive and restrictive behavior. In many cases, this requires the help of a mental health professional, ideally one who is well-versed in treating eating disorders.

Are you struggling with orthorexia? Take this quiz and find out. Simply circle the statements below that are true for you.

1) I think of most foods as either good or bad.

2) I have a difficult time eating meals that have been prepared by someone else.

3) I worry a lot about eating the “right” foods.

4) I feel guilty or like a failure when I eat a “bad” food.

5) I wonder how others can eat the things that they do.

6) I have rigid rules about what I allow myself to eat.

7) I feel self-righteous about my diet.

8) When I eat out, I need to alter how my food is served (salad dressing on the side, vegetables steamed instead of sauteed, etc.)

If you were able to agree with more than two or three of the above statements, it’s time for you to take a step back and look at your relationship with food. Talk with someone you can trust, and if necessary, enlist the help of a mental health professional. In addition, Chinese medicine can help with stress relief, digestive support, and recovery from this condition. Your physical and mental health depend on it!

Baby Maybe? Acupuncture for Infertility

Over the past several years, we have seen more women than ever before seeking our acupuncture services for help in getting pregnant. Surprisingly, fertility issues affect about 15 percent of couples in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control, and there seems to be a a number of reasons that this is happening. Many couples are waiting until their 30’s and 40’s to become pregnant, which can create fertility issues. In addition, the prevalence of plastics and other hormone disrupting chemicals found in everything from our cleaning products to cosmetics has increased dramatically over the past several decades. Food additives, pesticides, and GMO ingredients in our food may also play a role in impairing fertility.

The women who seek out acupuncture do so for a variety of reasons. Many want to explore acupuncture as a solution before they turn to Western fertility treatments such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intrauterine insemination (IUI). Many women choose acupuncture first because they want to avoid the hormonal manipulation of the Western treatments, find acupuncture to be a less time-consuming and less expensive solution, or simply want to become naturally. Others have used acupuncture to support their Western fertility treatments.

Traditional Chinese medicine and acupuncture can offer a number of benefits for women trying to become pregnant. Research on the physiological effects of Chinese medicine has documented that acupuncture alters brain chemistry in a way that reduces stress, (a huge factor for couples who are struggling with fertility issues). In addition, acupuncture has been found to regulate hormones, increase the circulation of blood to the reproductive organs, and Chinese herbs have been found to be helpful in regulating the menstrual cycle.

Practitioners of Chinese medicine have a variety of tools in which to help women trying to become pregnant, including acupuncture, Chinese herbs, dietary modifications, and lifestyle changes. In addition, if you are trying to get pregnant, there are a number of things that you can do on your own to help increase your chances. Some steps to take include:

-If you are a coffee drinker, decrease the amount you drink or cut it out altogether. New research indicates that coffee may slightly increase your risk for fertility issues.

-Eat organic foods when possible. This will help decrease the additives, genetically modified foods, and potentially hormone disrupting pesticides that you ingest.

-What you put on your skin makes a difference, too. Check out the Environmental Working Group‘s website for hormone disrupting chemicals in your cosmetics and skin care products.

-Get the chemicals out of your home by using natural cleaning products, glass containers (rather than plastic) when possible, and avoid BPA (bisphenol A) products in your food containers and packaging.

-Aim for a Mediterranean-type diet, with lots of plant-based foods, healthy fats from olive oil, nuts, and seeds, fish, and limited sweets and heavy meats.

-Maintain a healthy weight. Being dramatically underweight or overweight can affect fertility.

-Your body heals and rejuvenates while you sleep–make sure you’re getting enough.

-Struggling with fertility issues is stressful, and that stress impacts your health negatively in a number of ways. Do whatever it takes to deal with the stress, whether it’s getting a massage, acupuncture, meditation, or quiet time in the woods.

Help for Your Feet With Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

When a patient walks into my acupuncture clinic, I can frequently tell the state of their health just by looking at their face. Everything from the sparkle in their eyes to the color of their face tell me a little bit about how things are going for that patient. Similarly, it is almost as easy to determine the state of a patient’s health by looking at the health of their feet. That’s because your feet tend to be a barometer of your overall wellness, as health problems tend to show up first in your feet.

Here are nine things that your feet are telling me about your health:

Cold feet can be a sign of poor circulation or slow metabolism. In Chinese medicine Yang energy acts a bit like your body’s pilot light, warming and circulating warmth throughout your system. Your cold dogs tell me that the pilot light is low and things aren’t circulating.

Thick, yellow toenails occur as a result of a fungal infection in and under the nails. In Chinese medicine it also tells me that you probably tend to run a little damp (you retain water or metabolize it poorly) and might also have less than stellar immunity.

Dry, cracked skin on your feet (not just dry heels) is a sign that your body is dried out overall. A little moisturizer on your skin is helpful, but even better is adding more fatty, but nourishing foods to your diet. Think about bumping up your consumption of nuts, avocados, and healthy oils.

Poor healing in your feet are a common sign of diabetes, but is also a sign of poor circulation in general. Please pay attention to any sores that are slow to heal by having a medical professional take a look.

An enlarged big toe that is sore and swollen is often a sign of gout, which occurs due to excess uric acid settling in the joint. Interestingly, gout tends to occur in the joints of your body that are the coldest, like your feet, however, a gouty joint will become inflamed, red and swollen. In terms of Chinese medicine, that would be dampness plus heat.

Heel pain in Western medicine is often diagnosed as plantar fasciitis, which is an inflammation of the tendon and fascia that runs through the arch of your foot and back to your heel. In Chinese medicine, it’s considered to be a kind of stagnation and slow healing due to poor circulation.

A neuroma is a pinched nerve or a nerve bundle in your foot that can be annoyingly painful. Frequently, the nerve gets caught in the space between your metatarsals (the bones in your forefoot that connect to your toes). In Chinese medicine, a neuroma is also considered to be a stagnation, in which energy, blood, and nerves are constricted.

A bunion is a painful, enlarged and misaligned joint at the base of your big toe, and is also considered to be a kind of stagnation in Chinese medicine. When a bunion gets red and swollen, it’s also considered to be a pattern of dampness and heat. However, when a bunion acts up during the cold weather, it’s considered to be a pattern of cold (and usually dampness, too). The majority of bunion sufferers are women, and the cause can be genetic, over pronation of the foot, and tight, pointy shoes.

This list would not be complete without talking about smelly feet. In almost every case of funky stanky dogs that I have seen, the owner of said feet had some dampness. Again, dampness occurs when your body doesn’t metabolize fluids very well, and smelly feet come from bacteria that thrive in warm damp conditions, like your feet inside your shoes.

While many of the above conditions are slow to heal, the good news is that for many of the conditions plaguing your feet, acupuncture and Chinese medicine may be the answer. Whether your feet are dry, damp, smelly, or achy, a few sessions on the acupuncture table may be all it takes to put things right.

Take Care of Your Legs with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Your legs are incredible things. They walk, run, dance, take stairs two at a time, and carry a lot of weight. You probably don’t think much about your legs until they start to give you problems. In addition, you may not think much about acupuncture when your legs are acting up, but you should. There are a number of conditions related to your legs that acupuncture can really help. Among them:

Restless Legs. If your legs are running, jumping, and twitching all night long, chances are you have Restless Leg Syndrome. The jury is still out as to why this happens. You may find your symptoms are worse when you exercise or maybe when you don’t. Either way, once you’re in bed for the evening, your legs start up. In Chinese medicine however, restless legs tend to be a pattern of depletion. In other words your energy is low, you may feel fatigued overall, and while it may sound counter intuitive, there’s not enough energy to hold things still.

Hip or Knee Pain. At Acupuncture in the Park, we have worked with many patients who are experiencing knee and/or hip pain. Many know that they have a joint replacement looming on the horizon, but just aren’t quite ready yet. Others are recovering from surgery, and some just need relief from a tweak or an overuse injury. We have found acupuncture to be effective for both pain relief and inflammation. Locally (around the joint) a few well-placed needles increase the circulation of white blood cells which help counter inflammation, and systemically, acupuncture acts to block the transmission of pain signals to your brain.

Gout. Anyone who has suffered from gout is no stranger to the painful, red swelling that most commonly occurs at the base of your big toe. Gout is the build up of uric acid crystals which settle in the joint, causing you all kinds of grief. While your big toe is the most common site of gout inflammation, it can occur in other joints. In Chinese medicine, the redness and swelling indicate that gout is a pattern of dampness (the build up of fluids, often from eating too much rich food) plus heat. This is a problem that your acupuncturist will treat both locally, but also by dealing with the retention of dampness and heat in your body.

Leg Qi. This one has a funny name, but it’s a condition of red, swollen, and hot legs and feet. It’s similar to gout in that the pattern of imbalance in Chinese medicine is dampness and heat. However, while gout affects just the joints, Leg Qi presents as redness and swelling of the feet and lower legs. Like gout, the treatment would involve getting rid of your dampness, which will decrease the swelling, and cooling off the heat.

Ankle Sprains. A couple of years ago, I rolled my ankle while working out in the yard. It was a mild sprain, but I was surprised at how much it hurt! Acupuncture can help patients with sprained ankles in a couple of ways. While we don’t needle into a bruised and swollen ankle, once the swelling has gone down, acupuncture can help with pain relief and the inflammation associated with the sprain. In some cases, an ankle sprain can linger for months and even years, with weakness, poor range of motion, and even persistent pain. I have seen more than my share of surprised patients who have believed that their ankle pain is just something they are stuck with, only to find that a couple of acupuncture sessions has restored ankle function and rendered them pain-free.

Your legs are the work horses of your body. Keep them healthy by exercising and stretching. When they act up, pay attention. In many cases acupuncture and Chinese medicine can be the answer to restoring function when your legs become sore, swollen, twitchy, or traumatized.

Wine-Making and Chinese Medicine

As an acupuncturist, I find myself explaining the concepts of Chinese medicine through the use of metaphors. I often compare the health of our bodies to that a farmer’s field. To be in the best health possible, we need nourishment in the form of good food, hydration, adequate sleep, and clean air to breathe. Similarly, in order to be healthy and productive, the field needs sunshine, the right amount of moisture, nutrients, and rest. It seems that French winemakers are also embracing the concept of a healthy and well-cared for field.

A small group of French winemakers are engaging in what they call biodynamic agriculture, which is more than just growing organically. In addition to not using pesticides, fungicides, and chemical fertilizers, they take into account geomancy—the movement of the moon and stars—in timing their harvests, and apply preventive treatments to the land, much in the tradition of Chinese medicine.

My goal as a practitioner is to work with patients to nourish and heal, as well as to develop preventive strategies to keep them healthy. My tools are acupuncture, Chinese herbs, dietary therapy, and rest, to name a few. Similarly, the goal of these biodynamic farmers is to nourish their soil. Through the use of insects, microorganisms, constructive use of weeds, and worms to aerate the soil, these biodynamic growers have cultivated the optimal soil for growing fine grapes and making excellent wines.

In Chinese medicine, each person has their own individual health makeup, which is the result of a combination of genetics, body constitution, and lifestyle. In wine making, there is a similar concept, which is that of “terroir”, in which the character of the soil, the climate, and the region all play a role in the flavor of a particular wine. Like we humans, no two wines are alike, including wine grown at the same vineyard in a different year.

While I may prescribe a Chinese herbal formula for a patient, French winemaker Bernard Duseigneur does the same for his fields. He gathers the weeds from around his vines, boils them up like a tea, and sprays the mixture back on his vineyard. Maybe prescribing an herbal formula for your vines isn’t so crazy after all!

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