Wellness

[dooBdoo]

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[Yardlie]

We have Western Medicine so ingrained in our brains that we close our minds to Traditional Chinese Medicine and other treatments. Even some insurance companies are beginning to cover some treatments such as acupuncture.

I would always try Western medicine first, but many people do not receive relief from it. I started my career as an LPN and then went on to earn a B.S.D.H. (dental hygiene), so I am very familiar with the human body.

I am someone who suffered from fibromyalgia for 32 years...and then,,, poof! It was gone. What caused it and why it left, nobody knows. Along the way, I tried just about every medication known to man and a lot of Western treatments (physical therapy, exercise). I received great relief when I did the Feldenkrais method of treatment for a few years. (it is a mind-body treatment that involves neural-muscular reprogramming). I tried accupuncture and found that helpful as well...moreso than physical therapy or exercise alone. The only problem was that insurance would either not cover it or would only cover like 8 sessions. In my mind, if they cover chiropractic (which did not help my fibromyalgia), they should also allow people to try Traditional Chinese Medicine and herbal medication. Naturally, more legitimate research would have to be done on the effectiveness of these techniques. The states could ultimately license the Chinese medicine practitioners. The problem is, insurance won't cover the Traditional Chinese practitioners presently...who would be the best qualified to perform these techniques.. Instead, they want to have M.D.'s take a mini course in acupuncture or something and then allow them to perform it. They usually don't know enough to be effective. I've even had M.D.'s tell me this.

I visited a friend in Taiwan who is a Nurse Practitioner (trained in the U.S.). In her hospital, they have two pharmacies (Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine...herbal). Patients are allowed to choose which type they want. She said that the Chinese medicine is just as effective as Western medicine...in many cases, more effective. Of course, there is no research to prove this.

I'd try Gua Sha in a New York minute if I needed it. I hoped it helped, Lola.

[Trinity11]

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@dooBdoo wrote:

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Everything you wrote @dooBdoo was correct. The things I read on this forum are troubling.. I avoid replying here more and more..

[YorkieonmyPillow]

I've read about this; haven't tried it.

[lolakimono]

Round two was today.  

It took me from Monday to Saturday for my back to look like the 48 hours later photo in the OP.

Today's treatment produced far less "color", and my back/neck muscles have loosened up even more.  I'm hoping that after a few treatments of gua sha everything will be "released."

[lolakimono]

@Justice4all

I thought I would carry the conversation over to here, since it's not a fashion discussion.

The main problem I have is "heat", trapped in the trunk area, while the extremities are cold.  In Chinese medicine, it's "dampness" and it contributes to not being able to regulate body temperature throughout one's system.  It can be called having a weak spleen as well. I am supposed to be drinking "warm" liquids, eating "warm" foods, and avoiding raw things.  The guasha can also help for the back/neck muscles as well.  The recent kidney issues that I've had (from a Chinese perspective) can also be caused by "dampness" in the lung area.  

Guasha literally means scraping sand. The sand represents the toxins that get trapped at the surface of the body. Today guasha is done with bone or jade guasha tools. Some practitioners use silver or gold coins and call the art coining. Many use the tops of jars or spoons. It is a proven therapeutic practice developed simultaneously across many cultures in many areas of health.

Pain that keeps coming back may be a result of metabolic waste that is trapped at the surface of the body. The classic test for guasha is done with finger pressure in the area. If the finger-pressed blanched skin is slow to return then a guasha session is recommended.

Guasha moves Qi and Blood, releases the exterior, and moves the fluid and metabolic waste at the same time. It removes the chronic, persistent Qi stagnation that is stuck at the surface. Is it always in pain there and does it come back to the same place?

In Chinese Medicine many diseases are created from the attack of an external pathogen.Guasha releases the exterior and draws out pathogenic factors at the surface. These pathogenic factors includes Wind, Heat, Cold, and Damp.

[Justice4all]

@lolakimono

Is your lung congestion caused by allergies to vegetation and/or mold? Or cat dander?  Upstate is gorgeous or an allergic person's nemesis!  

Cold extremities is a circulatory problem.  Do you feel better in a dry or beach environment?

Sitting at a desk for long periods is totally destructive.

[lolakimono]

@Justice4all

I have allergies (and asthma) but they're well controlled.

The lung treatment area of gua sha is not for the lung organ, per se.

https://www.chinesemedicineliving.com/acupuncture/the-spleen-and-dampness-in-chinese-medicine/  

Here is more explanation-

Worry, pensiveness and mental overwork often negatively affect the transporting and transforming function of the spleen and contribute to deranged water metabolism as internal dampness. Organs of the body other than the spleen also contribute to the action of water metabolism. The lungs (upper jiao) produce arginine-vasopressin, which acts on the kidney nephron to alter water balance in the body. Grief and melancholy stifle lung qi, which disrupts the production of arginine-vasopressin. The mineral corticoids of the adrenal glands (part of the kidneys) also regulate water balance in the body via the kidney nephron. The liver (lower jiao) produces angiotensinogen that assists in water balance via the angiotensin-renin-aldosterone system. The kidney produces rennin, which assists in the regulation of water balance in the above-mentioned system. Disharmonies between the organ systems of the lungs, kidneys and liver with the spleen system all cause some form of disrupted water metabolism. The degree of aberration, the length of time of disruption and the systems involved determine the symptoms and progression of pathogenesis within the body. According to TCM, the san jiao meridian is the pathway for the movement of all fluids within the body.3 Thus, any obstruction in the channels and meridians ultimately will affect water metabolism adversely in some manner.

[lolakimono]

@Justice4all

I don't "love" the beach as I tend to shun the sun.  When the humidity is high, if I were to exercise outside, it sometimes feels like I am trying to breathe through a wet washcloth over my face.

RE sitting, there is not a lot of that going on at school.  I teach 4 classes back to back, so there is mostly 5 hours of standing each day, between teaching and hall duty.

BTW- I deleted my post from their fashion thread, so if you want to delete yours as well, it won't leave everyone "hanging" when they check in after work.

I'm fine continuing the conversation here. I just don't want anyone to be annoyed for going "off topic."

[Justice4all]

@lolakimono

Unless you work in a "green" school, they are notoriously dusty, moldy and chemically!  I caught ringworm twice from the students.  Once a bedbug jumped out of a student's book bag as we sat side by side.  

But of course, stress is what causes havoc with the body.....tai chi, yoga, modern dance,massage,swimming, dancing are helpful....Any results yet from gua sha?