Acupuncture and Herbs for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy

Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) is a neurological disorder characterized by pain and other sensory disturbances, as well as changes in color and temperature in the affected area. An initiating event (trauma to the nerve) fails to heal properly and the sympathetic nervous system takes an abnormal role in keeping the affected area in a constant, reflexive state of neurological stimulation. A feedback loop is in place in people with RSD such that the affected area is locked into the disordered sensation and other changes, despite the absence of ongoing trauma.

A woman came to me with a two-year history of severe RSD in the left lower leg and foot. The lower leg and foot were reddish purple and extremely cold. She couldn’t wear shoes with laces because she was so hypersensitive to the least little pressure against the foot. The left calf was also atrophied, measuring about 1-2 inches smaller than the right calf. The precipitating event was a car accident 2 years before in which she was rear-ended, which reherniated a disc that she had injured 20 years before while pregnant. The atrophy actually began with the earlier injury, but the sensory changes, the color changes and the cold temperature were triggered by the car accident. Also since the accident, extreme cold during the winter would drain all spring from her step in that foot, which caused her to limp.

The physical changes to the leg were so striking I was cautious about feeling the area with my fingers, but it is so helpful for proper understanding of the shen (spirit) of the flesh, I asked her permission, which she readily gave, and I asked her to please describe to me the sensory effect she experienced as a result of my light touch on the calf and foot. She said the light touch set off “pins and needles” throughout the foot, and to a lesser degree in the calf as well. I wondered what a needle in the area would feel like! I decided for the first several treatments to place no needles in the left lower leg or foot. I used needles elsewhere in the body, and used magnets and ion pumping cords on the lower leg. During each of these early treatments the client reported new sensations in her leg and foot, most often like that of rushing water. The effect would disappear as soon as the treatment was over and no changes occurred in her overall condition.

On the third or fourth time she law down on the table for a treatment, I thought, this is it. This is the right time. I gave myself a little pep talk to trust the needles, and I began to really palpate the points on the left leg for the purpose of choosing my points. As I placed the first needle I asked for some feedback. She said she didn’t feel a thing. The palpation on the skin set off more disordered sensation than the needle. Ahaa! I proceeded to needle the area liberally with very little pre-needling palpation, which is usually my style. I like to wait for the sense of the point to rise up and meet my finger before I insert a needle. It helps me to be very clear about my intention for every needle. But in this case, with my mantra in mind (trust the needles), I borrowed from one of my teachers, Dr. Tsay, and inserted using his “flying needle” technique. The needles were in quickly and easily for both of us. I tented a sheet over a TDP lamp directed at the feet to deeply warm the area. I also borrowed a point combination from Dr. Tan, called the Ling-Ku combination, which I had recently asked some colleagues to teach me as I had heard of their positive effect on low back pain. While this client had no low back pain it was the site of her original injuries and therefore, I felt a necessary area to engage. I also needled the sympathetic point in the ears. I decided to add an herbal formula called Si Ni San, which is designed for people with cold extremities due to heat being trapped in the interior. It seemed a good match for her because her body temperature was quite warm at the core, while her limbs in general were colder, her left leg being coldest of all.

This treatment strategy worked very well. The temperature of the left foot matched the right foot for about 24-36 hours after the first treatment of this kind. The coloration was not perfect all the time but at times it matched the right foot, and when it didn’t it was less extreme a contrast than it had been. And after a few acupuncture treatments like the one I described, and two weeks on the herbs, she came in one day wearing lace-up winter boots! She was very happy.

We haven’t been able to reverse the atrophy or completely eliminate the hypersensitivity and changes in coloration, which come and go. But the hypersensitivity has lessened enough to make laced shoes comfortable, and the temperature of the left foot is completely comparable to the right foot. We may work more with herbs…

 

Acupuncture to Increase Blood Flow to the Uterus in Pregnancy

In October of 2007 I got a call from a man whose wife was pregnant for the fourth time, although they had no living children. The first two pregnancies ended in miscarriage. During the 25th week of the third pregnancy, doctors did an emergency C-section because the blood flow to the uterus was impaired (no diastolic flow) and beginning to show signs of reverse flow. After the C-section, the baby lived for only two weeks.

On the day I got the call, they were again in the 25th week of pregnancy, and the same problems with uterine blood flow had begun. Their doctors told them to be prepared for a C-section, if necessary, at their next appointment, the following Tuesday.

Her husband explained the situation to me on the phone: his wife had been diagnosed with antiphospholipid-antibody syndrome during her third pregnancy, and she had been taking heparin when pregnant. However, the medication alone was not working. With the possibility of a C-section looming, I was determined to find a time for her the next day.

When she came into the office, I immediately liked her. She had an easy, graceful and gentle way about her, with a solid grasp of the gravity of her situation. Yet, she also had a sense of humor, and of hope. 9 years had passed since her last pregnancy and she seemed to have taken her recovery seriously and lightly at the same time–a winning grief-meets-Zen sort of combination.

From a diagnostic perspective 3 signs were striking during that first visit. First, this young woman in her thirties had a head full of gray hair. Second, despite the fact that she was over 6 months pregnant, she didn’t look like she had much extra weight on her. Third, her pulse was deep and weak and lacked that slippery quality practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine expect in pregnant women. Given these signs, given the fact that any condition that involves pathology at the blood level is dangerous during a pregnancy, and given that the baby’s lungs were not well-developed for life outside the uterus at 25 weeks I felt it was important to treat her daily to try to increase blood flow to the uterus.

My treatment strategy was to open the Chong Mai, which I did daily for 3 weeks. Some days I also opened the Ren Mai. I always treated the shen, and the kidneys, often did ear points for kidney, liver, spleen, lung, sympathetic nervous system, and uterus. I often included St 36, and at times included Liv 3.

The following Monday, after three acupuncture treatments, the pulse had changed significantly and for the first time had a strong, healthy slipperiness to it, just what acupuncturists expect during pregnancy.

The next day was Tuesday, her first OB appointment since starting acupuncture. Tuesday came and went–without a C-section. We were encouraged! The following Saturday, however, at her next appointment with the OB, she was hospitalized for closer monitoring. She had had 8 acupuncture treatments over 8 days at that point. We decided to continue her daily treatments in the hospital, and her doctors agreed. I continued to treat her, but now in the hospital. Rather than leaving the room as she rested with the needles, I sat in her hospital room with her, and meditated.

Sometimes nurses or other hospital personnel would come in, see us sitting in the dark, and become very apologetic. They backed out of the room politely, promising to come back when we were done. My client told me it was the only time during her day or night in that hospital when she felt her need for rest and rejuvenation was honored. At any other time, as is the practice in hospitals, she could be (and was) interrupted at all times of night and day for various testing or monitoring procedures, which were believed by all personnel to be of the highest priority.

Daily ultrasounds showed variable blood flow. Sometimes there was no reverse flow, some days there was reverse flow. Baby was judged to be in good health and to have adequate resources. The doctors began focusing on the baby’s size. If she didn’t grow a certain amount by a certain time, they felt her resources would begin to decline in utero placing her more at risk at birth. Better, they felt, to enter the outside world with strong resources a little earlier than to enter it already depleted, and still early. No one expected her to go full-term.

After two weeks in the hospital the baby’s lungs had a chance to pass a critical point (usually around week 27) with the production of surfactant. No one had expected to reach week 28 with the baby still in utero, but they did. At that point it was decided between the parents and the doctors to do a C-section.

It was a girl! They were very glad, because statistically girl preemies have higher survival rates than boys. Their last baby born by C-section at 25 weeks was a boy. Baby had no major problems, other than being extremely small (just over one pound). She is expected to make a full recovery.

Was it the acupuncture? We’ll never know. But it certainly played a role. I love this job!

 

Headaches, Trauma, High Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure, and Acupuncture

The Veterans Administration referred an Iraq War Veteran for acupuncture to reduce his severe headaches caused by high cerebrospinal fluid pressure. Unfortunately they only approved 3 visits. This is the letter I sent to the VA asking for approval for more treatments.

January 23, 2008

Dear Ms. XXXXXX:

I’m writing to request authorization for more acupuncture treatments for Mr. XXXX. I have seen him 3 times (treatment notes attached), and believe that acupuncture could be beneficial in reducing or eliminating his headaches if it were administered with the appropriate frequency and for an appropriate duration of time. In my experience (and training) 3 visits is inadequate to deal with most problems, even more superficial ones than the severe headaches plaguing Mr. XXXX.

As you know, Mr. XXXX presents with an 8 year history of daily constant headaches that become so excruciating that he must pack his head in ice and stay in bed for days. Such peak-pain events usually occur on a weekly basis. He also has a history of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and depression. Because his headaches are so severe, the problem is so long-standing, and there are other systemic problems (IBS and depression) appropriate acupuncture treatments would be 2 x week for an indefinite duration, but lasting for at least 2 months.

I treated him 3 times, and was able to see the differences in his pulse (and in other diagnostic parameters of acupuncture) before, during and after an episode of peak pain. This gave me invaluable diagnostic information to inform my treatment plan, but was inadequate to effect lasting change. The diagnostic information gleaned from his recent treatments could be summarized as follows:

The shifts in his pulse indicate an alternating pattern of deficiency and excess (these are technical terms of Traditional Chinese Medicine), which is not uncommon in individuals with a history of trauma. I’ve treated many people with this sort of presentation. They have had a variety of presenting complaints (most often idiopathic), but they have been identical in this underlying bi-phasic pattern of disregulation.

It is as if some part of the person’s systemic processes is so up-regulated that the resulting over-drive leads to cyclic collapse. In Mr. XXXX’s case, the over-drive is causing increased intracranial hypertension, resulting in the daily headaches. The collapse occurs when the headache crescendos into pain so severe it requires drastic measures (ice, bed-rest, and in some cases drainage of the cerebrospinal fluid), and results in a drastic reduction in available resources. This reduced state of functioning temporarily short-circuits the building pressure. His pulse is strong and bounding during “daily headache” phases (as are other diagnostic parameters), and stronger still immediately preceding a peak-pain event. The over-drive cannot be sustained, however. During the peak-pain event, and as it begins to subside, all diagnostic parameters (pulse included) indicate a severely deficient, exhausted, weak condition.

According to Mr. XXXX, one of his doctors at Togus drained off some cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) on several occasions, but informed him after the 3rd time that it was not a sustainable treatment modality because each time the fluid was drained, Mr. XXXX’s body reacted in increased over-drive, creating even more CSF pressure, and more pain. The fact that the drainage of the CSF led to a few short days of relief but was followed by even higher pressure levels is consistent with this analysis of a complex condition that alternates between excess and deficient states. I believe that acupuncture can provide the “drainage” (energetically, not literally) without the subsequent increase in pressure which occurred after the three spinal taps.

The CSF drainage failed because it did nothing to reset the faulty regulation system. From the perspective of Chinese Medicine, Mr. XXXX’s peak-pain events are his body’s desperate attempt to down-regulate his chronically up-regulated system. The normal headache is a result of the up-regulation that has become his norm. Each peak-pain event is his own answer to a faulty regulation system, an answer that accomplishes the necessary down-regulation, but only temporarily and at too great a cost. The CSF drainage acted in a manner that was similar to the body’s own peak-pain event; the relief was temporary and the cost –even higher CSF pressure–too great.

The goal of any acupuncture treatment is to reset whatever regulatory or systemic processes that are out of balance. In cases such as this, with an alternating dys-regulation, two treatment strategies are required. To put it in lay terms, one must down-drive the excess without triggering a collapse, and supplement after a collapse without triggering an over-drive. The result of regular acupuncture that addresses these issues will be a gradual reduction in severity of the headaches, a decrease in the frequency and duration of peak-pain events, and ultimately an eradication of peak-pain events. The last to decrease and hopefully disappear with such a treatment plan would be the daily headache.

Acupuncture is based on such a different way of thinking, that it can be difficult to translate its medical paradigm for a western audience. As a westerner, it’s important to me to try. I’d be very happy to engage in further discussion with you. Please let me know if you have any questions. I look forward to scheduling Mr. XXXX for more acupuncture treatments.

Thank you.

Yours truly,

Julie Meyer, M.Ac.
Licensed Acupuncturist

cc: Mr. XXXX

 

Slow-Cooked Lentil-Leek Stew and Pumpkin Egg Custard

Today I’m going to share the whole process of creating two new recipes based on what I have on hand. I love this process-oriented way of cooking. It’s creative, drawing me into a deep revelry of absorbed attention. It’s exciting, because I don’t know how it will turn out. And perhaps best of all, it trains me to enjoy learning from my mistakes. I’ll take the results of such a project and make notes on the outcome, which I’ll use to perfect a given dish.

These are the ingredients I first pulled off my kitchen shelves. Much of it came in our winter share from our friends Jan and Rob at Goranson’s Farm:

LENTIL LEEK STEW

• Red lentils
• Pumpkin
• Leeks
• potatoes
• garlic
• organic vegetable broth
• cumin
• cinnamon stick
• gray sea salt
• cinnamon

After I pulled everything out and looked at it, I decided on a few changes. I wanted more green, because after all, green food is loaded with good vitamins. I ended up with this, instead:

• Green Lentils
• Leeks
• Pumpkin
• Kale
• Potatoes
• Garlic
• Jalapeño Peppers
• cinnamon sticks
• cinnamon
• cumin
• organic vegetable broth

I was ready to chop. I used:

• 1 Cup Green Lentils
• 1 Cup chopped pumpkin
• 1 Cup chopped leeks
• 2 Cups chopped kale
• 4-5 (I lost count) peeled potatoes, quartered
• 1/2 jalapeño pepper (I’d have used more but for my low-spice spouse), chopped
• 10 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 Cups Vegetable broth (actually 3 3/4 plus 1/4 water)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp course sea salt
• 1 cinnamon stick

I forgot the cinnamon. I probably would have added 1 tsp had I remembered.

This is what it looked like with everything chopped in the crock pot before adding the liquid and the spices.

So Pretty!

I cooked it in the Crock Pot, on low for about 8 hours. When it was done,

it looked like this.

Then I tasted it, and it was good, but not great. It needs something:

Phase Three of Cooking Creatively with Whatever You Have on Hand: Make it better before you serve it. I didn’t have time to make it better just then, so I’m adding this addendum one week later: We were having company, over the weekend so I froze the whole stew. I defrosted it, added

• 4 and 1/2 cups of vegetable broth,
• one pound of Maine shrimp,
• 1 pound of (canned, deshelled) crab meat
• and 1 tsp cumin.

Delicious! Perfect! A recipe you can enjoy. If you eat meat, a sausage would probably have been nice, too, or some pulled chicken.

PUMPKIN EGG CUSTARD

Since I only used a cup of the chopped pumpkin in the stew I had 6 cups of chopped pumpkin left! What to do. I considered freezing it, but we’re a little short of freezer space. We were heading to the Moms for dinner tonight (my mother moved in with my mother-in-law when her condo burned down in August this year. Our weekly dinners together have become an evening we all look forward to), and since Liz had offered to make the dinner, I figured I’d turn this 6 cups of chopped pumpkin into dessert…

• 6 Cups fresh, peeled and chopped pumpkin
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cups of plain soy milk (could use your milk of choice)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

I put the whole think in a casserole dish, and preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

This is what it looked like before it went in the oven. It baked for an hour but I neglected to put any binder in it, as you may have noticed, so it came out with a lot of soupy milk. I reached for a quick fix–I added

• 4 beaten eggs

and put it back in the oven. It came out with a curdly-egg look, but it was delicious.

My mother-in-law had some great suggestions: If I had mashed the pumpkin after an hour of cooking, I could have added some of the pumpkin, slowly, to the beaten eggs so that the eggs didn’t curdle, and then added the eggs to the larger dish of mashed pumpkin before putting it back into the oven for 30 more minutes. It would have been better looking.

 

Cook By Color: 5-Color Squash

I have a philosophical approach to food. What and how I eat is based on my values, which are: Health, Enjoyment and Creativity. In other words, I like my food to be healthy and delicious, and I prefer to be creative about my cooking rather than following recipes all the time.
Cooking by color is one way I like to approach an evening of improvisational cookery.

This picture is an example of a colorful meal made with the ingredients I had on hand. I made it last night. I call it 5-Color Squash because I aimed for (and included) all 5 colors of Chinese medical theory: Green, Red, Yellow, White and Blue. The ingredients were:

• Quinoa, garlic and yellow onion (white)
• Parsley, edamame and scallions (green)
• Red onion and radish (red and white)
• Purple Cabbage (blue and red makes purple)
• Squash (yellow)
• Side of carrots (red and white makes orange)

There is also some Organic Smart Balance (a non-hydrogenated butter substitute loaded with healthy Omega 3 oils) mixed in with the meat of the cooked squash, and some sea salt (good mix of minerals) and ground black pepper. The squash was baked for an hour in a 350 degree oven. The quinoa was cooked ahead of time. The rest was stir-fried in olive oil, and the cooked quinoa was added at the end.

I am lucky to live near a wonderful family-owned organic farm called Goranson’s Farm. It’s in Dresden Maine, and if you live near by you have to eat their food! I’ve had guests from out of state bite into one of their carrots and lapse into a state of exuberant reverence over its magnificent taste. Goranson’s has a community supported agriculture program that I support.The squash, carrots, cabbage, yellow onion and garlic in the above recipe came from my winter-share, a monthly box full of veggies from the farm.

 

Crock-Pot for Maximum Winter Health

Staying healthy in cold, Northern regions like Maine means most of us need extra heat to balance the naturally occurring external cold of our environment. One way to maximize a healthy internal warmth can be found right in your kitchen. The crock pot enhances the warming properties of food. The longer your food cooks the more heat it absorbs. When you eat slow-cooked food you ingest that energetic quality.

While most of us need that energetic push towards warmth in winter, some people do not. If you have a condition that a Chinese medical practitioner would describe as a “heat” condition, your internal thermostat won’t register the cold of winter as an extreme. You are the person in short sleeves while everyone else is wearing two layers of fleece, or the person who doesn’t wear any socks while the rest of us buy Smart Wool and Alpaca in bulk. If this describes you, slow cooking may not be ideal for you. But before you count your blessings in the winter, ask yourself if you’re miserable in the summer heat. If the answer is yes, than winter would be a good time to address the disregulation of your internal thermostat. Then, like the rest of us, you can use seasonal foods and cooking methods to handle the extremes of your natural environment. If slow-cooking and warm clothes isn’t enough to warm you up, specific foods could help as well. Your acupuncturist can point you in the right direction.

Here’s a great vegetarian crock pot recipe. It is based on a recipe that a friend sent me, but I altered it to my liking. I hope you like it too.

Red Lentil and Butternut Stew

What you’ll Need:

3/4 Cup Garbanzo Beans, soaked the previous night
1 medium Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and cut in large pieces
3 large carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
1 large onion, chopped
1 Cup Red Lentils
4 Cups Vegetable Broth
1-5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 and 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/2 to 1 tsp salt (to taste)

Directions: Put everything in the Crock pot, making sure to cut the squash and carrots in rather large pieces so they won’t completely break down during the long cooking time. Cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, until the garbanzo beans are tender and the lentils have begun to break down.

 

Are Health and Wellness Synonyms or Separate Concepts?

Words, and what they mean, are popular topics of discussion among practitioners of Chinese Medicine today.  We use technical terms (Qi, Blood, Yin, Yang, etc.) that arose in a different geographical, cultural and historical era, and we apply those same terms to patients who live here, now.  There are many different schools of thought among acupuncturists today about what the terms mean, and whether using the terms in adherence to original intent is more or less relevant to the goal of treating patients effectively with acupuncture today.

Often the terminology we use in diagnosis informs our treatment strategies.  When that is the case, the meaning of our terminology will have a profound impact on our actions, and therefore, arguably on the outcomes for our clients.  There are some outstanding approaches to treatment strategy however that are less concerned with terminology and more responsive to information gained through the fingertips–via palpation of the abdomen, the meridians, and the points.

I have been practicing for about 10 years now, and while I’ve had many inquisitive clients, none of them have wanted to invest much time in understanding the technical terminology that we acupuncturists spent hundreds of hours closely scrutinizing in spleen-weakening 3-4-year-long study binges.  I’ve had some clients go on to acupuncture school, but even they didn’t want the whole course of study condensed into their treatment hour.  They much preferred to relax on the table and feel the magic of the needles.  Good for them.

So I have come to believe that technical terms are enjoyable topics of conversation among acupuncture geeks but not generally useful in the treatment room.  I don’t hide the technical terms from my patients, but neither do I emphasize them.

Nonetheless the attention to words and their meanings tickles me and I’ve come up with a line of inquiry that requires no special technical training to appreciate.  And this is it:

What is the difference, if any, between health and wellness? Are they synonyms or do they represent separate, unique concepts?

 

2 Secrets to Gluten-Free, Dairy-free Cooking, plus Pumpkin Mousse

1. It’s Easy! The reason it’s easy is that every item in any recipe that contains any gluten or dairy is completely replaceable by comparable, safe alternatives. I have easily adapted my favorite recipes and even made up some great recipes myself (and I’m no expert). My family enjoys all the things that other families enjoy: waffles, chocolate cake, pie, bread, muffins, biscuits, you name it: all gluten and dairy-free. Family and friends love coming to my house for meals and if I didn’t tell them they would never guess there is anything “missing” from the food they gladly eat here. Which leads me to the second secret…
2. It’s Delicious! I’ve heard horror stories of food that only someone with Celiac would eat (and only for lack of options). But that never should be the case anymore. I’ll give you an example here. This is a recipe that I made up to replace the all-important and much-loved pumpkin pie. While it’s possible to make a great tasting gluten-free pie crust, this recipe, essentially a crust-less pumpkin pie, is much easier. Instead of making a pie crust, not a task many people take on these days, this recipe is simply whipped up in a food processor, poured into an oiled dutch oven, and baked for 50-55 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

Pumpkin Mousse

Empty 2 cans of One-Pie Pumpkin into the food processor and set the motor going. While the machine is running, add the following:

1 tsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Nutmeg

1 tsp. Ginger

1 tsp Salt

1 TBS molasses

Scant 3/4 Cup Honey (I put the tablespoon of molasses into the cup measure and then add honey up to the 3/4 line).

4 eggs

2 tsps. Xanthum Gum (easily available in health food stores).

As this is continuing to whip-up in the food processor, oil a dutch oven (I use olive oil or organic Smart Balance (non-hydrogenated margarine). Pour the mixture into the pot, cover it, and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Repatterning: Acupuncture for Phantom Limb Pain, Lymphedema and Trigeminal Neuralgia

Acupuncture can help reset disordered sensory patterns without even touching the area of discomfort. I’ll mention three examples of this: Phantom Limb Pain, Lymphedema and Trigeminal Neuralgia. While I limit this article to these three examples, there are countless others that could be given.

Phantom Limb Pain.
When someone loses a limb there is often pain or other sensation in the missing limb. This phenomenon is called Phantom Limb Pain. How can you treat something that isn’t there? Acupuncturists can insert small, stainless steel needles in the opposite limb to diminish or eliminate the sensory disturbance that feels as if it is arising from the missing limb.

Lymphedema.
Sometimes lymphatic fluid is obstructed from its normal circulatory route and pools in surrounding tissues, usually the legs and feet. I’ve known women who have lymphedema in their arms following mastectomies who have been advised not to have acupuncture on the affected arm. While I’m not convinced acupuncture would present the same risk of infection that a larger hyperdermic needle would likely cause, I’ve never tried to convince a woman to disregard this commly held belief. What I have done is explained that just as the lymphatic system is a circulatory system, acupuncture is also based on a circulatory system known in technical terms as the meridian system. Therefore, one can interject a signal at a variety of different entry-points, and the flowing (circulatory) nature of the system will see to it that the signal is delivered to areas that are not directly adjacent to the points of entry. In other words, we can treat non-adjacent areas of the body to support circulatory flow in the affected area, without ever inserting needles in the areas swollen with lymphatic fluid.

Trigeminal Neuralgia.
The three branches of the trigeminal nerve ennervate the face. For some people, with trigeminal neuralgia, the nerve is firing all the time and the result is pain in the face, in one or more locations from the eye to the jaw. People with trigeminal neuralgia often have difficulty chewing food, brushing their teeth and speaking. I’ve treated many people with trigeminal neuralgia, often by inserting acupuncture needles around the affected area. But for some people with trigeminal neuralgia, more effective treatments involve some well-placed needles in the ears, feet, legs and hands. I have known people with unremitting, severe pain lasting for six months who have been eating nothing but soup and apple sauce to be completely pain-free after 4 simple acupuncture treatments.

This method of treatment, described here for three separate conditions, is rooted in the classical theoretics of Chinese Medicine, and deeper still in the theoretical paradigm of Taoist philosophy in which all natural phenomena (referred to in the Tao Te Ching as “the 10,000 things”) are rooted in the Tao, the source or way, a kind of energetic mother-matrix, from which we arise in all our perfect imperfections, and to which we return. The Chinese medical paradigm arose from this theoretical base (as well as from roots in Confuncianism and Buddhism), and always viewed medical phenomenon as being rooted in a basic disharmony in the relationship between self and Tao. In this view any manifestation (symptom) of disease is merely the branch; the root is something else entirely–it is an energetic dysfunction in one’s relationship to the natural, perfect mother-matrix–the root of the 10,000 things.

Therefore, treatment options are manifold. Since the root of any phenomena, such as lymphedema, trigeminal neuralgia or phantom limb pain, does not lie in the site of pain itself (but in a deeper disordered relationship with source), there are many treatment strategies that involve placing acupuncture needles in areas that have known relationships to the root, as well as the branch. The meridian system contains a myriad of known correspondences that allow a thoughtful acupuncturist to choose a variety of avenues of approach–including the approach that I’ve described here, in which the site of pain or swelling is left alone, and the message of healing is sent to the disordered area via the subtle energetic circulatory system of meridians.

 

Allowing

In my martial arts training I learned that allowing the energy of my opponent to move to it’s natural conclusion, and utilizing the momentum thus generated while redirecting the flow to protect me and/or to unbalance the opponent is one-thousand times more powerful than using brute strength to stop an attack. Lucky thing for anyone, male or female, who is smaller or not as physically strong as her opponent.

In my clinical experience practicing acupuncture for over a decade now, I have learned that the energy of every client’s disease or problematic symptom also has it’s natural conclusion and has within it a great deal of momentum. Acupuncture does not use brute strength to block the problem. That is what pharmaceutical drugs and surgery do. They are the big guns. Acupuncture, in contrast, allows for, honors, and redirects the client’s current energetic patterns. I believe acupuncture’s power to initiate and support deeply-rooted change is therefore one-thousand times stronger than the use of those big guns alone.

I invite you to think about what it would mean for you today if you were to approach your everyday problems with an intent to allow and redirect. Allow and redirect. Even better than thinking about it–try it: Get into where you are. Feel the mood, the groove and the momentum of your energy and then redirect it. If you don’t know how to be self-aware and intentional, you’re probably reading a blog about Paris Hilton right now instead of this one. If you want a really outstanding way to increase awareness and intentionality in your life, I recommend two things: learning something that requires intense physical and mental focus, such as martial arts or dance, and learning to meditate.